It’s true.
Even though you don’t entirely believe it. Neither did I.
When I went to my first writing conference back in 2006, I wanted the agent I submitted the first 10 pages of my manuscript to, to email me before I even got to the conference and say, “Oh, wow! You must send the rest! Now! Now!”
(Truth be told, in my deluded, uneducated state of mind, a small part of me expected that to happen.)
What I Needed, What you Might Need as Well
I needed more refinement, more training on craft, an education on how the publishing industry works. I needed to make connections, and work on my craft, build relationships, research agents and publishing houses. Did I mention working on my craft?
That’s the area I believe most writers need to work on more than any other. I’ve seen so many writers who think their manuscripts are pinging along in the 98 percent ready stage, when the reality is more like 80 percent.
But that’s okay. If you were to succeed right out of the gate ... if you didn’t need to learn the things I mentioned above ... you wouldn’t appreciate it when you got there.
Lottery Winners and Radio Stations
Why do the majority of lottery winners lose all their millions in a short amount of time? They tend to come from lower economic backgrounds where they believe success can happen overnight, so they ignore the odds and buy a ticket. But they haven’t put in the time to learn sound financial management skills. They’re not ready for the millions.
When I worked in radio, we’d sometimes give away tickets to our listeners for free, sometimes we’d charge a small amount. When we charged for the tickets? About 85 percent of the people would show up. Free tickets? Thirty percent showed up.
Skin in the Game Makes you Care
Whether it’s paying a small amount for a ticket, or working for money instead of it being handed through a lottery ticket, or putting in years of working on our craft and marketing and networking ... putting out blood, sweat, and buckets of tears makes us care. Makes us appreciate what we’ve accomplished. Makes us honor what God has entrusted us with.
There’s something deep inside us that ends up holding worthless—even resenting--something we don’t feel we’ve earned.
I know this journey is treacherous and the mountain we’re climbing is full of storms. But we’ll always feel a hecka of a lot better standing on top of K2, than we will standing on Blueberry Hill.
TWEETABLES
____________________
The Long Journey to Jake Palmer
What if there was a place where everything wrong in your life could be fixed?
Corporate trainer Jake Palmer coaches people to see deeper into themselves—yet he barely knows himself anymore. Recently divorced and weary of the business life, Jake reluctantly agrees to a lake-house vacation with friends, hoping to escape for ten days.
When he arrives, Jake hears the legend of Willow Lake—about a lost corridor that leads to a place where one’s deepest longings will be fulfilled.
Jake scoffs at the idea, but can’t shake a sliver of hope that the corridor is real. And when he meets a man who mutters cryptic speculations about the corridor, Jake is determined to find the path, find himself, and fix his crumbling life.
But the journey will become more treacherous with each step Jake takes.
James L. Rubart is 28 years old, but lives trapped inside an older man's body. He thinks he's still young enough to water ski like a madman and dirt bike with his two grown sons, and loves to send readers on journeys they'll remember months after they finish one of his stories. He's the best-selling, Christy BOOK of the YEAR, INSPY, CAROL and RT Book Reviews award winning author of eight novels as well as a professional speaker, co-host of the Novel Marketing podcast, and co-founder of the Rubart Writing Academy. During the day he runs his branding and marketing company which helps businesses, authors, and publishers make more coin of the realm. He lives with his amazing wife on a small lake in eastern Washington. More at www.jameslrubart.com
What if there was a place where everything wrong in your life could be fixed?
Corporate trainer Jake Palmer coaches people to see deeper into themselves—yet he barely knows himself anymore. Recently divorced and weary of the business life, Jake reluctantly agrees to a lake-house vacation with friends, hoping to escape for ten days.
When he arrives, Jake hears the legend of Willow Lake—about a lost corridor that leads to a place where one’s deepest longings will be fulfilled.
Jake scoffs at the idea, but can’t shake a sliver of hope that the corridor is real. And when he meets a man who mutters cryptic speculations about the corridor, Jake is determined to find the path, find himself, and fix his crumbling life.
But the journey will become more treacherous with each step Jake takes.
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