This post was co-published at talanhorne.com
I've gotten used to a lot of nothing happening on the publishing front.
As I've said before, it's a waiting game, and though the waiting is the hardest part, and also the biggest part, it is not necessarily the worst part.
Because it's not like the waiting happens in one long seamless block. Various events arise during that long crawl, mostly in the form of rejection letters. And while rejections are not always easy to accept, they do become somewhat comfortable, after a time.
By your fifth or sixth rejection, you kind of start to get used to them. They become an expected event, almost like your morning paper...except no one reads newspapers anymore.
Maybe I should say it's like the Amazon drone finally showing up with that item you ordered last week.
The rejection lands in your inbox, and you're like, "Oh, my package has arrived. 'Bout time." And then you go along your merry little way.
It's so easy to just take that for granted. But---and it feels weird to say it---the rejection letters are not going to last forever. You obviously don't want them to, but it can still be a bit jarring when the end finally comes.
Should You Trust the Optimism?
I don't want to give anyone the wrong impression, but during the past week, there have been a few positive developments in my publishing efforts. Nothing to throw a party over. Nothing, perhaps, that even changes the game. But I am glad to report I have been making a few modest inroads.
And this has made me happier than I thought it would.
I of course was already happy before, in a psychological, sociological, and spiritual way. But making even the smallest progress with getting Advent 9 in front of people's eyeballs has made me chemically happy to a degree that is not common. The endorphin spike was a nice touch, particularly as it bled over into the other aspects of my life: work, friends, relationships---I felt just a touch more at ease with all these things.
I was also a bit more forgiving, and decided to let go of a few bad behaviors by neighbors and others.
But, cocktail of good neurotransmitters notwithstanding, I quickly realized that there was a danger here. Optimism is a great thing to have, but it works best when you're at your lowest. If things are already going well for you, then optimism can make you overconfident. It can give you false hope or attach too much importance to insignificant events.
And I worry that if I set my hopes too high, I can end up paying an equally chemical price if things don't turn out the way I'd like them to.
This is, I think, an important lesson for all artists to learn. Optimism is not an absolute force for good. It can make you manic, or cause you to become clingy or obsessive in ways that puts people off.
So What Can You Do?
Well, you're not going to get the answer right away. It may be that you are right to be optimistic, and all your wishes are about to come true. But you have no way of knowing that until it actually happens, which, once again, leaves you playing the waiting game.
And that's terrible, because you shouldn't have to go back to where you were before. Good news---even when its only remotely good---ought to make some kind of difference in your situation. Otherwise, how are you supposed to be ready when some real good news comes along?
So I'm not going to recommend that you simply allow things to stay the way they are. That said, I can't recommend that you do a lot of things differently, either. You shouldn't be too quick about announcing your good news to people, because that can quickly backfire. And you shouldn't go on a mad shopping spree or do anything to tick off your boss or your landlord, either.
But if you want to treat yourself to some ice cream, or whatever you do to celebrate, then yeah, I can't fault you for that.
And once you've finished that ice cream, you make sure to get a firm grip on your optimism. Don't let it go running out of control. It's all too easy to get intimidated, or even paralyzed, by the prospect of success. And you need to stay lithe on your feet, because whenever the next big opportunity comes, you'll want to be ready to snatch it.
Conclusion
I think I may have accidentally revealed the title of my book in this post. Well, hopefully no one will notice. ;)
I wish I had more to say on the subject, but, well, I'm still in the middle of the waiting game. There's not much more I can report for now.
But everything else in my life is pretty sweet right now. I guess I can't complain. I look forward to getting more experience, so I can be more useful to the people who are in this same situation. Until then, all I can say is, "Thanks for reading."
Because it's nice to be read.
Such a wonderful and interesting ideas by @talanhorne sir...
Smart work again my dear friend...
I'm really like and respect to ur uncommon ideas...
Nicely done dear...
You're a good knowledge person about writing and it's very difficult.
Your job is excellent Blog.
Thanks @talanhorne
Have a nice day
Smart work with smart ideas from talanhorne sir...
I think u have wonderful ideas...and ur writtern skill is execellent sir...smart work...
Good job sir...
Your information very informative for publishers.Really very good job my dear friend and I am glad to read your post.Thanks for sharing with us .
Another wonderful post with smart article by @talanhorne sir....
Wel done and perfect work sir...
Upvoted...
@talanhorne - Sir patience is the key of success... With your story we can get that example so well Sir... Nice you decided to share your experience Sir...
+W+
@talanhorne, Your information as you mentioned here very informative to publishers. Lot of advice looks contents indeed. Go ahead and have a nice day.
Advent 9? 😆
I always say “be prepared for the worst and hope for the best”
haha best is yet to come
Hello @talanhorne
Thank you for sharing your knowledge at this hour sir. I really appreciate:)
Hahaha yeah, didnt know you author good books as well. Great job and nice piece sir, thumbs up;)
Looking forward to reading your next post..😉
Of course, Your every publishing news will be valuable for every persons. Nice you shared your thoughts to us. Thanks.
I’m surprised how long has this publication already taken. However, you just revealed the title, which should be a great news at first.
Fingers crossed!
This is professional work. that is great writing experience and every publishing news.
Resteem
Yeah That's nice & valuable to reading. Well explained Managing Optimism there. Can big mistakes from every human's hand. In fact your contexts can use for every work process.
I'm glad to see your progress of succeed and you don't forget to update every valuable detail to your followers. Useful information sharing @talanhorne.
Sir, you have a great knowledge about this platform.
Very informative post.
I agree with you from your conclusion. ☺
Great publishing work @talanhorne.
Well explained about Managing Optimism.
Thanks for sharing this post.
Have a glorious day 💕
Hello @talanhorne,
I think I may have accidentally revealed the title of my book in this post. Well, hopefully no one will notice. ;)Extraordinary good article & incredible writing of your experiments & experiences. Still looking for the book topic which hidden in this article.
~@mywhale
Hi @talanhorne i want to read your book you have a good imagination and i think i will find some interesting stories there :). Regards
You'll be able to read it in time. Thank you for your support.
Probably the mistake we all do...
This is very interesting article and this is a great news. thanks for sharing.
Resteem Service
Very beautiful writing publishing life news post to you for thank you very much, and post a lot like and like post vote and comments and post share, I like this post a total of all see and this post to everyone can vote
I think it's time to read your latest publication. Excellent writing.
Good writing you just shared.Writing is very hard.
For your post propagation.
Upvote/Resteem
@talanhorne
So Informative. This is great publishing & writing experience.
@talanhorne
Resteem
Great writing .... writing is a creativity and it’s quite difficult..... your writing blog is always excellent . You have a great creativity..... I am very glad to read your writing blog. Thanks for sharing with us.
whatever you write, very important to entire community. a true value added writer. impressive writing again. @talanhorne
@resteemia
reteemed & upvoted
@talanhorne,
Actually I didn't get your book name through the article! Definitely you added it as a puzzle! But that would be great to hear that your life goes well! It's what we all needed! Specially you are HODLING STEEM, so it might be a precious gift in future too!
Cheers~
can't wait for the book now hahah you know it :D
Congratulations @talanhorne
Now you are in the MinnowsPower Loyalty Member List...!!!
Exceptional article & outstanding writing...!!!
100% Upvoted by @MinnowsPower
That is article is professional & Excellent writing . so great experience.
Thanks @talanhorne
100% like and resteem
In any case, it's better to be an optimist than a passive person. I'm optimistic, I think everyone learns by himself. Thanks for the advice. Excellent work as always.
Managing Optimism - by choosing this topic you made a brilliant conversation. Excellent job done & congratulations for the success you made so far.
Glad to hear that you're making some inroads with the book "Advent 9"
I'm eager to read that
I know it will be interesting
amazing writting really nice like this
re-steem
I've been following your blog for a while now and I so want to read that book.
Guess it's the waiting game for me also now
@talanhorne. the first time I attended your blog. I've read this post. There is a spirit that is present and curious. so it should be commented.
I just hope to see and read your publisher. always success
Very beautiful way you write and convey intent. Sentences flow like water. And it seems a bit more spicy this post. :)
Writing need alot of creativity and ideas to put in something valuable and educative for your audience to truly understand and appreciate, but you are doing great and improving steadily @talanhorne
Optimism keep your spirits up during a difficult time.Very nice blog.
Have a great day friend.
Reading your writing means you are a meritorious and experienced writer. There are many interesting topics in writing. Go ahead.
thanks for some quality tips
with the quality of writing you posses
you will be succesfull one day
well i notice the title of your book,lol
sometimes even we learn alot from rejection
just dont stop
Excellent blog. great information thanks for sharing
i think we need to keep going and not expect anything at all good times will come soon
hope you will soon be successfull
I don't want to give anyone the wrong impression, but during the past week, there have been a few positive developments in my publishing efforts. Nothing to throw a party over. Nothing, perhaps, that even changes the game. But I am glad to report I have been making a few modest inroads.This is the reward for your effort. You earned it. Congratulations.
Nice blog. Informative
it seems that this toy is unique and interesting in my opinion hahaha @talanhorne
This is for sure. The optimist is indeed a person who is not pessimistic. Here will be illustrated by a small example of the pessimistic differences with pessimistic people. If there is a rose, the optimist will see the beauty of the flower. But what pessimists will see is the sharp thorns that will surely hurt the hand ..
Well said about optimism sir we need to have this positive thinking and self belief in us sir.
Great job sir you have done awesome thing when it comes to selecting such memes these are amazing sir really they are a great apt to blog post.