What’s In Being A Contracted Author?
Fear.
Yep, I said that.
Getting a publishing contract is everything you’ve wanted, everything you’ve worked your ass off for, and when you sign on the dotted line, everything you’re afraid of.
It’s a truth I think a lot of authors keep under wraps because some days when you sit staring at your story, the one that has a deadline attached to it now, the one that needs to be as close to perfect as you can make it—some days, it can feel like you’ve signed yourself up to fail. The days when nothing makes sense and you wonder who in their right mind, including yourself, ever thought your story could actually sell. The days when fear seeps in and hangs on.
From the legalese of contracts, to the swell of accomplishment in your chest that is almost immediately replaced by the tightening of panic, to the real edits and real deadlines, being a contracted, and soon to be published, author is both thrilling and terrifying.
But, in those split seconds when rays of light shine through the blinds in your mind, it is incredibly gratifying. The times when, for once, there are no blue, red, or green edits marking up your pages and your comments come back with “Great!” instead of “Huh?” or “Powerful.” instead of “Make it clearer.” Those are the days when every drop of doubt and ounce of fear is worth it. The days when you’re proud as hell. Maybe they’re far and few between, but those rays of light keep the writing fire burning bright and remind you that you should feel proud, maybe even excited–even if only for a second. 😉
This entry was posted on December 4, 2012 by Laney. It was filed under Author, Editing To Deadlines, Inspiration, Novel Writing, Publishing, Thoughts, Writing and was tagged with Advice on writing a novel, Arts, Author, Contract, editing, Editing and Proofreading, Facebook, Fiction, goal accomplishment, Inspiration, laney mcmann, novel creation, published author, Publishing, Publishing contract, Publishing contracts, Technology, Writers Resources, ya fantasy author, YA Fiction, YA paranormal romance author.
First of all I want to say fantastic blog! I had a quick question which I’d like to
ask if you don’t mind. I was curious to find out how you center yourself
and clear your thoughts prior to writing. I’ve had
a tough time clearing my thoughts in getting my thoughts out there.
I do enjoy writing but it just seems like the
first 10 to 15 minutes are usually lost simply just trying to figure out how
to begin. Any suggestions or tips? Cheers!
September 6, 2014 at 12:47 am