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Stop apologizing: Editor's Notes #304
January 08, 2020
Hello,

Accept everything about yourself
—I mean everything. You are you
and that is the beginning and the end
—no apologies, no regrets.

—Henry Kissinger


In this issue:

1. Stop apologizing!
2. Tickled my funny bone
3. Interesting Web site
4. Writing prompt
5. One way to double your investment in your writing

1. Stop apologizing!
"I’m not a great writer," said my friend this week.

I said, "Neither are most published authors."

What about you? Do you apologize for presuming to call yourself a writer? Do you guilt yourself (or let others guilt you) for taking time from (fill in the blank) to write? Do you hold back when it comes to spending money on your craft?

Make 2020 the year you stop apologizing for being a writer. Or if you are even too scared to call yourself a writer, make 2020 the year you can look at yourself in the mirror and say, "I am a writer." And if your voice waivers when you do whisper the truth, make this the year you say those four words with confidence and pride.

A writer is simply a person who writes. Not all writers write books; not all writers get published; not all writers actually own up to being a writer. But if you write, you ARE a writer. FULL STOP!

This attitude to writing is so important that if I could, I’d follow you around and enforce a few changes where needed. Here are the things I’d do.

I’d be your cheerleader. We all need one. That’s the person who can truly see the value in what we do and who we are, and they don’t mind saying something about it from time to time. I can’t be your on-the-spot cheerleader, so it’s up to you to find one. This might be a relative, a teacher (current or past), a neighbour, someone from a writing group. If there really isn’t one in your life already, consider finding a life coach. A good life coach helps you meet your goals. Part of that is encouraging you along the way.

I’d remind you that you and your message are worth the time you spend writing. You have valuable thoughts or stories or poems or songs. Getting them down on paper or into cyberspace is a worthy exercise. If someone tells you otherwise, I’d pipe up sharp-like and explain to you, and maybe also to your critic (if that’s not you, yourself), that all worthwhile goals take time to accomplish, and yours are worthwhile. I’d tell you to spend less time listening to the people who nag you about time. And if you need help managing time, as some of us do, get that life coach or cheerleader to suggest some ways you could offload some responsibilities or suggest some things you could just throw overboard to make more time to write.

I’d remind you that your drive to write is worth some financial investment. I’d walk along the street with you and absolutely insist that you buy that new pen, the special notebook to keep your best ideas in, the tea or coffee in the neighbourhood cafe that will also buy you uninterrupted time to write. I’d say, "Yes, that magazine subscription is an investment. Go for it," or, "A course in grammar is just what you need to give you confidence as you bring your work up a notch," or, "Imagine what great contacts at a writers’ conference could do for an actual publication for some of your ideas." And if you really can’t squeeze these things out of the budget, I’d snoop through your house and your brain to see how you could lay your hands on the cash you need: sell things you don’t need; take on odd jobs that don’t take you away from your writing; tell your boss you are worth a raise; get a new job that pays more; submit some of your writing to a publisher that pays.

If you talk smack to yourself and say, "I’m not a real writer," or "I’ll never get published, so what’s the use," or, "I’ve never been able to spell, so I can’t be a real writer," or "No one cares what I think or say," I’d tell you to stop talking like that about a fellow writer because if you’ve ever put pen or pencil or crayon to paper because you had something to say, even it was just a note to the milkman, you are a writer, and writers are my tribe. I won’t stand by and let anyone, and that includes YOU, my friend, talk smack to or about ANY writer.

I would make you pay into a smack jar every time you even thought such thoughts about yourself as a writer, and I’d make the amount hurt enough that you would catch yourself before the words or thoughts got fully developed. Then I’d make you replace those negative words with something positive that you will actually believe. Try these: "I’m a writer who is getting better," or, "I’m a writer who makes others glad to see my name on a return address on an envelope or my email address in their inbox," or, "I’m a writer who cares enough about my craft to subscribe to Editor’s Notes, and even though I’ve never met Audrey Owen, she says I’m part of the tribe just because I read her newsletters whenever the subject lines appeal to me." Of course, I can’t follow you around to catch you apologizing for being a writer or quaking in your boots whenever you dare to think of yourself as a writer, so you are going to have to do what you can to stop putting yourself down. Get a smack jar, and use it. Catch yourself putting yourself down whenever you can, and build yourself up instead. Spend time with your cheerleader. And spend time writing because it’s important for writers to write, and YOU ARE A WRITER!

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2.Tickled my funny bone
When the smog lifts in Los Angeles U.C.L.A.

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3. Interesting Web site
Here is a long page on writers and writing. Do you see yourself anywhere here?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writer

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4. Writing prompt
I’m a Canadian, and even though we’ve made apologizing an art form, I may not even apologize for this writing prompt. If you’ve been apologizing for thinking or saying that you are a writer whether the apology has been in word or in deed, write one last apology to yourself—only this apology is for apologizing.

I always love to see what you write. This time, I’ll be over the moon because I believe this is one apology that could change your (writing) life.

If you have never apologized for thinking you are a writer or for being a writer, write a statement about yourself as a writer. Consider posting it somewhere you can see if often. I’d love to see these positive expressions as well.

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5. One way to double your investment in your writing
This is where I remind you that until the end of January 2020, I will edit not 500 words as usual, but 1000 words for US$20. That’s a great investment in your writing. You get a professional assessment of your writing along with suggestions to become a better writer. You also get a quote for all the levels of editing I could do with your writing. This lets you know where you stand in the world of writing, and may help you decide on next steps.

I’d love to see what you have written and send you ideas for improvement. I look forward to seeing what you have.

Normally, I do only one sample edit per person, but until the end of January, I will do a second edit for those who have already had one. If you’ve made significant improvement since your first sample edit, you may have a nice surprise when you see your quotes. This offer of a second is one time only and definitely closes at 11:59 PM Pacific Standard Time, January 31, 2020.

Submit your 1000 words here:
https://www.writershelper.com/sample-edit.html/

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Link on LinkedIn https://ca.linkedin.com/in/audreyowen (Email me first so I know how you know me.)

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