Self-publishing…
This week I’d like to start out by giving a little shout out to my friends, Gayle and Jeff Farmer, who are the proud parents of Omega Publications (which can be found at www.omegapublications.net). Omega is a small independent publishing house. They specialize in providing authors with just about any service they need to publish and promote their book, including creating book trailers. There is a lovely book trailer on the website that Jeff created for a short story collection that Omega published last year titled ‘Mosaic’. Several of my friends are featured in the short story collection—Dawn Boeder Johnson is one of them. So check out the trailer and the book. Some truly gifted authors have contributed to it. Omega recently sponsored a novel writing contest and I believe they will be announcing the winner soon and will be publishing the winning novel—more on that later.
Self-doubt…
I’ve been googling (funny how that word has quickly become an accepted verb) like crazy preparing for my upcoming editor’s meeting at the RWA conference at the end of July. I’ve found several interviews that Ms. Fildew has participated in on-line and I’m learning more about Harlequin Mills & Boon Ltd. At first I was feeling pretty confident. But then that ugly ol’ creature, self-doubt tapped me on the shoulder and began whispering in my ear—“Are you sure Ms. Fildew is looking for full-length Regency novels? Perhaps you’ve misunderstood and all she’s interested in is serial romance. And why should she remember you over anyone else she interviews at the conference.” Dread started to curl its icy tendrils around my gut. What if my work isn’t what she’s looking for? What if I was forgettable?
Self-doubt is a writer’s worst enemy. Every one of us has suffered from it at one time or another and there is no cure and no way to stop it from worming its way into our brain and causing us to question ourselves. Finding a way to deal with it isn’t easy either and quite frankly I don’t have any magic words to share to do that. But I do have some thoughts about this unwelcome specter. First of all, you, me and anyone who has ever created anything has suffered from self-doubt. There is no avoiding it. Second, what is it that brings on this self-doubt? Usually it is our fear of people’s opinions of what we’ve created. The key here is that it is their opinion. Art, in any form, is subjective. For instance, some people really like abstract art. Frankly, while I appreciate an artist’s talent in creating it, I’m not a big fan of abstract art. I can say the same thing for rap music, chainsaw/massacre movies and books. Just not a fan of those genres, but I have an appreciation and respect for those who create them when they are done well. One way to counter self-doubt is to learn your craft well and present the very best of what you have inside you. Unfortunately, you will have to hear some harsh words and face some equally as harsh realities about yourself in order to learn and that can be unpleasant at best, gut-wrenching at worst. But I think if you are open-minded and listen and learn from those who’ve gone before you, your writing will improve and self-doubt will be a less frequent visitor. I look at it this way, when I had my first child I got lots and lots (and lots) of unsolicited advice from parents and non-parents alike. At first I thought I had to do everything everyone told me. Even things I wasn’t comfortable with. My mother, the wise woman that she is, but her hand on my shoulder and said, “Listen to the advice that people give and then sort through it all and do what feels right to you.” I’ve kept those words close to my heart my whole life. I recently realized they apply to my writing as well. While I am always open to advice and want to learn all I can about the craft of writing, I’ll listen to what others have to say and sort out what feels like the right thing to me.
As for Ms. Fildew remembering me, I’m working on an idea for that as well and will share that with you next time.
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