I had a hard time coming up with a title for this blog post. My first thought was Not Taking Things Personally or Don’t Take It Personally. Regardless, the struggles I’m experiencing brought up something from my past, which led me to the current title. I’ll explain.

My first effort to become a published author had me writing what I had hoped would be a three book series, making it half way through. I submitted the first book to an editor for a content edit, then waited. But when the news of my mother’s passing came the same week I received my editor’s notes, I was overwhelmed. Being a newbie at this author business, I wasn’t fully prepared for the amount of work that I would need to invest to make my manuscript worth publishing. Grieving my mom’s passing, I stumbled through some revisions, then set it aside. (My mom was the one who encouraged me to pursue my writing.)

Fast forward three years later – I submitted my new novel to my editor friend, and recently received her notes, days after having surgery. It dawned on me how I was ripe for falling into the same trap. I was associating getting my book edited with trauma. This is what I want to disconnect: my mom’s passing and previous failure to follow through with my first content edit; and the expectation that I am going to fail again because of being overwhelmed by what’s going on in my life, including the surgery and what that means for my future.

Many of my readers are not writers. I’d like to come back around to my first thought of not taking things personally. I liken submitting my novel for editing like when I was a young mother and took my daughter to a pediatrician. I had more than one instance where I came away from those visits feeling like the doctor thought I was stupid. I took on those feelings because he was doing his job and asking questions which I didn’t know how to answer. I was doing the best I could, I loved my daughter, but when she was sick I needed the doctor’s knowledge and expertise to help me.

So, you may wonder where are my scripture references? The truth is my brain is too fried trying to untangle my thoughts. But know this – I was wrong to believe I was a stupid mother just because I was young and inexperienced, and I’m wrong to believe I can’t get through these edits and produce a finished, published, and well-written novel. Who was it that said, anything worth doing is worth doing well? Besides my mom. Lol! But doing something well doesn’t mean it will be easy. I may not be up for the challenge so soon after surgery, but that doesn’t mean I should give up.

Truth be told, I’m excited to make the changes.

Grace & Peace,

Sandy

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