Staying Positive!

Positive is good!  Positive is healthy!  I am staying so positive that I added an exclamation mark in my title! 

In all seriousness though, amidst all the work and time and stress and energy that goes into trying to get a publishing venue up and going, I have made staying optimistic a priority.  It really needs to be.  You’ve got to really, really, and I mean really love what you are doing if you want to make self-publishing work.  You might even have to be a little delusional, too.  But then, that sort of comes with the whole writer territory thing.  We do run around with about ten different plot lines in our heads on a daily basis. 

Last night, I was feeling a little discouraged.  I don’t know why.  Maybe it’s because I’ve been working at this for so long (I’ve been working on this one particular manuscript for over a year now; the story has been in my head for at least three years) and I’m really, really ready to see results.  I’ll be the first to admit that I am not a patient person.  I don’t like waiting for anything.  Unfortunately, this job requires a lot of patience, a lot of perseverance, and a lot of willingness to sit and work and work and work without a lot of tangible or visible progress (for the moment).  I have finally reached the point where I’m going to begin formatting my manuscript for publication, but there’s still so much more to do.  When you’ve worked at something for so long, it is really easy to get discouraged, to start to wonder if it’s all worth it, and to start feeling sorry for yourself.  That’s an especially big one for me, because I feel sorry for myself a lot.  Self-Pity Party of One, right here.  

The thing I need to remember is that nothing worth doing is ever easy.  (I’m sure I’ve written that on here before).  Everything takes time.  I want this book to be the best it can be.  I want it to be big house publishing quality.  That means I’ve got to make the effort.  I also need to remember that it’s either make the effort and take the time, or don’t publish at all.  That’s not an option for me, so the only thing to do is to suck it up, accept that it’s going to take time, and keep going.  

It’s pretty easy (and often tempting) to think about giving up.  But whenever I do, I know in the back of my mind that I will keep writing, no matter what.  It’s what I enjoy.  It’s what I do.  I’ve written for fun my entire life.  Last night, I was working on the sequel to my manuscript, and I realized I am about a page away from writing a scene that I’ve had in my head for almost two years now.  I love this scene and I’ve really been looking forward to writing it.  Heck, I’ve been looking forward to writing the whole book!  

Well, that’s about it on the publishing front for now.  In other news, my sister and I are going to go see Star Trek later.  I have actually never seen any of the Star Trek franchise.  All I know is that Sheldon Cooper loves Spock and that Benedict Cumberbatch is the villain (mmm… gotta love a bad boy!).  My sister really enjoyed the first one though, so I’m looking forward to it!  I also bought two new books today; Divergent by Veronica Roth and Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.  I’ve heard really good things about both series and I’ve been wanting to read them both for a while now.  Hopefully I’ll have time this weekend!