April 06, 2005

The Week from Heaven By C. Hope Clark
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Last week was a bummer - mistakes in my newsletter, a complaining subscriber, and a missed opportunity with a public relations person who might have helped my career. Rejections seemed to have built up behind a dam and flowed into my email all at once. I found it hard to practice my own preaching about positive attitude and always moving forward. One day I literally left the house and went for a walk to reorganize my thoughts and ponder personal goals.

If I'd listened to my own preaching, I would have realized that I was mired down in the negatives and wasn't seeing the forest for the trees. I tell writers over and over to realize that when bad events stare you in the eye, good ones are always right behind them. When you are down and out, the only way out is up!

Monday morning dawned and I procrastinated by gardening and cleaning a closet (sound familiar)? Ms. Muse was apparently on vacation and I almost didn't want to read my email for fear of another rejection. Chores done, I headed to the mailbox and found two envelopes - one from The Writer Magazine and the other from Writer's Digest/.

The Writer Magazine sent the standard two contributor's copies, and my heart quickened. They were May 2005 copies not out on the newsstands yet. There was my article on grants I'd waited almost a year to see in print, and it was gorgeous! But also in the magazine was a full one-page review of The Shy Writer, my paperback on marketing and self-appreciation for the introverted writer. I clapped my hands and whooped! I never expected such coverage of my little written-from-the-heart book. The dachshund cocked her head, totally amazed at her normally docile master.

Writer's Digest sent one contributor's copy. And there was a piece also on grants I'd written eons ago and almost forgotten about. By that time, you couldn't wipe the smile off my face. I closed the magazine and set it on the counter almost missing the headline about the 101 Best Websites for Writers for 2005. Oh my gosh - it was out. I snatched the copy up and nervously flipped pages until I found FundsforWriters listed once again ñ for the fifth year in a row! By this time I was dancing and laughing. The dog ran.

Now only two days later, I learn I've won a writing competition with CoffeeHouseforWriters.com, received a short write up in ByLines Magazine, and warranted a contract for a piece with God Allows U-Turns.

Last week is now a faint thought, barely a memory. All the little chipping away at this craft, the submissions and the continuous SASEs in pleas to buy my work have decided to reward me in the present week. I wake up smiling and go to sleep with it still stuck on my face. Next week will not be this good, and I understand that. But the good times are so heavenly I wonder how I ever dreamed of doing anything else. This job is cool indeed.

C. Hope Clark is founder of FundsforWriters.com and author of The Shy Writer: An Introvert's Guide to Writing Success available through Booklocker.com.