Are you thinking about giving up? It's February and those New Year's resolutions have started to lose their shine. I know I'm already beating myself for not meeting all my goals. There's an annoying voice in my head: Maybe I don't have it what it takes. Maybe I don't have the talent.
Talent vs. Persistence
I've been enjoying Christina Katz's new free newsletter, The Prosperous Writer. Every week she focuses on a specific word and asks good questions that make you think. This week's word is "persistence." She talks about how people seem to value talent over persistence.
Christina writes, "Have you been haunted by the talent ghost? Are you still waiting for it to possess your body so that others will proclaim you permanently brilliant? Or is it enough to just write? How will you preserve through the long silences and occasional showers of praise?"
These questions aren't unique to writers. I see this with many aspiring jewelry designers, who want to publish or sell their work. They are told "no" once or hear an unkind remark about their work and give up.
They don't understand that the process is subjective. Do you buy every pair of earrings you see? Of course not. So why do you think editors, shoppers, and contest judges are any different than you?
Love the Process
It is enough to write. Or paint. Or make quilts or necklaces. You need to love the process of creation itself and see it separately from publishing or selling your work.
That is not to say it's easy to hold fast to that point of view. Or that I don't understand what it feels like to send your work out and receive a snide comment or no comment at all. Trust me, I've been there.
I understand how hard it is. In fact, when I first started submitting stories, I'd send them out once and then put them in a drawer when they were rejected. I assumed, like many new writers, that if a piece was rejected it was bad. That I had no talent. I didn't understand that it could mean that the story was fine, but it just wasn't a good fit for that particular publication at that particular time.
Luckily, I took a writing class with a teacher who told me he didn't revise stories or essays until he had sent them out a certain number of times. This was a revelation. From that point on, I decided I would send things out at least three times before deciding whether it needed to be reworked. My number of acceptances went up dramatically. The only thing that had changed was my persistence.
Be Your Biggest Fan
When I made the transition to submitting my jewelry designs, I assumed that persistence, not talent, would be key. That mindset has made this sometimes tough road easier. To preserve through the long silences, you must be the biggest fan of your own work. You must believe you can succeed. You must persist.
Talent will take you far. Persistence will take you further.