Over the last week, I spent some time reorganizing my website and clearing out old, unnecessary content. I have some blog posts that date all the way back to 2008 that don’t (and probably won’t) get looked at anymore, so it was time to retire some of them to keep things fresh. I skimmed through a lot of them to decide yay or nay and it was more fun and informative than I would have imagined to see how much my writing and my views on writing have changed over the years.
When I set out to complete my first novel five years ago (right around the time I started blogging), I had no idea how far it would go. I just loved it. I still do. I still can’t live a single day without writing at the forefront of my life. Since then, I’ve had time to grow as a person and a writer, enriching my life experience with two amazing daughters, and improving my writing craft with classes and books and practice. And now finally, ready or not (but hopefully ready), I submitted my partial manuscript to The Sandy contest where, if I final, my work will be read by an editor for an imprint of Simon and Schuster.
I’m about 10% nervous and 90% excited. Maybe I should be more nervous but it’s such an incredible opportunity and I’m thrilled to be a part of it. I feel like just the act of putting myself out there and taking the next step in my career is already a win. It amazes me how such a seemingly small feat has changed my outlook on who I am as a writer. It’s impossible to know how far away a publishing career is at this point, but I have taken the first step into the life of a professional and the possibilities are exhilarating.
As the daughter of an entrepreneur, I have been told to “act as if” more times than I can count. So that’s what I’m doing. I’m writing, scheduling my days, putting my work out there, and presenting myself as if I have a positive answer to that inevitable question, “do you have anything published?” Because I feel (and hope!) it is just beyond the horizon.
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The reformatting of my website means there is now a stronger division between content geared toward writers and that geared toward readers. If you would like to follow my news, journals (such as these), and stories available online, please subscribe via email in the sidebar to the right. If you are interested in articles pertaining to writing and publishing, please visit the updated page For Writers and subscribe via RSS. As always, I really do appreciate your support more than I can say.
I have seen your posts for years and I have always loved your work. You certainly are growing and its a beautiful thing to see. I am thinking good thoughts about your publishing career!!!
Thank you so much! It means to world to me to have you in my corner. 🙂