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How to keep moving forward when you simply want to quit
As a writer, I’m one of the lucky ones. The two books I’ve written were published by a huge publishing house. They did pretty well, too. Nice reviews, decent sales. But that was then. 2008 and 2011 to be exact. It was a time when, if you rolled memoir, humor, and chick lit into a fast, funny read, agents and publishers were interested, really interested.
I was good at that. Still am. Only now, no one is interested. Why? Because I don’t have a huge platform, a mega social media presence. I’m not a TikTok or Instagram influencer. Hell, my largest following is on Facebook and that thing, I fear, is as doomed as the Dodo.
It’s very disheartening and frankly I’ve come to the conclusion that it would be easier to grow a third eye in the middle of my forehead than to find an agent. There are days I want to quit querying and walk away from the idea of ever being published again. But I don’t. I persist. And if you are or have ever been in a spot similar to mine, maybe my reasons for stubbornly pursuing my goal will help you to do the same.
I believe in my work.
Before I ever had an article, never mind a book, published, I believed I had something to say that others would relate to. As a memoirist, I write about it all. My depression. My inability to parallel park. My…
