Life is Good

[pbray]

Earlier this week I'd mailed out the "friends & family" shipments of autographed copies of TFB. Packages at my sister's apartment house tend to grow legs, so I'd sent her copy to her work address.

Sheila called first thing this morning to let me know how thrilled she was when the book arrived yesterday--and what a stir it had caused when she casually informed people "Oh yes, this is my sister's new book."

It's hard not to get blase about the business, especially when so many of my friends are writers, so to me it seems natural that I walk into a bookstore and see the names of my friends on the spines of books. I forget that many people have never met an author, or even the sister of an author.

Then Sheila said something that really touched me. "After all, how many people actually achieve their childhood dreams? Everyone has dreams, but life intrudes and they put them aside. But you went and did it."

Somedays amidst all the crap and the tough spots, I forget how truly special and wonderful this is. It takes an outsider to remind me that the cup is not only full, it's very shiny.

Turns out my sister can be wise, and who would have thunk it?

But I'm still the oldest.

Comments

[melissajm.livejournal.com]

Something like that happened to me once. I referred to a sale as "just a little fluff piece," and someone said "But you wrote it, and sold it, and you're a published author! How many people say they're "going to be a writer," but never dare to try?"

It's the most wonderful feeling.

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Exactly! We're our own worst critics. We tend to denigrate our accomplishments. "It's just a short story," "It's only a small press," "It's only a paperback," etc, when we should be celebrating our triumphs.

[melissajm.livejournal.com]

When I was a kid I thought writers had some kind of magical world-spinning powers. I still tend to be in awe of writers who can make everything come together and be Real.
When someone tells me "But you're a writer," my first reaction is "Well, not REALLY."

But sometimes it works...

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

*beam* That's wonderful.

I've noticed the same thing about knowing so many writers--at some point it starts to be old hat, and then you realize you're noodling around talking with your childhood icons as if it's normal, and then you fall over going AHHAAHAHHAHA.

Or maybe that's just me. :)

Congratulations on dreams come true. :)

[cammykitty.livejournal.com]

You are so right. I was talking with Lois McMaster Bujold (who haven't had time to read yet) at WisCon, thinking nothing of it, while a writing friend of mine who is a big big big fan was too scared to speak to her. & I used to be deathly DEATHLY shy, but now, writers don't count as people I need to be shy around. Not even cranky ones like Harlan Ellison(circle r).

But yes, then I realize I've met some really amazing people. Pinch me.

[melissajm.livejournal.com]

:grin: I know what you mean! Lois is one of my Authors I Practically Worship. I nearly passed out from awe when I met her-and here I am referring to her by her first name! She's a great person, not pretentious at all.
(And her books are phenomenal-well worth making time for. ;))

[janni.livejournal.com]

Yeah, realizing writers were just ordinary folks--which seems so intuitive now--was really amazing to me at first.

I mean, it should have been obvious that writers just want to have interesting conversations with interesting people same as anyone else, but it didn't occur to me until I actually started writing that this would be so.

[melissajm.livejournal.com]

And all the writers I've met so far have been such nice people, too.

[pbray.livejournal.com]

The nice people in our field far outnumber the jerks, or at least that's true for the ones I've met.

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Exactly.

Now I'm on the other side of the equation, and I'm amazed whenever someone says that they felt nervous about approaching me. I mean, I'm still just me. Sometimes at cons I feel I should wear a button that says "Yes, really, I'd love to chat."

[melissajm.livejournal.com]

Hey, I still got a kick out of your remembering me the next time we met!

[pbray.livejournal.com]

We 'Scapers must stick together.

[melissajm.livejournal.com]

Now I'm in Farscape withdrawl, since I watched those bits of it the other day. :sigh:

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Hee! A couple of years ago Lois invited me to join her and a friend for dinner. My dinner came with spinach and halfway through dinner I completely panicked thinking "Oh my god, what if I have spinach in my teeth and Lois sees it?"

But most of the time I can be calm. We're all fellow writers and we all put our manuscripts together one word at a time :-)

[cammykitty.livejournal.com]

Oh my, the dreaded spinach!!! :D & yes, people get nervous about approaching you. You've got quite a list of publications and are definitely a pro. That's all you've got to do to intimidate some people, and it was enough the first time I was in the same building as you.

The talk to me buttons isn't a bad idea at all. -- although I work with kids with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and it reminds me a bit of a ASD conference I heard about. Since people with ASD aren't always good at social skills, the attendees color coded themselves for "comfortable talking," "will talk but won't initiate conversation" and "oh god, leave me alone please."

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Hey, that's a cool idea! We need "mood" buttons that change color based on how we're feeling at the moment.

[melissajm.livejournal.com]

Sounds good to me! I've already decided that the reason I'm 10X more social at cons compared to normal is that people wear name tages. I'm horrendous at recognizing faces, and I'm afraid of hurting someone's feelings, so normally I'm not very social. At cons, that's no problem.

[melissajm.livejournal.com]

I met Lois because Jennifer Schwabach, Josepha Sherman and I were at the Albacon ice cream social (and meeting Josepha is another of my favorite "Honest-To-Gosh Real Writer stories), and Josepha called "Hey Lois, over here!"

So she joined us for ice cream, while I just sat there thinking "I'm having ice cream with my idol..."

That's when I realized what a classy lady Lois is, because she'd just come in from this long, exhausting trip and she was still friendly to us.

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Exactly. Like last WFC where I totally froze when I realized Patricia McKillip was sitting just two tables away, signing her books.

[cammykitty.livejournal.com]

"After all, how many people actually achieve their childhood dreams? Everyone has dreams, but life intrudes and they put them aside. But you went and did it." Yeah you!!!

One of my students asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up when I was a child, and it felt really good to be able to say "a writer, and I'm doing it." Not published yet, but I'm doing the work, and even that amount of achievement pleases me.

Congrats on your book! Several people are looking forward to reading about lizards!

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Thanks! And congratulations for sticking with your dreams. Wishing you great success.

[mariannelee.livejournal.com]

That is so cool. Congratulations. I have an inkling of how much work got you to this point, so you deserve to pat yourself on the back.

[melissajm.livejournal.com]

I've got to finish the book I've been reading, so I can get to the lizards...

Congratulations!

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[janni.livejournal.com]

After all, how many people actually achieve their childhood dreams? Everyone has dreams, but life intrudes and they put them aside. But you went and did it.

Great way to put it.

Go all of us! :-)

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Yay team, we're great!

Sheila

[(Anonymous)]

Sometimes the best I can do is to perceive the cup as half full. Full and shiny is a pretty lofty interpretation. Hopefully, I can be open to new thoughts and ways of seeing things that are on the positive side. Sheila does that for me on a regular basis. And, I am also the oldest.

SD

[wishweaver.livejournal.com]

Then Sheila said something that really touched me. "After all, how many people actually achieve their childhood dreams? Everyone has dreams, but life intrudes and they put them aside. But you went and did it."

Somedays amidst all the crap and the tough spots, I forget how truly special and wonderful this is. It takes an outsider to remind me that the cup is not only full, it's very shiny.

Thanks. I needed that. ;-)

Write on!

Wish

[pbray.livejournal.com]

You're welcome!