It Doesn’t Always Have To Be A Book

Photo by Laura Chouette on Unsplash
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Maybe you start out determined to write a book and get it published. But if the rejections from agents pile up and the silence from publishers is unnerving – you might want to consider changing lanes and doing something else with your talent and your material. Something writerly.

Miss Piggy used to say, “If you can write a check, you can write a book.”

She'd have made a great book coach. 

I come at it from another angle - if you can write a book, you can write a blog or a newsletter or an article or a podcast or a TED talk or whatever comes next. It doesn’t always have to be a book. Or it doesn't have to be a book right now. 

I was reminded recently how important it is to get beyond the fantasy and the movie version of what it's like to get a book published. And to celebrate any and all of your achievements. 

I don't mean to make light of what it takes to put a book aside. I know rejection can be crushing  after you've put your heart and soul, imagination and intellect - not to mention years of your life - into a book that you realize may not get published. 

I just mean - don't let that make you feel like you're not a writer. Like what you have to say isn't important just because an agent or twelve didn't fall in love with your story. 

A good friend used to say that writing is such a tough business, you need to celebrate every accomplishment. Even if it's the courage to set the book aside for a while and do something else.