I’m waiting to hear about a novel I submitted. I’m also working on the sequel and a couple of non-fiction projects. Getting the book accepted will be exciting. I’ve been wanting to work with this publisher for a while and good things will come out of them accepting the series. But there is danger in the book being accepted.
The book being accepted is going to be a big step for me. This is true. But I can’t stop growing as a writer just because the publisher likes the book. It would be easy. Acceptance means they think my work is “good enough” to publish. But is “good enough” really good enough?
Most people I’ve met know ‘that guy’, the one who achieved a goal (won a championship, served a mission for his/her church, got married, graduated college, etc.), and then just sort of gave up. We can’t do that. Not as people or as writers. As people, the moment we stop growing is the moment we start dying. As writers, if we don’t keep learning and improving, our audience will tire of reading the same old stuff and move on to someone or something else.
I’m really looking forward to hearing my book is accepted, but I can’t let acceptance stop me from making the next one better. Everything we try, whether we succeed or fail, provides us with lessons we can learn (if we pay attention to them).
No one on this earth is truly perfect. That means we all always have the potential to be and do better. Sometimes we have to struggle to find that potential, but it’s there.
The moment we stop growing, we start dying. If we think we’ve done the best we can (especially if we think our work is perfect) we need to search for what we can do to improve (or we need to set it down and come back when we’re smarter…).
It’s a choice we have to make dear reader: keep growing and learning, or be the person sitting around talking about what used to be. I intend to be the guy talking about what I’m doing next!
I wish you success dear reader. I don’t want you to stop at “good enough”. As usual, I’ll see you next post.
Forever Mountain Publishing 