am i just fooling myself...?

Question

all right...i'm embarassed about this a little bit 'cause experienced people keep telling me to get real & not live in a fantasy.

i'd love to write a bestseller in a couple of years' time. i've given this a lot of thought and maybe, just maybe I could do it. the problem is, when I hear people saying these things I get completely discouraged about anything in life. this bestseller would save me in a way - it would leave me with a sense of great accomplishment and change me for the better. i've exp. a lot of hurt and this is the only thing I feel passionate about.

Answer 1

AmiK - if you are going to insult a person for incorrect grammar, might I suggest that you be careful to monitor your own??

I agree with MadforMAC in that you should write for its own sake, rather than the adulation of others. Many successful authors have produced numerous works before receiving any recognition. The problem with constructing a novel for the sake of it being a best seller, is that you never really know what will fit that category from one second to the next - and who is to say that it would end up being a product which would truly satisfy you even if it did. Write for yourself, not for the sake of others.

The one point I do not agree with (and which makes me think MadforMAC knows little about true writing) is this concept that one must specifically educate themselves with courses and writer's groups. Many of history's most successful and inspiring writers did nothing of the sort, often being solitary (sometimes inwardly tortured) individuals, and who took no such courses, drawing instead from both life experience and from within.

True writing is like any other art form; it is done firstly for the purpose of self-expression and deep satisfaction, and only afterwards shared with others

Answer 2

Don't be embarassed for wanting recognition. We all want that. We all want the approval of others as well. We all want to be admires, appreciated, respected, and skilled.

Some people want to be famous. This is an extreme, being that it is recognition of the masses. It does, however come with a proce.

First of all, you will no longer have the privacy you now enjoy. All of your mistakes, experiences, and choices will be publicly scrutinized and evaluated. You will be judged by the masses, sometimes harshly. For all of the millions of people who approve, there is an equal number that disapprove.

Hopefully your self-esteem does not rely on the approval of others, because if it does, fame is not a great way to solve that problem. Look at how many celebrities have committed suicide.

You sound like your self-esteem is driven by the accomplishments you make, the goals you have, and what you have acheived thus far. Keep this frame of mind. This is healthy for you, as accomplishments motivate you.

Maybe your perception of feedback from others discourages you because you assume their intent is to discourage you. Is it possible that your perception is distorted by an insecurity of your own? Please do not let this destroy your motivation, or give you an excuse you avoid trying.

Maybe you should set a smaller, more easily accomplishable goal to give you the momentum you need to go further.

What about researching famous authors and their earlier works. Some of them wrote short stories, comics, articles, and editorials that were never published until they created a "hit" (best seller). Similar to the atrowrks of those who did not become famous until after their death.

I don't think that there are very many authors that had a best seller out of their first work (except for those who wrote them as the result of some big-media scandal, story, or political agenda--and even then, if there were no media hype preceeding their book, it wouldn't hold much merit on it's own).

Keep your goal, work up to bigger ones, and pursue your passion. And when people specualte about the cons as well as the pros, don't assume that they wish for you to be unsuccessful. They are just well-intentioned people reminding you that with the good, there is a price to pay.

If you can accept that, then keep on going doing what you're doing.

Take care!

Answer 3

Stop asking questions and start writing. Who gives a flying f-ck what other people say about your dream? Just take a couple of writing classes and go for it. By the way, merely getting over the hurt you've experienced is a great accomplishment too. You don't have to write a bestseller to achieve accomplishment. Now go and write your book dude!

Answer 4

Hey get a real job so you can keep your self grounded and in your spare time start writting your book. If this is what you feel passionate about, you should write it, and pursue your dream. Who the heck cares about what people think, unless they pay your bills and then well you have to amswer some questions.
So if you are taking care of your self and paying your own damn bills, go ahead try it out and when you have top the best seller list of the NY Times, send them a free sign copy with a note that says *** Thank you for beleiving in me and pushing me farther than ever I imagine I could go***

Answer 5

You are approaching this all wrong. First, if you want to do it, then do it, don't wait to get approval from anyone.

Second, you write to write, not to have a "best seller". That is difficult to do given the way publishing is today. But that does not mean you don't write.

Third, get into a good writing group, take writing classes and workshops and attend writing conferences. Also, see Dan Poynters webpage for more information on publishing.

Answer 6

So, what's the problem? What are you embarassed about. Focus, get determined, and write. You are your best and worst critic. You have to have a passion for anything that you want to do and achieve. You've won half the battle. What are you waiting for?

Answer 7

Have you journaled? Start. Write about the hurt. It will help you, right now. As a book, you would help the rest of us. Give it a go.

Answer 8

Take some creative writing classes and start writing. If you don't , then it is a fantasy. If you do, you'll have a chance

Answer 9

Well, if you write with no grammar no one would publish anything you wrote anyway.

Answer 10

Do It!!!!!
It may help someone else.