I've never seriously considered publishing before, so pretty much everything I've learned here since I joined is new to me. (I'm so glad that this place exists, though - it's an incredible resource, and worries aside I'm enjoying learning everything I can about the publishing industry.) While a lot of what I'm learning is making me feel I can do this if I work hard at it, there's one thing that's getting me down - the fact that most novelists don't succeed with their first manuscript.
I could go into detail about how I love the story I'm writing with all my heart... but I'm pretty sure I don't need to explain any of that here. You guys get it. And I'm hoping you'll get this particular insecurity too, so I can at least be overwhelmed in nice company.
It doesn't bother me to think I might end up writing several novels before one gets published. I think I need that experience to write something truly exceptional. The problem is that I don't feel like I have several novels in me right now, just the one, and I can't stand the thought of this one being a stepping stone for a better work later. If I, as a writer, am not good enough to get published, I can live with that, but the thought of this novel suffering from my lack of experience while another future novel might succeed is unbearable.
I could put the idea on hold and write something else, but again, it's this novel that wants to be written right now! So it feels like my options are to give up on it being published and get what I can out of it, or just give up entirely.
I know this is ridiculous. I am fully aware that I'm being ridiculous. Other ideas will come, and whether I write them first, or write This One first and set it aside for a few years, the world isn't going to end. I think.
But I could really use a little encouragement right now, all the same.
I could go into detail about how I love the story I'm writing with all my heart... but I'm pretty sure I don't need to explain any of that here. You guys get it. And I'm hoping you'll get this particular insecurity too, so I can at least be overwhelmed in nice company.
It doesn't bother me to think I might end up writing several novels before one gets published. I think I need that experience to write something truly exceptional. The problem is that I don't feel like I have several novels in me right now, just the one, and I can't stand the thought of this one being a stepping stone for a better work later. If I, as a writer, am not good enough to get published, I can live with that, but the thought of this novel suffering from my lack of experience while another future novel might succeed is unbearable.
I could put the idea on hold and write something else, but again, it's this novel that wants to be written right now! So it feels like my options are to give up on it being published and get what I can out of it, or just give up entirely.
I know this is ridiculous. I am fully aware that I'm being ridiculous. Other ideas will come, and whether I write them first, or write This One first and set it aside for a few years, the world isn't going to end. I think.
But I could really use a little encouragement right now, all the same.