I’m usually not so picky about my words on social media but I’ve started and erased this statement nearly a dozen times because I found myself being too petty or too whiny or too… just too much. I try to remain upbeat, but not at the risk of being phony. Today, unexpectedly, is kind of a terrible day to live through. It’s probably stupid that I should say “unexpectedly,” but I really thought I was feeling the extent of all the emotions yesterday. I thought I had made peace with where I am in my journey towards publication. That’s just one of the many naive misconceptions that Inkshares has been really good about teaching me through this contest.
I guess maybe it hurts because it’s my first real experience, as a writer, with mass rejection. I know that I should have expected this, and I did, but expecting that knowledge to soften the blow is like telling someone how it feels to get shot in the gut and then being baffled when that doesn’t do anything to help them manage the pain. It’s probably easier than other forms of rejection, because at least here I walk away with almost 300 Facebook followers and a ton of would-be book orders made by people who most certainly did NOT reject me.
So don’t let that dampen my gratitude for you. Don’t let me convince you that I am not going to keep fighting the fight. Just not today. Maybe not this week, actually.
Captain Malcolm Reynolds and Zoe Washburne have a saying. “When you can’t run, you crawl, and when you can’t crawl, you find someone to carry you.”
I’m going to take the weekend to lick my wounds and get back into fighting shape. Beneath all of this, I am excited to return to writing. I have the first half of a new book outlined and I’m in the process of falling in love with their characters, just as I did with Ophelia, her family, and the Impresario. Falling in love is a good feeling, capable of curing a lot of emotional ailments. In the meantime, if you guys want to help keep this ball rolling, here’s the good news:
1) I’m currently in conversation with a more traditional (merit based, not pre-order sales based) publisher who is mulling over my manuscript and making a choice as to whether or not they will take me on. The contract they offer is way better, they are much more in the business of helping new authors launch careers as partners- which is good, because one lesson this contest has bestowed upon me is that I need help now, not just after I cross a 1k pre-order goal. By all indications, they are really genuine people with whom I would be lucky to start working. Wish me luck on that front.
2) We are soft launching my new website (http://rewren.com/). Check things out as they develop!
3) We are still trying to use the Facebook page to centralize efforts with the book, so don’t stop directing people here! Every time the page gets another like, I get a liquid hot injection of the good feels shot straight into my soul and that acts as a natural immunization-boost to chase the away those pesky deep darkies!
4) I love you all and can’t wait to be back in the saddle in a more official capacity. Thank you all for your support and encouragement. As always, you can shoot me anything you have in the way of questions or comments and I will do my best to respond. 😉