Anything of Value

Someone once told me, anything of value is always worth the wait. I feel this way about my writing career. I have been writing since the sixth grade, which makes it about seventeen years. I’ve dabbled in the published world of writers for about ten years now, making mistakes along the way but growing tremendously. Yet, with my successes, I still am not where I want to be. I haven’t “made it”…whatever that means. Perhaps I will never be satisfied, but I know have been playing the game for a while. To self publish…to go through an independent…to get an agent or not…to go straight to smaller presses…what do publishers/agents want from an author…what will kill a career before it begins? All of these questions circle with one constant—rejection. But anything of value is worth the wait.

I think I can add to this that anything of value always comes at a price. Not necessarily money. Maybe the cost is time, or tears, or even blood (paper cuts are brutal!). I say time and time again, I would not be writing if it weren’t for my family. I have an awesome mother and supportive dad who drive me to continue this journey. They push me toward excellence, assuring me with every step that I will “make it” some day. Through their insistence, I am starting to believe the cost is worth it.

In January, I was accepted into an online writing class by Odyssey...a first major success. As I progressed these past months, I find my writing improving and hints that perhaps everything is starting to fall into place. When we encounter obstacles in our lives, I think we have to remember that anything of value is worth the wait and the cost. I think we also have to rest on faith that things will work out, that this road is just preparation and that our journey is only beginning.