You don’t have to fail to succeed.
However,
when you do fail, it’s not the end of the world. Learn from your mistakes and move
forward.
Part 1
My Story,
as a writer, began with an idea for an Epic story, and it nearly ended because
of an Epic failure.
Several
years ago, I finally got to a place in my life to where I had plenty of free time to sit
down and write a novel. It was a struggle at first, mainly because I heedlessly
jumped into the deep end, and quickly learned that writing a novel was a lot
tougher than I ever imagined.
I spent a
month writing the first paragraph – that’s how ignorant I was.
More than
a few times, I just wanted to give up and toss in the towel, but I powered on
and finished the first draft. The next step, I read the entire novel aloud to
my wife, one chapter every day, correcting errors along the way.
Once that
part was over, I foolishly believed I had a novel that was ready to be
published.
I was
wrong – undeniably wrong.
The
euphoric feeling of finishing a novel is amazing. I had never experienced
anything like it before, and for those who know, it’s a dam good feeling.
I queried
agents – and after I got rejected numerous times, I decided to self-publish and
prove to the publishing world they were wrong.
 |
| This is what Failure looks like. |
Part 2
More Editing?
Why? I corrected all the errors.
No, I
corrected what my eyes and mind wanted me to see.
Ignorance
is Bliss – the Ecstasy that clouds all rational thought.
I got a
nice cover and self-published my first novel, and put it on Amazon for the
entire world to buy and read. I also had 50 copies printed – 25 hardback and
25 paper back. I even set up a book signing at a local library. What I didn’t
do, and to this day I don’t know why; look inside and read my great literary
work of art. No, no, I mindlessly went to the book signing and sold some books.
And then,
. . . it happened.
 |
| Sadly, I have a picture of when it happened. |
A person who bought my book, opened it, silently read a few pages, and then asked, “Who edited this?”
Slowly
and painfully, the euphoria I had felt, immediately turned into absolute embarrassment, as I
opened my book and read the same pages. (I quickly packed up and left)
The next
day, my only thought was about how can I fix it. Sure, just contact Amazon and
have them take it down. Unfortunately, a few books were purchased already. There
was nothing I could do about that; the damage was done. It eventually got pulled down.
The embarrassment
isn’t over yet, . . .
The worse
part, if that’s even possible, I gave a few books to family members and bragged
about my great accomplishment on the family Facebook page. It wasn't a delight experience. I can still hear the unspoken words at every family gathering.
Moving
on, . . .
I could
have given up, after all, my name was ruined, along with my reputation, what
little of it there was. I reckon most would have quit and absorbed the shame for how ever long folks remembered.
But that’s
not me. I had to
fix it! So, I got right back up on the horse and got to work, but this time, I
contacted a friend who knew a thing or two about editing. I rewrote the first
book, and wrote another and another – and a Trilogy was born.
15 years and
six books later, I’m still writing, and working on a seventh book.
 |
| The day my writing career turned for the better |
Nothing is over until you say it’s over. The embarrassment and public humiliation hurt for a time, but for me, it was just another chapter in the story of my life.
I’m not uncomfortable
sharing my failure, because it’s the truth. I made a mistake. It happens and I
moved on. I not a better writer because of what happened, I'm simply smarter about the process.
The best
advice I could ever give to a young writer – find an editor you can trust.
Oh, and
always write like you mean it.
jk
