THE HELP YOU GET ALONG THE WAY
I’m blogging today about becoming a finalist in the EPIC Awards. Now wait, don’t go yet. This is not “all about me”—I promise.
Most people that I’ve met in the last half of my adulthood would never describe me as “shy,” but as a youngster, I was—horribly. That’s one reason I turned to writing. It was a great way for me to get my feelings out without actually having to say them. I could have someone else say it all for me.
I imagine that’s how many of my fellow writers started, too. I sometimes wonder what might have happened had we all known each other when we were younger. Would we have developed into the writers we are today, or would we have found our “niche” with one another and NOT turned so much to writing?
If you can relate to the “shy” part, then maybe you felt this way, too: I was never competitive. Not like so many sports contenders might be. The things I enjoyed, writing and music, were open to everyone, I felt. I am not a “joiner” and I am not one to enter a lot of contests. I entered Fire Eyes in the EPIC Awards, and something odd happened when I did.
From the moment I entered, my attitude about myself changed. BEFORE I entered, I thought, “I probably don’t have a chance.” But my mom always used to say, “If you don’t enter, you certainly are NOT going to win!” I remembered those words, and sent in my entry that very day. Once it was sent, I began to feel some confidence growing. As I analyzed WHY, here’s what I came up with.
Fire Eyes was a joint project. I wrote it, but I couldn’t have if I hadn’t had the cooperation and support of my family—my kids and my husband. While I was writing it, my oldest sister, Annette, was constantly asking about “how it’s coming” and she was the one I could bounce ideas off of. Once written, my business partner read it for glaring mistakes, and my best friend of 45 years read it for moral support. The Wild Rose Press accepted it, and my editor, Helen Andrew, was so phenomenal in helping me mold it and shape it into the story that was released last May. My cover artist, Nicola Martinez, did a superb job on the beautiful cover. With all these people behind me and my story, my confidence rose. Whatever would be, would be—and entering the competition was a win/win situation. Even if I didn’t make it to the finals, I would still have taken the chance and had the experience.
When I received the news Sunday evening that my book was, indeed, a finalist, I thought immediately of all the people who had helped me get to this point; people in my life who had faith in me, and in my ability, and in the story itself. I thought of that saying, “It takes a village to raise a child.” It’s true, even in the broader sense of our lives as writers. The experiences we had growing up, people who encouraged us even then, our spouses, our children, mentors and teachers we’ve had along the way, and peers that have helped and encouraged us. Editors, artists, publishers and organizations such as EPIC that give us a chance to compete and strive to be better and better.
Does anyone have a “special person” that helped them along the way? What about a “collection” of special people? With Thanksgiving drawing near, I’d like to say that my “collection” of special people in my life is the thing that I am most thankful for above all else. Without them, my dreams could have never happened. I could never have done it alone.
Great post, Cheryl. Sometimes we get so busy (especially this time of year), we forget to remember those who gave us a push or held out a hand to us along the way. We tend to recognize them in our dedications but not so the rest of the time. I always credit my dad for encouraging my love of books and reading and his belief in my imagination. I miss him terribly and can only hope that he knows I’ve finally achieved my dream of publication. Family, friends, and now other authors are all on that list, too!
When I settle down next week wtih my turkey sandwich and pumpkin pie, I’ll be sure to add them all to my list of thanks.
Hi Silver,
You’re right–we do tend to forget, don’t we? I’m like you–my dad was always an encouragement to me–he loved to read, and he was always interested to know “how’s it going?” when I was trying to get my work published. I wish he could have seen my small successes–it would have meant so much to him AND to Mom. They always encouraged me, and believed I could do it. I believe they do know, now, but I wish we could have discussed it and enjoyed the wonderful outcome a little before they passed. I know there are many people I didn’t mention in my post, but just writing it helped me to remember many of them and say a word of thanks in my own thoughts and prayers.
Have a great Thanksgiving!
Cheryl
I know how you feel. It’s humbling when I think of how much support and love I have from family and friends and fellow authors. And like Silver and Cheryl my parents started it all. Dad encouraged me to reach for the stars in everything. Mom loved reading, my first experience with romance was sneaking her true confessions. The kids, all grown are proud of what I’ve done and generous in their response. My husband is more than generous with time which is always at a premium around here.
Thanks for the reminder.
Hi Lavada,
It really IS humbling! We don’t realize it, but from the time we are just little tykes what our parents do and say affects us so much in what we become. I remember my mother and my dad both reading to me — if I wanted to be read to, they would stop what they were doing and read me a story. I did the same thing with my kids, and I can see how much that has meant to them in their lives. It’s really important. And that’s the earliest encouragement that we get, I think, to love reading and want to make stories of our own. My kids are supportive too, and my daughter, Jessica, even created my book cover for my upcoming release, Time Plains Drifter. That was an awesome experience, to be able to work together on a project.
Happy Thanksgiving, Lavada, and thanks for commenting.
Cheryl
Congratulations, Cheryl!
Writing is often seen as such a solitary endeavour, and it is, but there are also many people behind the scenes propping us up, holding our hands, giving advice and critiques and so much more!
Cheryl, a big congratulations to you!! What an accomplishment. You are right, writing is a solitary environment by nature. But what I love about the romance industry is how helpful people are, from the top to the bottom. It’s a community I’m proud to be a part of.
Hi JK,
Thank you!
That is so true, and it can be just the smallest thing that someone does for you. It all adds into the “big picture” to create the book or story that we’ve put together, and done the best we can do with. I am so thankful my kids would eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches without complaint. LOL
Cheryl
Hi Jeannie,
Thanks so much! Boy, I am still thrilled. Yes, the romance industry is very welcoming and helpful. I have not run into very many people who have that attitude of “putting out your candle makes mine brighter”–most genuinely seem to want to help and I love that.
Cheryl
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Jeannie Ruesch
Stacey Joy Netzel
Maggie Van Well
J.K. Coi
Yvonne Eve Walus
Lavada Dee
Cheryl Pierson
Silver James
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