People really think publishing a book will make them happy? 
I think publishing a book will make me money.
I think publishing a book will make me money.
The Biggest Lie in Publishing History
1 - 20 of 26 Posts
I liked that post.
Some people really think that being successful at what they love will make them happy.Doug Lance said:People really think publishing a book will make them happy?
I think publishing a book will make me money.
I think in some ways all of life is the big lie Michelle talks about. People who've perfected the art of enjoying the moment are rare. Most of us,whether writers or not, live our lives waiting for that one big thing we want that, if we can only achieve, we're confident will make us content. But once we get it, the happiness is short-lived. Because now we've got our eye on something even better and it's become the hurdle we have to get over in order to find happiness. ![:-\](/s3/kboards.com/data/smilies/undecided.gif "Undecided :-\")
I remember learning about an interesting experiment in an undergrad psychology course.
Someone tallied the frequencies of mental illness (specifically depression and bipolar disorder) and drug and alcohol abuse among various artsy-types.
It was writers vs. visual artists (painters, etc.) vs. dramatic artists (actors, etc.).
Guess which group had the highest incidents of EVERYTHING? Yep! The writers.
Shana
Someone tallied the frequencies of mental illness (specifically depression and bipolar disorder) and drug and alcohol abuse among various artsy-types.
It was writers vs. visual artists (painters, etc.) vs. dramatic artists (actors, etc.).
Guess which group had the highest incidents of EVERYTHING? Yep! The writers.
Shana
There's nothing wrong with my sanity. My characters tell me every night just how sane I am.LiteraryGrrrl said:I remember learning about an interesting experiment in an undergrad psychology course.
Someone tallied the frequencies of mental illness (specifically depression and bipolar disorder) and drug and alcohol abuse among various artsy-types.
It was writers vs. visual artists (painters, etc.) vs. dramatic artists (actors, etc.).
Guess which group had the highest incidents of EVERYTHING? Yep! The writers.
Shana
G
That was an interesting, emotionally honest blog post. Thanks for sharing.
I remember when I sold my first short story to a magazine. It was a small student run magazine at my university called Leading Edge, and while it was exciting to sign the contract and work with my editor friends on getting it ready to print, there was something...unexpectedly empty about holding the finished copy in my hand. Maybe it was a little too mundane, a little more immenant than I was expecting?
But a couple months later, when I was walking through the Provo Library, I checked out the periodicals and saw the magazine issue with my story in it...and this big grin spread across my face. Perhaps my expectations were a bit more tempered, so that seeing myself in print was a joyful thing, even if it was a semi-pro magazine with a circulation of maybe only 100.
And you know what? Since then, every time I make some kind of breakthrough, even if it's as little as making another sale on Amazon or getting a good review on someone's blog, I immediately want to stand up and do a happy dance. More often than not, I actually do.
Perhaps that's one of the best things about the new world of publishing: all the old benchmarks are completely gone, so that instead of anxiously waiting for the Big Moment to arrive, you're more focused on the here and now, and any positive momentum (no matter how small) is something to relish.
IMO, no matter what you accomplish, there will always be a bigger mountain on the horizon. The trick is to enjoy the climb just as much as reaching the summit.
I remember when I sold my first short story to a magazine. It was a small student run magazine at my university called Leading Edge, and while it was exciting to sign the contract and work with my editor friends on getting it ready to print, there was something...unexpectedly empty about holding the finished copy in my hand. Maybe it was a little too mundane, a little more immenant than I was expecting?
But a couple months later, when I was walking through the Provo Library, I checked out the periodicals and saw the magazine issue with my story in it...and this big grin spread across my face. Perhaps my expectations were a bit more tempered, so that seeing myself in print was a joyful thing, even if it was a semi-pro magazine with a circulation of maybe only 100.
And you know what? Since then, every time I make some kind of breakthrough, even if it's as little as making another sale on Amazon or getting a good review on someone's blog, I immediately want to stand up and do a happy dance. More often than not, I actually do.
Perhaps that's one of the best things about the new world of publishing: all the old benchmarks are completely gone, so that instead of anxiously waiting for the Big Moment to arrive, you're more focused on the here and now, and any positive momentum (no matter how small) is something to relish.IMO, no matter what you accomplish, there will always be a bigger mountain on the horizon. The trick is to enjoy the climb just as much as reaching the summit.
Excellent post. My bolds are what I like most about it.Joe Vasicek said:That was an interesting, emotionally honest blog post. Thanks for sharing.
I remember when I sold my first short story to a magazine. It was a small student run magazine at my university called Leading Edge, and while it was exciting to sign the contract and work with my editor friends on getting it ready to print, there was something...unexpectedly empty about holding the finished copy in my hand. Maybe it was a little too mundane, a little more immenant than I was expecting?
But a couple months later, when I was walking through the Provo Library, I checked out the periodicals and saw the magazine issue with my story in it...and this big grin spread across my face. Perhaps my expectations were a bit more tempered, so that seeing myself in print was a joyful thing, even if it was a semi-pro magazine with a circulation of maybe only 100.
And you know what? Since then, every time I make some kind of breakthrough, even if it's as little as making another sale on Amazon or getting a good review on someone's blog, I immediately want to stand up and do a happy dance. More often than not, I actually do.
IMO, no matter what you accomplish, there will always be a bigger mountain on the horizon. The trick is to enjoy the climb just as much as reaching the summit.
1 - 20 of 26 Posts
