Writing isn’t a club with a secret handshake. You aren’t Pinocchio waiting for your Blue Fairy moment.
What you are is someone with a story, looking for at least a few other people to love it. Today, there are multiple ways to find them. Choose one. Love your choice. Be nice, and challenge your assumptions about people who chose a different route.
And if someone asks to see your official Hogwarts for Authors letter before they’ll give your book a try, come see me. I may not be a hack, but I am…
J.C. Lillis blogged about being a “real” writer, but it’s the same no matter what you’re doing. People less secure in what they’re doing will look down their nose and ask for your credentials and probably sneer behind your back (or maybe in front of you). It takes some guts to shrug your shoulders (preferably in front of them) and say ‘so what’. I’ve heard this so often in the quilting world: not traditional enough, not art quilt enough, not whatever enough.
Listen close and you’ll find them comparing their own work to everyone and putting it all in a line, nice and tidy.
Listen to the people looking at your work (rather than looking you up and down) and you’ll find they are drawn to it, it makes them think or laugh or cry or wonder. They’ll ask you questions, tell you what they like, take a picture or just stand and admire. Maybe come back and look again or bring someone else to see it.
