I’m plowing my way through 7 Habits (slow going), and got to thinking about the instant-fix mentality versus non-instant growth in the world of writing. I have seen this in action, writers who look for the instant secret to success. Unfortunately, they never find it because the path to success is different for everybody. I have never heard two writer success stories that were alike, although all success stories have certain common features.
I saw this first shortly after I made my first professional sale. Another writer asked me, “how did you break in to that market? I’ve been trying to break in there for years.” I kind of stared blankly back and said, “I wrote for their writer’s guidelines and I followed them.”
The other writer probably thought I was holding out on him, but that was what I did to “break in”. (That term always amuses me, as if you sell by carrying out an assault on the publisher’s building.)
Of course the longer answer is, before I sent anything out for sale I first learned to write. I have spent approximately 10 years learning to write and approximately another 10 years learning to write fiction. Story is an art form on top of an art form, and you have to learn both. There is no quick way to do this.
I think technology has fooled us into thinking that instant answers and instant rewards are actually possible and we’ve become very impatient as a result.
Mastery in any pursuit is a matter of time and patience and persistance. Whatever you want to do, nothing comes with a package of Instant Guaranteed Success. And I think that’s one of those universal laws designed to teach us that life is a journey, not an arrival. If it was all about the arrival, satisfaction would be very short-lived.
I haven’t by any means “arrived” at the pinnacle of success. But I am successful for where I am. If all I had to do was open a packet of Instant Success, the day when I win a significant award or hit some other major career landmark wouldn’t mean nearly as much to me as knowing that whatever I’ve achieved, I’ve earned. And I’ve grown into it.
The ability to write and complete a novel, not just once but repeatedly, that’s an achievement. Selling a novel not once but three times, that’s another major achievement. It took me about 20 years of work to reach this level of achievement, where I seemingly come out of nowhere with three book contracts and an anthology.
It means so much more to me because these landmarks are part of my journey. My satisfaction comes not just from outside validation, but from inside, seeing how much better I’ve gotten at my chosen profession. The process of becoming a better writer is the process of becoming a better person. Writing demands strength and honesty and persistance. I am a far better person for developing the qualities that make me a good writer, and being a better person enriches my life a lot more than a book contract. Although royalties are cool.
There’s no shortcut, there’s just the road in front of you. And lots to write about on the way.
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