Why Writers Should Celebrate the Pursuit and NOT Just the Product

by Kristen Hogrefe Parnell @KHogrefeParnell
We live in a consumer-driven world that revolves around results. That’s no news to any of us. However, as writers, we miss out on opportunities to celebrate when we focus only on the final product of our work.
Author Nicole Zasowski talks about a new perspective on celebration in her book What If It’s Wonderful? , and I highly encourage you to read this mindset-altering book when you have a chance. 
But it’s something she shared on her Instagram @nicolezasowski that recently caught my attention. On October 5, she posted, “… I realized how freeing and joyful it felt to celebrate the pursuit and not simply the product. It is the willingness to do the work and not simply the satisfaction of what is done, that is worthy of celebration.”
Celebrate the pursuit and not simply the product. 
Did that line set off a light bulb in anyone else’s mind?
My first romantic suspense novel titled Take My Hand releases today, and release day brings its share of pressure for the book to do well. But when I read Nicole’s post, I felt a load fall off my shoulders. I can celebrate regardless of what release day brings. My story is worthy of celebration. Period.
As authors, we obviously celebrate the agent signing, the book contract, and release day. But so much happens before, in between, and after those mountain-top moments. Let’s face it. Writing is long, lonely work with only a few moments that seem worthy of celebration.
But what if we shift that paradigm? What if we celebrate the baby steps along the way: the God-given ability to write, the first spark of story inspiration, the daily word count deadline met, the chance to meet with another writer, the opportunity for a critique, the first feedback from a beta reader, the editor’s constructive criticism and praise, the first early review, and so on? 
What if we continue to celebrate after the book releases? We celebrate receiving our author copies, cheer when the virtual launch party goes off without too many technology glitches, and savor the sweetness of hard work coming to fruition.
Celebrate the pursuit and not just the product.
If we just celebrate the product, we would be successes or failures based on sales alone. Now granted, who of us doesn’t want our book to do well? Who doesn’t dream of seeing an Amazon bestseller sticker next to our title or rank on Publisher Weekly’s bestseller list? 
Absolutely celebrate if bestseller status happens to you! But absolutely celebrate if it doesn’t. Both the pursuit and product matter.
What is something you can celebrate in your writing journey right now?
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Kristen Hogrefe Parnell writes suspenseful fiction from a faith perspective for women and young adults. Her own suspense story involved waiting on God into her thirties to meet her husband, and she desires to keep embracing God’s plan for her life when it’s not what she expects. She also teaches English online and is an inspirational speaker for schools, churches, and podcasts. Her young adult dystopian novels, The Revisionary and The Reactionary, both won the Selah for speculative fiction, and her first romantic suspense novel with Mountain Brook Ink releases this December. Kristen lives in the Tampa, Florida area with her husband and their baby boy. Connect with her at KristenHogrefeParnell.com.
Featured Image: Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash