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The Spiritual Side of Writing
by Joyce Lavene

"Susan"

Last month I wrote a column that included a little about a friend of mine who had been trying to get a novel published for fifteen years. I thought it was inspiring. My friend didn’t agree.

She sees herself as a loser. Despite the fact that she has a book coming out in 2003, she doesn’t see this as a victory. It took too long, she says. “If I were a better writer, it would have happened sooner for me. Those editors didn’t see anything worth publishing. I don’t blame them. I have to keep working, keep getting better.”

While I applaud her sentiment on working to be a better writer, I hate her logic. In today’s crowded market, it doesn’t always have anything to do with how good your work is. It has more to do with hitting the right editor on the right day with the right piece of work.

Susan is a very good writer. Like so many people, she has to work a  full time job and balance time with her family against time with her passion for writing. She has money constraints as well. She can’t afford a  publicist or pay to have her work professionally edited. She’s done everything on  her own through sheer persistence.

And she’s accomplished her goal! She had her much worked over, much  mailed manuscript accepted by a publishing house. She deserves a pat on the back and she deserves to give herself a break.

But for some people, (you know who you are) it’s never enough. We’re  never quite good enough. Or smart enough. Or talented enough. We don’t sing  out loud over the small victories. We hide our rejected books in the darkest closet corner because they aren’t worth revising. We somehow think that  the editors at New York publishing houses are able to see our flaws. Like Superman with x-ray vision, they can ferret out exceptional talent from  the bare talent hacks.

I’m glad to say that it’s not true. Editors are flawed little humans like the rest of us. They have deadlines and nervous stomachs. They’re underpaid and overworked. Most of the time, they have a tough job finding  something legible that isn’t written in blue crayon in the slush pile.

But they got lucky with my friend, Susan. Her work shines with promise.  I gave my word that I wouldn’t use her real name here. I don’t know why since you’ll all have the pleasure of reading the work she cried over for a very long time. Some people have a hard time taking pride in their accomplishments.

Congratulations, Susan, and everyone else who is looking forward to (or dreading) having their first work published! Have a party! You did it!

SHARE YOUR IDEAS WITH ME ON THIS AND UPCOMING COLUMNS! joyce@joyceandjimlavene.com

Joyce Lavene writes a little bit of everything with her husband/partner, Jim. They live in North Carolina with their three grown children and two grandchildren. She welcomes visitors to her websites:

http://www.joyceandjimlavene.com
http://www.sharynhowardmysteries.com