Hope (is it the same as tenacity?)
I have some hope to share. The publisher interested in our math book is taking it to the next phase: review. Our book goes out to six reviewers in the field, and we wait 4 -6 weeks for their feedback. It's going to be a long month.
A month filled with a bit of hope.
But hope if a fickle, fickle creature - sometimes elusive and mystical and sometimes obvious and glittery.
Trying to land an agent for my novels has been exhausting. And taxing. And not for the faint of heart. Of course there are writers out there that experience instant query success, and to you I say kudos (but inside, if I'm being honest, I'm pretty jealous - and I'm not the jealous type, trust me).
Lately I've been examining the idea of hope. Hope comes in many forms, both human and object, real and imagined. An email, a request, a compliment, a dream. Can people create hope? Believe in it so much so that "it" happens?
Hope means different things to different people; it all depends on what you're hoping for.
Someone to get well
Someone you love to find love
A new job
A relationship to repair
Someone to believe in you
Someone to believe in what you do
What we hope for is individual - part of who we are or who we want to be...or wish to be. Sometimes I find myself daydreaming through my amassed moments of hope and I come-to with a renewed sense of certainty. I know I am close. But then time passes and more puzzling rejections end up in my inbox and certainty is sprinkled with the evil dust of doubt, each bit that lands sears a hole straight through. Certainty is left in a deflated pile.
My journey (and many others out there) has been such a mixed bag. One good nugget effectively squashed by ten ugly nuggets. Over and over and over again.
In an effort to attract more and more and more good nuggets I'd like to propose an idea. Sort of good attracting good.
I know I'm technically a publishing nobody, but If there is anyone out there reading this who can think of a way I could help them on their journey towards publication or promotion, I'd like to offer my help. Beta reading, query critiquing, linking to something - I don't know. You don't have to win it or earn it. Just email me and ask. That simple.
I'm offering and I'm serious.
But, I'm also humbly asking. Anyone out there who can lead an agent to my writing sample website or this blog, or plant the idea of me in someone's head - someone in the industry... Thank you.
