How To Stay The Course As a Creative
Pursuing a life of art can have some incredible highs, and some crushing lows. Never mind the self-critiques and desert moments. They are nothing to the barrage of naysayers who think you should, yes, get a job. I remember when I was 12-years old and was sure I wanted to be a writer. I decided to write a novel based on my interest in the winter Olympics. I had a big drama worked out in my head, so I sat down to write it. And I did, all 200 pages written in pencil, in cursive. That is aging me, isn’t it? I was very proud of my story and shared it around.
Then, I wrote a second, and then a third novel - this one based on my love of the Beatles. I’m not that old, they were broken up by then. I just thought George was super cute, and I desperately wanted to move to London. This last novel I actually paid someone to type for me. I then looked up how to write a query letter and submitted my novel to a few publishing houses. My seventh-grade teacher was very proud of me. I think she knew that nothing was ever going to come of it, but she loved my spunk and wanted to encourage me!
Fast forward to my teens and the early twenties. Nothing published. Writing on and off depending on how my life looked. By the time I hit 30, I decided to leave Miami and make a move to New York City, where I was sure to make it as a writer. I have no idea what I was thinking. Changing location was going to suddenly make things happen? That’s a bad plan, but I was convinced there were opportunities for me there. Fast forward. Several manuscripts written, several agents out trying to see my work, nothing in the can, time to give up. But, along the way, I found a way to turn my writing into a career after all. It didn’t look the way I had envisioned it, but it was lucrative and fun. It was challenging and exciting. And as I come full circle, launching what I believe will become an immersive book business, and as my agent heads out to pitch my book, I believe I was right to keep at it. Even though my passion became my day job. And who knows what’s next!