Cold realities

Year 6 -- Week 29 -- December 15, 2003


My novel is prepared to weather the cold realities of the market place.

December 15, 2003

It's time for my novel to leave the nest to find its way in the world. Yes, it's my baby, and it seems just like yesterday that it was simply the kernel of an idea in my head, but that was six years ago. And now look at it -- over 100,000 words chock full of characters and challenges.

But if I spend just a little more time, I'm sure it could be better. The problem is, I could rewrite forever, and part of me wants to do just that to avoid facing the inevitable rejection that comes with the process of publication.

Rejection isn't personal and it's subjective, but knowing this doesn't make it any easier to swallow. But this week I will send the novel out, and while I wait for a response, I will continue to write.

Wayne Gretzky claims that he is most grateful for the gift of loving to practice. Yes, he was graced with talent, but it was the hours of practicing that truly made the difference. If he hadn't loved being on a rink every day, his talent would never have blossomed.

I've always known that my gift was the ability to focus and work hard, to recognize what I didn't know and then learn it. It is the journey, not the result that turns me on. What I might lack in pure literary talent, I surely make up for in hustle. I learn, I adapt, I improve, and most important, I don't give up.

And so as 'The Sound of Money' wanders through the cold corridors of the publishing industry, I will keep working. I've got more short stories to write, several ideas for novels to mull, and of course the songs, lots of them, just waiting to be written.

All I need is one person to see the potential, and then look out…

Until then, it is my duty not to give up on myself. And so as 2003 comes to a close, I look ahead knowing that my best work is still to come….

Thanks for reading. See you in 2004.