FACE YOUR FEARS

I'm cross posting this from my personal blog. Enjoy.

My post today is Face Your Fears.

 

 

The idea came to me last month when I had a table at the local library's annual Craft Show.

My table where I hoped to sell some books was on the second floor. The library is a beautiful building that once was home to one of the early settlers of the town. When he passed on, he left the home to the city with the stipulation that they make it a library. They did and it is quite fascinating.

 

Anyhow, back to my story. To reach the second floor I either had to climb the curved narrow stairs or ride the elevator. I hate small places like elevators, closets, and submarines, (that's another story) so I opted to use the stairs. That was okay, but then I decided I was silly to be afraid of an elevator, especially with all the books I had to take upstairs. So I swallowed a huge breath of air and stepped into the elevator with my books. I got to the top without fainting.

 

This reminded me of writing. Do you have fears when writing a story, whether a new one or one you've been working on for years?

 

Do you have fears when you send your baby off, to an agent or publisher? The baby you've pampered and loved for months, even years? Will they love it? Will they hate it? 

 

Do you have fears when they send you a contract to publish your book? What if no one reads it? What if they hate it? What if they give you horrible reviews?

 

Do you have fears when your precious story is published? Will it be ranked number ten jillion on Amazon?

 

Stop. Think. You wrote a story. How many people are always "going to" write a story, but never do. You sent your story off. Some people write, but stash their work in a box and never send it anywhere. You got a contract. Yay. You wouldn't have if you'd kept your story to yourself. And don't worry about your rankings. You've accomplished your goal. Many people never do.

So smile, say "I did it," and enjoy knowing that you faced your fears and overcame them. 

 

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Happy Reading and Writing.