I am not a numbers person. Instead, I turn my mind to words and scenes, to characters and -- as Joni calls them -- plot bombs.
Maybe that's why I can't stand it when people talk about the odds. The odds against a given individual finishing a novel, finding a decent agent for it, selling it to a major publishing house, getting noticed once it's "out there." They talk about the unlikelihood of said given individual still being in the business after the release of two novels, of four, or of making a real living instead of being the family white elephant.
I am not "any given individual," I'm a writer. A novelist, in my case, which means I have to have the hide of a rhino and, in some respects, the myopia as well. So don't tell me, show me, or rub my nose in all the reasons "no one" can make it in this business. Just get the hell out of my way while I'm charging toward a story.
So what about you? Are you daunted by the odds against you? Or can you "suspend disbelief" to smash right past them?
Comments
I was well set for the evil odds of publishing after facing small odds of survival with lymophoma. To remain calm, you have to see yourself standing outside the statistics (because you're SPECIAL, damn it, SPECIAL!)
Gary summed it up in a dark moment when I said to him, "Nine out of ten people do not live past this point."
"Yeah," said Gary. "Sucks to be them."
Therefore, I have no great fear of failure - been there, done that. So screw the odds. What's to stop me? Only me. And I'm gettin' out of my way.
So there! :-)
I *love* Gary's comment! That's a great way of looking at things.
Thanks for the responses, Jo Anne and Suzan. It's terrific to hear from you.
May we all continue to beat the odds!
Jen