The other day I was perusing through my hard-drive and
noticed the progress I've made in my writing. The growth in my storylines and characters
were amazing, especially skimming through the pages. But I also noticed
something else – all were completed, and the ones that weren't were at least to
50,000 words or more. Then it suddenly became apparent that my hard-drive was not a
place to store my creative ideas but becoming a library of unpublished work. And,
for me, that’s not a good thing.
The longer I gazed at one of my titles, the further my heart
sank. My self-confidence, along with my namesake – faith (which means Imani) –
had come to a sudden halt. Everything I’d believed up to that moment had
crumbled into tiny, depressing pieces. So much so, I felt I was running
backwards in a marathon on a slick oil surface, while my colleagues were happily
skipping through the meadow to the halfway marker.
However and without over-dramatizing the situation, I’m at a
better place than I were weeks ago. No, I haven’t inherited any money; nor
found an agent – nothing remotely close. I discovered a common-sense approach
to work though the chaos: learning to let go.
Now when I mean ‘letting go’, I don’t mean giving-up. The
definition itself means to verbally act in defeat. And, this journey has far defeated
me. When I mean ‘letting go’, I mean allowing God, Allah, Yahweh, Jehovah, or
the Higher Power to take control. Truthfully, no human soul has ever met
success alone. Your favorite celebrities didn’t make it to stardom by
themselves. When these celebs win an accolade or an award, what’s in most of
their acceptance speeches? I want to thank soing-so, like managers, agents,
mentors, and fans, right?
Let me give you an example about letting go: The Journey of
Ruthie Belle – my soon-to-be freshmen novel, my baby, and my fourth child. The
editing has been completed, it’s been typeset, and proofread, and all it needs is to be printed. The intended release date was suppose to have been during the 50th
anniversary of the March on Washington
(August 28). It would have also marked an approximately one year of Zion ’s Road release, as
well as the grim anniversary of Emmitt Till’s brutal death. With the release of
TJRB during that week would’ve not only been perfect, but if you guest-read the
manuscript along with reading of Zion ’s
Road, you would’ve discovered my hidden inspirations.
I won’t get into details as to what has happened. However, I
will say being an indie author in an already fickle business is tough. Things
will go awry when we least expect it. Having said that, TJRB is not dead –
actually it’s ready for release but it has to overcome one more hurdle. And as
soon as I achieve that goal, I will let you, the VIP’s, know a definitive date.
Weeks ago I grew weary for fear of disappointing you fine
people. But I realized after the tears and lots of prayers, I had to let it go
and to put it in the right Person’s hands. I mean…hello…He gave me the talent to
write, so I’m sure He knows what He’s doing.
So please don’t give up me on yet, the ride has only begun.
Love,
Imani Wisdom
9 comments:
Imani I so thank you for sharing your heart. I to have a book that I have been saying for the last several months it was coming out and like you said, 'things happen.' But now I know that I was thinking to small. God wants a bigger platform to introduce Himself through the words He told me to write. Also for me to really shape up, or fine tune my business and you know what, I'm good with that. So, again, thank you for your transparent heart and I can wait for your TJRB because it will be right on time. Namaste'
Thank you, Lana for sharing your own personal struggle.
Yes, the road to dreams is not easy. There will be ups and downs, tears and joy, and riding a creative wave while other days our zone has 'zoned out'.
I realize during these few weeks that everything is a part of His plan. Sometimes He allow things to happen in order for us to build strength and character. So, what has happened concerning to this book is no accident.
I hope everything works well for you. And, please, let me know when you're book is to come out. I'll support you as you have supported me. <3
Hi Imani,
Let me share some things that might shine some light for you. I started in this business in 1997 when I was 19. I worked HARD for years to get noticed. I didn't have contacts, I didn't have friends, nothing. I did it all on my own. I knew nothing about the business. NOTHING. I didn't get published until 2005, after years of grinding and learning, but all the hard work I put in prepared me in many ways so I'm grateful for learning. While I was unpublished, I probably had over 20 books written. Yep! My first books were of course horrible trash and I'm embarrassed that back then I thought I could get a deal off that mess. LOL! The books in the middle where better but not good. The books after that were much better, and the books after that were where they needed to be. And after seven books published guess what? I'm still improving because in writing, you never stop improving or needing to improve. It took YEARS of learning and writing for me to be able to write a "publishable" story. I'm a natural-born storyteller so I can tell a good story, but I needed to learn the techniques of writing for publication. See I knew how to write a story of course, but not one suitable for publication. There's a difference. Once I learned the difference, I wrote better work.
You mentioned your friends skipping through the meadows, while you watch on the sidelines. LOL! Can't tell you how many times I felt that way, but you know what I learned? Just like YOU are looking at your friends and feeling like they are doing better than you, someone is looking at you too. Believe me. There is always someone in this industry looking at you. I learned this a long time ago. The key is to stop looking at what other writers do because that doesn't do anything but depress you, and make you second-guess yourself. You focus on YOU. Your mission is not their mission and visa versa. You gotta believe in yourself and know that there are good things waiting for you. In this industry you're gonna have ups and downs and be depressed MANY times. I was depressed just the other day concerning the industry, but bouncing back stronger is the ticket. We all got our own thing going on and we gotta stick to our own plan. Looking at others leads to jealousy and bitterness and you don't wanna get into that frame of mind. So keep doing what you're doing. I think you're doing good. Also remember there is NO timetable in this business. Take your time and write. Don't worry about the other stuff. You'll eventually get to where you wanna go or where fate plans to lead you.
Much love!
Stacey, thank you for your much-needed, inspiring words. I know you've been in the business for a while, and you've seen and experienced a lot. So I know who to go to when I get discouraged, or have a literary question, something I've should have done a weeks ago. <3
Imani, Let me first say thank you for sharing your experience I too have the same feelings but yet for the love of our craft we keep writing. For pure love of the craft and the enjoyment. it brings us. You are a phenomenal writer but also with each lesson you grow wiser. Stay focused and keep writing.
Girl, you're a phenomenal writer, too. We have to keep in mind our journey is for the love of writing. Anything else is a distraction.
Exactly! I write because I love it and it's a part of me. I do it because something inside me wills me to do it. It's the passion. If I didn't enjoy it, I would've stopped a long time ago. Let's be honest, there are many other things we can do that will bring in more money and other benefits than writing, but we stick to that because we have to. It's in our souls to do it. I've heard some writers act like writing is a chore and not something they enjoy. Please. I couldn't see how someone could try to be a professional writer and go through all this hell and be broke without loving it. LOL! I love, love, love, love writing! If you love it, then you'll always be on the right track. I always look at it like this, I just do my thing and whatever blessings come along, that's great. But I do it strictly for the joy I have for writing, not accolades. Plus I love making up stuff and giving fake people lives. LOL!
Hello1 Good to see you are working on getting this book out.
Keep the faith, girl!
Thank you, Katz! I'm glad I'm sticking with it.
Post a Comment