Z is for Zoom!

On Being a Published Writer
A to Z Blogging 2012
April 30
Day 26


Welcome to the last day of the 2012 A to Z Blogging Challenge. This year I've focused on things I’ve learned, observed and experienced in the nine-plus years I’ve been published. If you’re a reader, I hope I've offered an inside glimpse into the writer’s world as it applies to me. If you’re new to writing, I hope you've perhaps gleaned an insight or two (and I hope I haven't scared you off writing). If you’re an established writer, maybe you've seen similarities to your experience. Whatever path you walk, thanks for sharing this past month with me as part of the 2012 A to Z Blogging Challenge.
Coming to the end of most projects is bittersweet for me. No matter how the process works for each story, the end plays out the same - I hate to say goodbye to the characters with whom I've spent so many hours of my life. As we wrap-up the 2012 A to Z Blogging Challenge, I find this, too, is also bittersweet.

I amazed myself when I did the A to Z Challenge in 2011. I mean, I did it! I blogged every day, on the schedule, no matter what. And it was hard last year. I didn't have an eleven-month lead-in. I had to organize in a hurry, and I scrambled to get some of the blogs up in time. Sure, I had a topic for each day, but time to blog? Ha! Even with an entire year to prepare for this year, it took eleven months to get every blog written and a corresponding photo found, so imagine what a scramble it was to do it in less than two months. But the bottom line is I've completed the challenge - AGAIN!!

You have been following along all month, haven't you?

Authors, books, contracts, conventions, development, endings, first or third person, Google, heroes, ice cream, jargon, kiss, language blue or purple, motivation, multi-tasking, next project, orgasms, promotion, quickies, reviews, sticking with it, time management, unswerving dedication, voice, websites, wine, making your mark, you the writer. So what’s up for Z? Z is for Zoom!

Is this you? You’re in a hurry to become published. You’re on those endless lists with people who are published and you want it so bad it keeps you awake at night. You’ve set a deadline for yourself to be published and it’s almost upon you. What the heck are you going to do if you fail?

Fail? Oh, no. If you’ve managed to string together thousands of words into a story, you have not failed. If you’ve submitted that story to a publisher and they haven’t responded, you have not failed. If you’ve had a publisher pass on your story, you have not failed. You’ve succeeded at everything you have control over!

Nothing in the publishing world travels at the speed of ZOOM. Even with the advent of epublishing, it still takes time - a lot of time - to get published. It takes a lot of time for a published author to move a story from concept to “on sale now.”

I can’t emphasize this strongly enough. Nothing in publishing happens at the speed of ZOOM. So relax! Develop your story and keep it fun - for you. Fall in love with your characters - for you. Spend time with them - for you. If you go ZOOM, will you really hear everything they’re telling you?

I’ve fallen victim to ZOOM a few times in my career. Offers and invitations come along and it’s very difficult to pass on them. There are a few I should have said 'no thanks' to, but those experiences taught me valuable lessons. I can’t go ZOOM all the time, nor can I make a publisher or editor go ZOOM.

What I can do is write my story the way I want to write it at a pace that keeps me sane. I will control the things that are within my power, and let go of those things that are not. No more ZOOM for me. I want to ensure I get to enjoy every moment of the writing life.

I don’t want to get to the end of things, to the Z of my days, and find the only “Z” I knew was ZOOM. I want to savor every experience, each joy, because I’ll only pass this way once. I want ZEAL and ZEST to continue to be a part of my life.

A few weeks back I blogged about endings, and how it's difficult to get them just right. So it is now. The "perfect" words have zoomed away, leaving me with nothing left to say except thanks for being with me during the 2012 A to Z Blogging Challenge. I hope you’ll check back from time-to-time, and maybe even enjoy a few of my books. I wish you all the best things in life - love, health and happiness. Until next time,

KC