Prepare for the Yes

Oh my god, you guys. You have no idea how much I want to tell you my news. But it has to wait until papers are signed, the t’s are crossed and the i’s dotted. Then I’ll spill it.

But I wanted to blog about something we aspiring writers rarely hear. And yet we must be prepared for. We must prepare for the YES.

Oh, we’re old hands at dealing with rejection letters. They used to ruin a day, or possibly week. But they mostly amuse now. Of course it’s a rejection. Next.

You’d think getting the nod from a publishing professional would be an occasion to rejoice. And it is. For those of us slogging away at our dreams, few moments will be as blindly awesome as hearing someone who is in a position to publish your work say, “it’s good.” Note that I said few moments. The birth of children and having someone commit to loving you forever is also amazing. But hearing YES. Man alive.

Thirty seconds later, however, is a whole ‘nother story. That’s when fear creeps in and destroys your shingaling mood. Can you do this? you ask yourself. A shot of bourbon’s looking pretty good at this point. What if the book tanks and takes down the careers of your agent and editor. What if Amazon reviewers give it one star.

What if deep down you really suck as a writer. And now the whole world will know. No hiding in obscurity now, son. You’re out there.

I didn’t think I’d have a struggle with hearing the yes. But I did. Thankfully, Therese and others slapped me around (metaphorically) and reminded me that I am a good writer. I can do it.

After the third night lying awake wondering what the hell I’d gotten myself into, I came to the following conclusion:

God doesn’t give you what She doesn’t think you can handle.

Prepare yourself, writer peeps. Prepare to hear YES.

Photo by 7th Heaven.

Kathleen Bolton

Kathleen Bolton is co-founder of Writer Unboxed. She writes under a variety of pseudonyms, including Ani Bolton.

She has written two novels as Cassidy Calloway: Confessions of a First Daughter, and Secrets of a First Daughter–both books in a YA series about the misadventures of the U.S. President’s teen-aged daughter, published by HarperCollins, and Tamara Blake, for the novel Slumber.

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