I finished writing the first draft of another book this week (Manuscript 5). I didn't expect to, it just flew onto the page and now it has a beginning, a middle, and an end.
I want to make something clear: I don't talk about the "success" of my progress because I want people to praise me. I don't talk about it because I think I deserve other's congratulations.
I talk about it because I never thought that I would get here, and it's worth celebrating.
When I started writing just over three years ago, it was a tendril of an idea, and I wrote it simply because I wanted to see where the story went. I didn't know if I would pursue publishing, I didn't know if I would even finish writing it, but I did. And when I finished that book, I realized that I loved it. That I wanted to pursue writing as a career.
Since then, I've written five books. Five books in three years. And only one is close to being finished, but that's where I'm at as I write this.
Trust me, I'm as shocked as you are.
Part of this is the pandemic. I had the opportunity to be at home much more than I would have been. I was on Employment Insurance while my workplace was closed, which sort of amounted to getting paid to be home doing what I love. I know that many people did not have my experience, and while I'm grateful for the time that I have had, I would never wish for it again because the cost, for many, was too high.
But here's the point of this: it doesn't matter if you've written twenty books or two words. It doesn't matter that I've written these stories in the time that I have. It doesn't even matter that I'm talking about it now.
What does matter is that we don't give up.
Every writer's journey looks different. Some of my favourite authors would probably hate having to conform to my methods, just as theirs wouldn't work for me. But that doesn't mean that either of us are any less of an author.
Especially starting out, it can be hard to keep seeing other's "success stories" about a huge daily word count or finishing another book. In the arts, there seems to be this default setting to compare work and progress. But I have to keep telling myself that we're all working toward the same goal, together.
The thing that I love about the writing community I've met on Instagram is that everyone is so supportive. I love being able to see writers that I connected with getting agents and publishing and accomplishing the dream that we all have.
More than anything, it gives me hope. Because it shows that the industry is still wanting what we're selling.
But that's the thing about writing, no one has heard your version of the story before.
I can't remember where I read it, but I saw an article once on the idea of comparison. It talked about how, when we compare, there is this idea that all the love and praise in the world is finite--it has a limit. Therefore, if Person A is getting praise and attention for something Person B can also do, there is less love in the world for Person B.
When I heard this, my mind was blown. I had always unconsciously thought of love as finite, and it led to a lot of jealousy. But then I realized I understood. I didn't gravitate to one artist and suddenly have less room for any others. (That would be pretty sad if that were the case.)
The same goes for our books. Just because I love V.E. Schwab doesn't mean that I don't like other authors. And our readers will feel the same way.
So why wouldn't we support each other?
Some of my CPs are in the middle of their first book, some just started querying, others have been writing for years but are yet to feel ready to query.
And all of this is OKAY.
In fact, it's pretty great. Because even in the midst of that we're all there together.
Please keep writing your stories. Don't try to push yourself harder than necessary.
Don't push yourself to conform to the idea that you have to be "successful" by the time you're thirty (I tell myself as I look in the mirror).
Where your writing is at right now is where it's supposed to be.
I know that we hear that message a lot, and it can become redundant, but that doesn't make it any less true. You know yourself and your process better than anyone else ever could. So, keep putting those words on the page and revising and dreaming because we're all in this together. And, personally, I'm really looking forward to seeing what you can come up with.
Happy writing,
Erin
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