How To Lose
Before I go a step further in today's "reflection" post, let me make one thing perfectly, 100% clear:
Yep. I'm one of those….
I'll admit it….
I mean, who doesn't, really?
This past week I had some time to read a bunch of posts people sent me, comparing "succeeding in the publishing world" to "March Madness." The general concept was that no matter how good the good teams are there is always room for Cinderella to crash the ball with her glass slipper and piss all the other girls off.
I am fairly certain that all half dozen of the people who sent me the link to the same post were implying that we (that is to say I) as the "indie author" would be the Cinderella and should keep on plugging.
Because OMGeeee
Unless there are zombies involved. Then it is definitely a sprint.
I get this of course. We all do.
sigh.
But still…you know sometimes? It would be awesomely cool to get rewarded for all the moon-shooting, star landing and….marathoning.
But, as the Sweet 16 in this year's NCAA men's basketball tournament proved, if nothing else, sometimes you will lose.Be it a crucial game...
Or your mind as you try to navigate the roiling waters of "making a living as an author…"
I'm not here being a negative Nancy (I hear you thinking that, so just stop). I am merely taking a moment to acknowledge that losing sucks. Pretending that it makes you stronger, at that moment, is a waste of your energy. Own the loss. Make it yours. When the looooooong email comes from your editor saying, in essence, "you have, like three sentences in this worth saving, now go and re-write it again" you should take a moment to get pissed, defensive, and scream at the computer screen. But once that moment is over…it is over. Time to get to work, damn it. Stop your sniveling.
Go and shoot some free throws because you love the game. Go and write something else for a day, then come back to the email because you love that game.
This is not to claim that you won't be unhappy, nay--furious--when you see that the biggest douche nozzle in three states has just landed a nine and a half figure book deal based off a series of serialized snippets on his blog "WhyI'mAwesome.com." If he can do it, you can.As one of the author/bloggers I love to hate Chuck Wendig said just today:Writers Write. Get the f%$# off the internet and stop whining. Go write"(well, that is how I interpreted what he said, anyways.)
And as another blogger/inspiration Kirsten Lamb said recently: "I was white-knuckled-terrified of failure, of not knowing ALL the answers or being *gasp* WRONG. Every quiet moment was a montage in my mind of how I sucked, how I’d screwed up, how I should’ve could’ve would’ve…."
So which is it? Getting a grip on your inner perfectionist and hog-tying that bitch until she screams for mercy? (no, that is not your next plot bunny, stay with me here).
Marathoning it day in and day out, blinkers on, blind to the successes of the random assholes, douchenozzles and Squee sisters?
Being the constant, consummate social networker, lifting everyone else up while humble-bragging about hitting your "likes" goal?
I guess, after the crushing, gut-wrenching basketball loss my team experienced on Friday night and spending the entire next day pouting (and recovering from a pretty nasty hangover) I can safely say that I'm guessing the players on the Louisville Cardinals team (National Champions 2013) are back on the floor or in the weight room because, you know, they love the game.
…and there is always next year.
Hang in soul mates. I hate marathons myself. But sometimes you gotta train like you're in one….because damn, I hate losing!
And now: promo time!If you are a blogger/reviewer/author with a great blog and want to earn some prizes (as opposed to all the "commenters" earning them) I am hosting a new-fangled sort of BOOK BLAST for the re-release of my novel ESSENCE OF TIME in May.That's right. It's a #hashtag party!$50-100 of Amazon bucks are up for grabs!Please contact Stephanie@tridestinypublishing ASAP to get in on this unique opportunity. The Essence of Time book blast runs May 12-14, 2014.
Yep. I'm one of those….
I'll admit it….
I mean, who doesn't, really?
This past week I had some time to read a bunch of posts people sent me, comparing "succeeding in the publishing world" to "March Madness." The general concept was that no matter how good the good teams are there is always room for Cinderella to crash the ball with her glass slipper and piss all the other girls off.
I am fairly certain that all half dozen of the people who sent me the link to the same post were implying that we (that is to say I) as the "indie author" would be the Cinderella and should keep on plugging.Because OMGeeee
Unless there are zombies involved. Then it is definitely a sprint.I get this of course. We all do.
sigh.
But still…you know sometimes? It would be awesomely cool to get rewarded for all the moon-shooting, star landing and….marathoning.
But, as the Sweet 16 in this year's NCAA men's basketball tournament proved, if nothing else, sometimes you will lose.Be it a crucial game...
Or your mind as you try to navigate the roiling waters of "making a living as an author…" I'm not here being a negative Nancy (I hear you thinking that, so just stop). I am merely taking a moment to acknowledge that losing sucks. Pretending that it makes you stronger, at that moment, is a waste of your energy. Own the loss. Make it yours. When the looooooong email comes from your editor saying, in essence, "you have, like three sentences in this worth saving, now go and re-write it again" you should take a moment to get pissed, defensive, and scream at the computer screen. But once that moment is over…it is over. Time to get to work, damn it. Stop your sniveling.
Go and shoot some free throws because you love the game. Go and write something else for a day, then come back to the email because you love that game.This is not to claim that you won't be unhappy, nay--furious--when you see that the biggest douche nozzle in three states has just landed a nine and a half figure book deal based off a series of serialized snippets on his blog "WhyI'mAwesome.com." If he can do it, you can.As one of the author/bloggers I love to hate Chuck Wendig said just today:Writers Write. Get the f%$# off the internet and stop whining. Go write"(well, that is how I interpreted what he said, anyways.)
And as another blogger/inspiration Kirsten Lamb said recently: "I was white-knuckled-terrified of failure, of not knowing ALL the answers or being *gasp* WRONG. Every quiet moment was a montage in my mind of how I sucked, how I’d screwed up, how I should’ve could’ve would’ve…."
So which is it? Getting a grip on your inner perfectionist and hog-tying that bitch until she screams for mercy? (no, that is not your next plot bunny, stay with me here).
Marathoning it day in and day out, blinkers on, blind to the successes of the random assholes, douchenozzles and Squee sisters?
Being the constant, consummate social networker, lifting everyone else up while humble-bragging about hitting your "likes" goal?
I guess, after the crushing, gut-wrenching basketball loss my team experienced on Friday night and spending the entire next day pouting (and recovering from a pretty nasty hangover) I can safely say that I'm guessing the players on the Louisville Cardinals team (National Champions 2013) are back on the floor or in the weight room because, you know, they love the game.
…and there is always next year.
Hang in soul mates. I hate marathons myself. But sometimes you gotta train like you're in one….because damn, I hate losing!
And now: promo time!If you are a blogger/reviewer/author with a great blog and want to earn some prizes (as opposed to all the "commenters" earning them) I am hosting a new-fangled sort of BOOK BLAST for the re-release of my novel ESSENCE OF TIME in May.That's right. It's a #hashtag party!$50-100 of Amazon bucks are up for grabs!Please contact Stephanie@tridestinypublishing ASAP to get in on this unique opportunity. The Essence of Time book blast runs May 12-14, 2014.
No comments have been added yet.
