For Amber...

10:03 AM Elizabeth Seckman 18 Comments

Fellow blogger Amber, at Unyielding, had a wonderful post about the true inspiration behind being a writer. The day I read it, I had received a rejection on a new piece of work that I had quite a bit of hope in. The rejection came with the frustrating simplicity of, "The time period is not one I have much luck with."

It took me months to write that book. And it was rejected for the TIME PERIOD?!

Sure let me get right on changing that....NOT.

So, yes, I was in a bad place. Then I read Amber's post and it was a gentle reminder that I had my row of ducks walking backward. I write because I love to write and I would do it for free. I am doing it for free right here. But we sometimes forget and become obsessed with selling. We become desperate mail junkies checking in boxes like we're looking for crack and we get our high when it's there only to crash when it says, "sorry writer, this isn't right for my line".

It reminds me of watching Matt Damon and Ben Affleck on the Oprah show. They had written a little screen play which wasn't getting too much love in the literary world, then boom...here comes the Oscar winning "Good Will Hunting". She asked if they knew when they wrote it that they were creating a block buster. I think it was Ben who said, they just wrote what they knew, about people they knew, and they were so hungry to sell they would have taken a cheeseburger for it. They wrote out of passion. They wrote to tell a story.

So, here's the way I see it. Insecurity goes hand in hand with writing, maybe we're a sensitive lot; maybe it's the abuse we take with the abundance of no and harsh critiques...whatever it is, I have found most of us are just a wee bit obsessive about what will make us 'for real' writers. At what point are we validated and worthy. Is it a royalty check, an advance, adoring readers?

Well, maybe it's none of those things.

And that's why Amber's post spoke volumes to me. We have to remember the reason we write, and for most of us, it's not for the money.

That said, I hate to admit this, but the little voice of insecurity doesn't seem to go away, even after the contract is signed.It's just a new bag of insecurities...will it sell, will they start to edit and decide they made a mistake...things like that.

But when we remember WHY we are writing, and for most of us money has nothing to do with it...then I say write and publish wherever and whenever you can...small press, shorts, articles, blog posts...whatever conduit of expression you can find, use. And enjoy.

If we only focus on the top ten list as the measure of success, we'll be in trouble. Few make it there. We have to live the day, accept the success we have for that day and remember, it's not about the money.

And if it is...every time you send a query, buy a lottery ticket so you can double your chances of hitting that pot of gold.