“Celebrations aren’t limited to agent representations or book contracts. Celebrate those milestones along the way.”
Author, Lisa Jordan, wrote this in a very encouraging blog post last Friday.
Her words really resonated with me. I mean, really-really.
Because there are so many things to celebrate as we travel this crazy journey, yet we tend to downplay them. So many things that are just as important and just as beautiful as getting a call from an agent, or signing a book contract.
Pursuing publication is not for the faint of heart. It’s a long and often arduous road, filled with doubt, unmet expectations, rejection, and waiting. And because of that, we can’t afford to skip over any of the celebration.
So celebrate.
When you type the first page of a story? Celebrate! You just began an amazing, amazing journey that will build your character in ways you can’t even begin to imagine.
When you put your fingers on the keypad and pound out a thousand words? Celebrate! Keeping that butt in the chair takes an extraordinary amount of discipline and perseverance – two qualities that every published author needs.
When you finish that first novel? Celebrate! You just did what thousands of people only aspire to do. You wrote a book. You. Are a writer.
When a new story idea sparks? Celebrate! You just unearthed a hidden treasure.
When you send out a query letter? Celebrate! Putting yourself out there is an incredibly scary step, but you took it anyway.
When you receive your first (or second, or third, or….well, you get the idea) rejection. Celebrate! Each one means you are in it. Each one is proof that you are serious about publication. Each one brings you that much closer to a YES.
When somebody tells you that your words touched them? Celebrate! Because you are a Voice and your voice makes a difference.
When you enter a contest or submit a short story? Celebrate! You are taking active steps toward your goals.
When you write, day after day, through the doubt, through the fear, through the not-yet-realized dreams? Oh my goodness, celebrate! Because God, the Creator of the universe, in all His majesty and power, knitted you together with a gift. A passion. And He’s got a plan for your words.
So celebrate, my friend.
What you do matters. Agented or not. Published or not. It matters.
Let’s Talk: What things have you celebrated on your journey?
Lovely post, and at just the moment I need to be reminded of this. Thank you!
Awesome post, Katie! Thank you for reminding us that even the smallest things are cause for celebration. I finished the first draft of my first novel and I am currently in the revision stage. I am getting ready to submit a short memoir for a local contest. So those are my celebrations.
This one is going to be one of my favorite posts so I can look back and remember to celebrate, no matter how big or small the accomplishment.
Really, my favorite times are writing with the Still, Small Voice whispering and my wonderful crit partners honing my work with sharp iron.
May God bless your journey!
Patti
Nothing to celebrate lately, Katie…nothing at all. But I'm so happy for YOUR contract, and sorry I'm late in congratulating you! How exciting; what an amazing journey you're on!
God bless you.
Hi Katie– I came by to check in and see how you were doing with the novel (I'm STILL so excited for you every time I *think* about it) and then I found this fun, exciting and celebratory post. Thanks for making me smile today.
Blog posts like this one…celebrate! 🙂
Life holds so many reasons to celebrate!! And I do, quite often and in all kinds of ways, frequently silly.
coffee. I celebrate every cup coffee.
I agree with Sarah… I celebrated my first rejection letter too! My first conference… my first agent request… my first in person agent request… my first publisher request… my first contest final… when I finish a book… When I finish a chapter… when I finish a "read through" of a book I've written and still sigh at the ending…
And considering celebrating usually means chocolate is involved, this could totally be the reason my belly is not getting any smaller!
This is really, really cool. 🙂
Thank you, Friend!
And I'm celebrating for you as well!
I got chills when I read this post. What a fun way to look at this staggering journey. It's a great reminder to keep us all in the moment instead of always dreaming about the what-if's ahead.
Tomorrow I'll be celebrating as I hit the send button on my Genesis entry. That's a big step for scared little me.
This is a great post, Katie! 🙂
I celebrate when I finish my goals. I celebrate when it feels like my plot is coming together more and more each day. I celebrate when a new idea pops into my head, and I recognize it's the one I've been looking for to take my story farther.
And it's important to celebrate other people. Their accomplishments, their milestones.
Katie, I wholeheartedly agree. Each step of the journey is worth celebrating. I love sharing in others' happy dances for successes big and small.
The ladies at my church will take me out for ice cream over any accomplishment, no matter how small. Celebrating is a form of thanksgiving. We should all take time to thank God.
This is great! There are so many times to celebrate, not only in our writing journeys but also in our life journeys in general. Thanks for sharing. =)
I Love this! I can't tell you how many celebrations we've had! Every time Rachelle suggested she'd take me on we went out for sushi. We went out on the night she actually took me on, on the night before I announced it, on the day my contract arrived, and finally…. I always said when I get agented I'd take the kids to lunch out on a fancy golf course in our area and sure enough we went Saturday. Also on the night of my contract celebration I took my DD to build a bear workshop and she wanted me to get a bear too. SO of course I bought a hello kitty and aptly named her contract kitty. 😉 Hope I didn't bore you or make you too hungry!
Very encouraging! "Each [rejection] means you are in it. Each one is proof that you are serious about publication." So true. Glad I discovered your blog today.
I'm so glad my post inspired you! You wrote such an encouraging post. Celebrating those tiny milestones makes the bigger ones all the sweeter!
I love this post, Katie!
I have so much to celebrate.
Right now I'm celebrating the fact that I have a whole glorious week off from school so I can write!
I'm also celebrating that I finally figured out what was wrong with my plot so now I have this week AND the story fix that was eluding me.
And I'm celebrating this wonderful cyberworld of friends – some new, some longterm – to struggle and share with and to celebrate alongside of.
Hope you all have a great day today!
Oh – and Katie – I woke up this morning with Come Awake playing in my brain – thanks to your tweet.
Awesome! Just awesome. So encouraging! Hey, I'm just celebrating the fact that I'm finally embracing the idea of being a writer! 🙂 I haven't even gotten as far along in the journey to even send a query letter or get rejected…but I've taken the first step of identifying myself as a writer! That's pretty cool, I think!
Thanks for such a great post! I've said it before and I'll say it again…you are an AWESOME literary life coach! What a gift of exhortation and encouragement you have! I'm telling you, I see writer's conferences in your future…with you as the teacher! Go, girl! Blessings!
Thanks for a Monday morning dose of encouragement! I'm celebrating finishing a challenging rewrite, sending the manuscript back out, and beginning a new project–one I've wanted to start for nearly a year. Thanks for the reminder to take a moment to appreciate 🙂
I like lots of little celebrations. Lots and lots and lots…They keep me going, keep me working, keep my morale up.
Perhaps it's the childlike part of me. But no harm in that, right?
I love this! I'm celebrating sticking to my schedule. It's so gratifying to be almost finished with this book!
This really touched me! Thank you!
ahhh… celebrating the little things on the way to the big dream. hard to do! but so important. otherwise the waiting and impatience and frustration may take a toll. thanks for the reminder which is so applicable to the pursuit of any dream!
Agree! Agree! Celebrate!
I've celebrated rejections because they showed I was putting my work out there.
Great post. I celebrate my family, God, and my writing family daily. Without support from the above, I wouldn't have anything to celebrate.
Plus, I'm always looking for a reason to have that apple pie – another thing to celebrate!
I agree with Tamika–what an uplifting post:) great way to start our week:)
I am celebrating my editing process and that I submitted to a contest:)
I feel so uplifted! This makes me think of the songwriter's words, "I have the right to praise." We have a gift from God- we have a right to celebrate!
I want more than anything to be published, but it would steal some of the joy not to enjoy the journey getting there.
I think in general this promotes a feeling of thankfulness that some of us are lacking. Good reminder to keep in a celebratory mood. :O)
Loved Lisa's post!
And you, I celebrate you. Because true friendships are more valuable than gold.
~ Wendy
Great post, Katie. Guess I'll celebrate a clean drafting table
(-:
Woohoo, yep! I totally agree. I celebrate all sorts of stuff. *grin*
So true! It IS hard to celebrate rejection though, haha. However I do remember just staring at the logos on those first few letters (back in the day when we still used the US postal service, but you're probably not old enough to remember!!), and thinking, I have correspondence from a big publisher, I am actually doing this!! Even though it wasn't what I wanted to hear, I did remember to congratulate myself for getting out there.
There are far too many things to stress and worry over, so thank you for today's reminder to celebrate – count it all joy!!
We have to appreciate the small steps or we'd go crazy. It is scary to send out stuff out there and just as many don't do it as do it! Esp. if we research and follow guidelines we should celebrate extra! 🙂
This is excellent stuff, Katie. There are definitely places on this journey to stop and celebrate.
I celebrated finishing a book, entering a contest, winning a contest, and starting a new story. I am hoping to celebrate my first rejection letter, like Sarah, some time this year! lol
Wow. Awesome post, Katie. Just awesome.
I celebrated my first rejection letter. Not sure how I'll react to my next…Guess I'll come back here and remind myself to smile. 🙂