( By Matt Cheuvront ) Today, let’s take a step away from rational thought and dare to be bold. What’s one thing you’ve always wanted to accomplish but have been afraid to pursue? Write it down. Also write down the obstacles in your way of reaching your goal. Finally, write down a tangible plan to overcome each obstacle.
The only thing left is to, you know, actually go make it happen. What are you waiting for?
Their was only one thing that immediately came to my mind when i got to pondering these question - I want to be a childrens author.
I've always wanted to - even in kindergarten, when my teachers read my little stories that were a paragraph long instead of just one sentence like the other kids, i would say " When i grow up, i'm always going to write stories ". When asked the same question in Year 6, my final year of primary school, i answered " an author or a paediatrician " ( That last one fell off the radar when i realised too much blood and yucky stuff doesnt make me feel well ). I even expressed the same wish here last year, posting a story i had written for my son and asking you other mummies to critique it. It reviewed well... so whats holding me back?
Fear, certainly - fear of rejection ( What if i think i'm good but no-one else does? ); fear of failure ( What if i concentrate all this effort and nothing comes of it ? ); and, strangely, fear of success ( What if i got one book published and then i couldnt produce a second ? ). But also lack of " know how " - aside from sending off a manuscript to a publishing house, i would have no idea how you go about getting a childrens book publised. I have no contacts in the industry and certainly no-one in my social circle who would have any either. My blog is not well known enough to garner any attention that could help promote any writing i do, and there is no way in the known universe that i have the finances to self-publish ( i dont think i'd want to know anyway - its apparently quite the difficult and thankless route to take ).
So where to from here? I keep churning ideas through my head, keeping noting them down and trying to make something of them; i research publishing house and agents and other novice authors; I volunteer my writing services on websites like Digital Parents and try and get my name out there. I post stories now and then on my blog to see how the childrens-book-reading public respond, and i hope that they enjoy reading them as much i enjoy writing them, that their children might get so excited by the story that they demand repeat readings. I'd love to illicit that kind of response from small children, that huge smile that lights up their faces and the little giggles they get when the words sound funny to them.
I love that stuff - that, that right there, thats what i want to accomplish....
