So after all this talk of wanting to be a writer – like a real published author – I figured I should start doing things that will lead to publishing.
1) I’m proud to announce (and I really am) that I received my first rejection letter. Actually it was more like a courtesy letter letting everyone who didn’t get selected that they been in touch with the winners. Needless to say I have not been contacted. This is a good thing! Every writer gets rejected (and a lot, unless your someone like Steven King who also has had his fair share of rejection). It means you are putting yourself out there. Your work will never be published if you don’t try. So yeah, yay me. 😀
2) I’m attending my first writers conference in two weeks and getting the first 10 pgs of one of my WIPs critiqued. I’ve been routinely going through a variety of emotions on this one from excitement at a new adventure, to panic – I decided to completely rewrite a section of my “completed” (or not so compleled now) novel. I have less than two weeks to finish this baby and I have a lot going on… Anyway I work good under deadlines. I’m sure I’ll get it done. I hope. Another emotion is fear. Fear I’m not good enough to be there and just the plain old regular fear of not knowing a single person there. If you happen to be going to the Southern California Writers Conference in Irvine Sept 25-27 hit me up. We can say we know each other!
It’s funny I’ve always wanted to be a writer but for many years it fell off my radar… Then one night in a bar – I was out for my friends bachelorette party – a guy randomly asked me what I wanted to be. Without thinking I replied “A writer.” And it felt good. It felt right. And I’m trying to make it so.
Catherine Callicott 