Being a novelist is a long haul - a marathon - a day-after-day commitment.
The other day I stumbled on one of my journal entries from 25 years ago that broke my heart for the younger version of myself. And left me in awe for my present day self.
It said: "It's really hard to do this. I don't know why I ever thought I wanted to write fiction. I have nothing to say. No stories to tell, only thoughts that run in my head, figurings of the ways things work, permutations of energy dancing, undulating through [the] space/time continuum."
Even though I was at the start of my fiction writing career then, one thing has remained. I was committed and I'm committed now. I didn't give up.
I stuck with the gnarly process of learning to write, edit, publish, and market fiction.
Whew.
Yes, it's a lot.
And I did it - do it - because it's a lifelong dream that I've learned to make manifest.
But I didn't do it alone.
I only succeeded because I was always in some kind of group, often different kinds of groups.
It takes a village to grow a successful career novelist.
When I was only a few years into my commitment of being a career novelist, I joined a career-oriented group and that helped so much put my path in perspective.
One of the authors stood up at the meeting and announced that she finally got a traditional publishing contract after 10+ years of trying and self-publishing.
She said, "I'm an overnight success. It only took 10+ years!"
The room applauded her - hard.
I felt her emotion of pride and the pain of the slog and more pride at sticking with it.
It confirmed what I'd already been feeling and noticing in the room - success is a long haul - and a day-by-day activity.
She only got there because she kept showing up for herself and her stories and her dreams.
For all these reasons, I started our group mastermind program 10 years ago.
You can check it out here:
12-month Group Mastermind for Science Fiction and Fantasy writers.
If this is what you've been looking for, know that I have 4 more spots in the group.
And one of these spots may be for you!
Since you're on my Creativity Sparks list, I'm announcing to you now the special early bird bonuses. Check them out here.
❤️
If you'd like to chat with me about joining us, hit reply and say, "Yes!" and we'll find a time to talk soon.
More about the program next week.
The Early Bird Enrollment Bonuses - really good stuff - go away after Dec. 15th. (I'll share more about those later too.)
