Firsts..keep them coming.

It’s so funny how there are firsts everywhere if you want to look at it that way.  I had my first child which was a daughter and then I had my first son which is basically my second child.  I say that to say this, firsts can come from anywhere and can be just as special as the last.  There is so much going on in my life now that I’ve become a writer.  From the signing of my first contract in March 2012, to consequent contracts from different publishers.  Each signing of course has been special to me and I treat them like a first.

Why you ask?  It keeps the fire going and pushes me to  go forward and to keep striving to reach my goals.  My first goal ever when it came to writing was to get a book written.  It’s so funny I’ve wanted to write since I was 12 and I never seemed to be able to complete the task of a FIRST full draft.  It always eluded me.   My time, my first of many times of completing a manuscript, didn’t come until 30 years later (2011-2012).  I had some bumps along the way in that year before my first contract.  Such as my first disappointment with another writer, my first rejection letter and then a subsequent rejection from another publishing house and another author letting me down, it all seemed never ending.  Firsts.  Firsts are all in how you perceive them and how you want to deal with them.

My first time feeling as if I didn’t belong in this business happened last year.  When I received my first rejection from a publishing house, I seriously began to question if I should do.  Rejection letters happen to everyone right?  So what did I do?  I was depressed for a while and had my first thought that I shouldn’t do this and I basically quit on myself and on writing.  I came to my senses at the earlier part of this year, finished a book I was co-authoring with another friend and submitted it for publishing. Not two hours later I received an email from the publisher with acceptance of that MS and asked if I wanted a contract.

Could this have happened the year before?  I am sure of it.  But my journey is just that my journey. I had to get back on the horse and make things happen. Since then…I have been striving to be a better writer, a better friend to those I meet in life and online and just in general.  Firsts…are wonderful and depending on how you look at them you can have firsts all the time.  Good or bad.

So why not turn lemons into lemonade? Get back on the horse and go out there and have some wonderful firsts. What can I suggest to an aspiring author who’s looking for their own firsts?

1. Always write.
2. Don’t listen to those who just want to bring you down.
3. Surround yourself with positive things and people.
4. Find that space where you can go to create.
5. Have a notepad for jotting notes. (I carry one in my purse).
6. Join a writers group (whether that is RWA, a critique group).
7. Never give up on your dream.
8. Never let anyone tell you that you can’t do what you want to do.
9. Cherish your firsts.
10. Perfect and hone your craft.
11. But most of all dream your dream and make it a reality.
12. Be an inspiration to others. Never knock someone’s dream.  There is always a way someone something they need to know without bringing them down.

I do hope that this post is an inspiration to all those out there with a dream to do something that they’ve always wanted to do. So go out there inspire and be inspired and enjoy all the firsts life has to offer.