Friday, August 30, 2013

You're a Writer - Get Ready to Have Your Feelings Hurt

Every writer, at one point or another, looks at their manuscript and at one point, thinks of it as his/her baby. It's a fact. Then he/she releases it to his/her loving team of editors and beta readers. Their jobs are to critique you and sometimes it hurts.

For instance: With the Owens Legacy - I had this one scene, that I lovingly crafted, that was an intricate part of Victor's and Piper's relationship. You know what my editor did to that scene? She cut it. It was a waste in her opinion and didn't help the plot move forward in anyway. OUCH! I think I still have the scar from this.

My friend Erica and I both have worked on sequels. It's funny because we both have the same fear, what if my sequel sucks. But E and I are good writers. Where did this fear come from? The judgement factor! Someone might not like it, or think its as good as the first, or we might get a bad review on goodreads- that's where it comes from. However, you cannot please everyone and not everyone is going to like your book - this is the reasonable response. (See first line of this post). Yeah - but it's my baby and it's personal.

So how do I cope - I tell myself what I tell my students.

Put on your big kid pants and move on. 

Ways I move on from my hurt feelings is -

  1. I write something. 
  2. I have a dance party - typically to Katy Perry or Pink 
  3. I think about why I want to be a famous author 
  4. I talk to K (http://www.komalkant.com) and E (http://ericacope.blogspot.com)
What are some ways you move on from hurt feelings? 


PS - I'm getting married tomorrow :)