Catching Idle Butterflies

A little vent

I received an email from my dad asking if I have received any feedback from my NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) novel and if the article I submitted to "AUGIWorld" (a magazine dedicated to AutoCAD).

His questions irritated me enough that I wished I had never told anyone that I’m writing and trying to publish. I’m tired of having to explain over and over again publication takes time – a lot of time – and there’s never any guarantee I will eventually publish.

At the end of November, I was interviewed by a local AP reporter about my experience with NaNo. Well my proud hubby emailed his entire family that article. Soon I was inundated with congratulations and “When will I be getting a copy?” That’s another thing I’m constantly having to explain. All I did was write 50,000 words in 30 days. That simply means my fingers had enough energy and dexterity to write that much. Heck, I could have written “All work and no play makes Andra a dull girl.” 5,000 times and I still would have won. Plus, there’s no feedback to be had on this book. No one has read it, because it’s not even finished yet. Plus no one ever reads my first drafts. I love them too much to put them through such torture.

Okay, enough of venting my frustration.

I count myself very blessed that I do have to explain what it takes to publish what I write. It means I have family and loved ones actively interested in my successes. It’s their unceasing questions that keep me motivated to continue to pursue publication in spite of the thickening pile of rejection letters. I don’t want to disappoint them.

Plus, I know so many other people who don’t have that kind of support. In fact, they have family and friends who would rather they fail and ultimately give up on their dream of being published, and are more than happy to voice those opinions at every given (or ungiven) opportunity.

It’s those who keep pushing in spite of being surrounded by discouragement that I truly admire and pray they meet with nothing but success.