Something interesting happened when I made my official FB announcement about signing a publishing contract. Along with happy congratulations, many of my friends, family members and acquaintances started confessing (to my surprise) that they were writers. Many admitted that they someday want to have a book published. “I’ve always wanted to do that,” they said. I’ve been trying to encourage them as best as I can, and point them to sites that might be helpful.
Another thing many of them confessed to me was that they are afraid of having someone read their writing. “Aren’t you terrified of putting your writing out in the word?” they asked.
Of course I am. I’ve always been pretty secretive about my writing. If I’m working on something and a family member (or anyone) walks into the room, I close the laptop. I don’t want anyone to know what I’m doing. I have no idea why.
So the idea of putting my hard work out in the world to be read and judged by everyone is really, truly, scary. I know everyone isn’t going to like it. I mayfail and fall flat on my face. There are going to be bad reviews, critics, and people who just don’t get it.
And I don’t care. Or at least I’m pretending not to. At the end of the day, I’ve created characters and a world I love. All I can do is hope a few other people feel the same way.
Do you write? If so, are you afraid of sharing your writing with others?
Yes and no. I'm not afraid of sharing so much as people's reaction. :) Good luck!!
ReplyDeleteThank you! :)
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting. I know a lot of closet writers myself. I think 8 out of 10 people in the U.S. are writers if you can believe that statistic.
ReplyDeleteI can totally believe that.
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