Member-only story
Don’t Worry about Slumming
One writer’s misadventures in the publishing world.
You know, it does tend to suck when a mentor starts taking an active disinterest in your little victories. She makes a sarcastic remark about slumming. “So you’re a self-help writer now. Interesting. Honestly, I couldn’t stomach churning out that crap.”
She takes a sip of her wine, looking away as those words slip out of her mouth. As if she can hide behind a Pinot.
Her comment stings a little, but it’s also a sign. You’ve graduated. You’re a Jedi now. You just don’t feel like one yet.
But you can’t worry too much about that.
A meme went around a while ago, when Leonardo DiCaprio finally won his Oscar. Every writer needs to frame this thing:
Yeah, this meme reflects how anyone tends to feel after finally achieving a certain level of success and security in their career. It takes such a long ass time to get there. Lots of false starts. Lots of failures. Most importantly, lots of mirages — moments where you thought you’d made it, but didn’t. Those moments probably feel the worst.
