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As writers, reading critiques and reviews of our written product is often one of the hardest parts of the game. What kind of person signs up to be praised, criticized and scrutinized for every thought they ever commit to paper?

 

While having a tough skin is necessary to survive the writing industry, no writer really signs on for the position. Writing is what we must do. It’s like breathing. We either write or our soul dies. Yes, that sounds dramatic, but what it sounds like makes it no less true. Many writers fain over every word selected making sure each phrase expresses their thought in just the right manner. Often writers profess that they would write even if no one ever read the words they strung together to form memorable prose. In fact, there are many closet writers out there, who think acknowledged writing is for the select few or who strictly write for themselves.

 

As a matter of fact, I remember contacting a writer my mother had encountered at her local mall bookstore. She told him of my desire as I was not yet published at the time and he gave her the address to his Myspace page. I emailed him a couple of questions and received a couple of writing book recommendations from him, but he did not miss the opportunity to dissuade me from my pursuit. He declared the obstacles to publishing success, the small sector African American authors control and an ever-increasing industry that worried more about how much a book generated rather than the message it carried. Yes, he painted a very grim road ahead. I wonder what he would say if he knew I got published shortly after that discouraging email. Yes, in his eyes I might have been a naive wannabe writer hack, but he didn’t take the time to find out.

 

I can’t blame him really. I was potential competition in a really difficult market. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen writers become jealous of each other for finally breaking through the many barriers the publishing houses build to narrow down the mountains of unsolicited material they receive. After all, everybody claims to be writing a book or have a great book idea everyone in their circle has told them they should publish. But the real test is if that book actually gets written and if the writer ever lets it see the light of day.  No writer wants to see their baby rejected. But not adding to the literary discourse, if you have the ability to do so, is selfish. What a sad world this would be if no one ever wrote books, essays, poetry, screenplays or movie scripts. How much more difficult would life be if we could not learn from the mistakes and triumphs of others. You never know when what you write could really help someone else. Even if all it does is help someone take their mind off the stressors of the day.

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