Maybe I Should Quit

It can happen when life is very stressful, or as recently when I read three really great books in a row. Two authors were young. One was so young she had success before I even started writing seriously. Or when both things—stress and comparison—happen at the same time. The thought hits me, maybe I should quit writing. Sometimes, it’s followed by voices saying things such as, “You fool. Why did you ever think you could do this?” Or “Shouldn’t you get a real job?”
 
On the down day (or period) my thoughts go to negatives such as the royalties on that book aren’t doing well, that agent hasn’t responded on the requested material, the other agent rejected the requested material with no comments, none of my high school teachers ever encouraged me to be a writer despite good grades in English, etc., etc. etc.
 
On a good day (or period) I counter those thoughts. This book may not be doing very well, but the next one will do better. Publishing is a very subjective business—it’s not finding every agent who loves my stuff, but one. My high school teachers didn’t encourage me to do anything. Someone who had that encouragement was very fortunate.
 
But God has been very good to me. I may not be a very successful writer monetarily, but every single time I think about quitting, I get encouragement. This time, it was two things:
 
One, a writer whom I’d worked with before contacted me yesterday and asked me to critique some of her work. She paid me my asking rate before I finished my edits and letters. Doing the line by line editing and offering advice reminded me of what I do know. I can help other writers.
 
Two, this morning I woke up to a messenger notice from another writer friend. She didn’t know I was down. The image used in this post came from her with no comments. If you haven’t read the text on the image yet, go read it now. (And here’s where it’s from: http://kriscarr.com/blog/inspiring-prayer-for-trailblazers/. You’ll see two bonuses if you follow the link: a video and downloadable wallpaper.) Isn’t it perfect?
 
Yes, life right now is stressful. Yes, there are better writers out there than me. But we each have our own path and I must do the best I can.  How about you?

---