Reading this excerpt was as if the gravity that keeps me earthbound relented 50%. Just enough to keep me attached to North America, but enough relief that all the muscles in my body relaxed simultaneously. I said aloud: "Thank you.”
You Don't Have to Be Famous
How to Write Your Life Story
by Steve Zousmer
The consequences of unmarketability are so obvious, they are not even worthy of Economics 101, yet we who write are fragile dreamers and deniers of reality, always clinging to hopes of rainbows and pots of gold and a taste of public adulation. But we have to let go of this fantasy; it will only get in the way.
Right now, you may be nodding in reluctant agreement, but a little voice inside you is protesting, “Okay, I’ll play this game and pretend to accept that I’m unmarketable. But I’ll show ’em. I’ll be the exception. My book will be so special, it’ll be the one that breaks through the marketability barrier.”
But you’re kidding yourself, and I’m not going to encourage you to keep dreaming because the serious point here is that living with this illusion is not harmless. You are embracing the wrong ambition. It will confuse your motivation, point you in wrong directions, influence every sentence you write, and drastically reduce your chances of finishing. You’ll try to write the wrong book, and you won’t get far.
Some of you know this feeling...the one described above.
Jesus, it is wonderful to let go.
And read this too. The commencement address. Comedians are my favorite mentally unstable people. http://pattonoswalt.com/
