Being Published vs. Being a Good Writer
I’ve been thinking about being published. Not in my usual way of being anxious and overly driven, but in a way that’s made me wonder what my first published novel will be like.
Will it be gripping like Mary DeMuth’s first novel, Watching the Tree Limbs, which kept me turning the page with Mara’s unique voice and interesting tale, or will it be like so many of the books I’ve read lately. Boring and slow.
Like most aspiring novelists, I think my WIPs are sheer genius. (Okay, those who’ve read my WIPs can stop laughing now.) Boring isn’t even a consideration when I crank out a tale, though great critique partners have told me otherwise from time to time. Sometimes when I think I’ve arrived and come up with a great scene, I read a great scene in someone else’s novel and feel like scratching what I’ve just written. Then I get to the point where I’m blinded to my writing flaws. After staring at the computer for hours, it all looks good to me!
Today I got a book in the mail, Rene Gutteridge’s new release SNITCH. I couldn’t wait to open it. The first page moved, and I realized I was into the story in a matter of seconds, not analyzing the use of SAIDs here and there, but enjoying the story. I was captivated by the subtle characterization, the snappy dialogue (note to self. Omit half of the action tags in the scene I just wrote. It slows down the action) and I wondered, will I ever be a great writer?
Okay, comparing myself to my friend Rene who has written a dozen books by now is ridiculous, but it’s brought me to the reason for this post.
Do I want to be published or do I want to be a great writer?
If I’m truly honest with myself I’d have to answer yes to both these questions. Of course I want to be published. It’s just the next step in a life long writing journey. I’m not naive to think my first book is going to be the next great novel, but I hope one day to be a great story teller worthy of publication.
Until then, I’ll keep hammering on the keyboard, cranking out less than perfect prose, reading lots of books, exciting and boring, and waiting for the day I see my name on the book cover of a novel. Not for my glory, (heck I thought about using a pseudonym) but as a testimony to a dream God has planted in my life a long time ago and proof to the fact that all things are possible with God.
For only He can make me a great writer, and only He will know when I am ready for the next step.
