Leaping Over The Confidence Gap

I know it’s wise to avoid using cliches, but starting to write really has been, for me, a leap into the unknown. As I have said in previous posts, I have never been happier, and I want to be successful. The odd thing though, is that I have told few people about it.  A few family members know, and one or two friends. Generally though, I keep it to myself. Why? I don’t know.

I’ve been a keen amateur artist and photographer for many years, and have never been reticent when telling people about that. So what’s the problem with being a writer? Nothing, that’s what. Forgive me for quoting from the bible, but “Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel.”(Matthew 5:15). In other words it says,  don’t hide your skills and talents, tell people about them.

I feel almost like I’m in  hiding at the moment, metaphorically of course. I’ve spent the last four months cooped up in my study churning out page after page of novel, and have told virtually no one. I know that writing is a solitary occupation, but this is ridiculous. How am I to know if what I’ve written is any good? I read it myself and try to realistically evaluate its worth, but I know that’s of little use. I need to get some real feedback.

Confidence breeds confidence, everybody knows that. Every writer who ever lived has had to go through the rejection process, which might not seem to be a good way of boosting confidence. But to get published, a writer has to overcome that hurdle. That’s the confidence booster, starting the process by submitting work to an agent, and then doing whatever iterative work is necessary to ultimately get it accepted. It most probably won’t happen the first time, or the second, or the umpteenth, but at least it is dealing with the literary world. Getting to know exactly where you stand.

With that in mind, I have, at last, spoken to a literary agent, and committed to submitting three chapters within the next two weeks, plus a synopsis, and profile of the main characters. The prospect of doing so is daunting. I’m hard at work now on making sure the three chapters are as good as I can get them. I’ll be reporting on how things develop, using the blog and twitter as self-motivators. I hope, in due course, to have something positive to write about. But whatever the case, it should be interesting, maybe even amusing.

Ian