It’s my 40th birthday today! Of course, birthdays are a time of reflection and this year I am especially introspective because not only am I being promoted to the next decade, but in one month my debut novel will be officially birthed into the world.
Although it was a dream of mine to be a published author since I was thirteen, there were many roadblocks and detours, and many years where I had resigned myself to chalking up that dream as unattainable.
But even though this journey has been long, with many hurdles, I know that this is the moment my book-baby was meant to be born. If I had written Counted with the Stars years ago, it would have been a different story, one with not nearly as much depth or skill. There was a life I needed to experience before I could write it properly. There were trials I needed to endure and lessons to be learned. Then again, if I had been frightened to release my work into the world and waited too long, the timing might have been off.
You may be discouraged today, with your story or with the publishing industry or with yourself. But may I just encourage you? No one else is walking your same road, and certainly not at the same time.
What if the story of your heart has yet to be written because the experiences that you need haven’t happened yet? Or what if your story is just right, but the right agent or editor is not yet in place? A couple of months after my series was contracted, my acquiring editor changed positions. Who knows what would have happened had the timing been different?
Don’t worry about anyone else’s journey. Don’t covet their timing or their route or their skill-set. Your path is unique to you. The stories you are meant to tell come from the well of your own experiences and no one else in the world can tell them, except for you.
Isn’t that freeing? We can simply keep moving forward, keep writing, keep learning, keep striving, keep releasing our work, and when the time is right all the right resources will be made clear.
So take this time, whether you are pre-published, newly published, or multi-published, to enjoy the art of writing and your own unique journey and don’t compare it to anyone else’s path.
~*~
When she is not homeschooling her two sweet kids (with a full pot of coffee at hand), Connilyn is scribbling notes on spare paper, mumbling about her imaginary friends, and reading obscure out-of-print history books. There is nothing she likes better than digging into the rich ancient world of the Bible and uncovering buried gems of grace that point toward Jesus. Although a Pacific Northwest native, she now lives near Dallas, Texas. Her debut novel Counted With the Stars will be releasing in April 2016 with Bethany House Publishers. Connect with her at www.connilyncossette.com.