J is for Jealousy

I have been jealous, in my efforts to get published, which is a feeling I haven't really suffered from much for many years about anything else. I'm happy with my family, have a secure home I love, and have enjoyed the last few years immensely.

The jealousy is speak of is, I feel, because getting published seems so random. I know people who write better than me who can't even get their work read by an editor. I know people who, in my opinion, don't write as well, slide effortlessly past me on their way to success. I know agents and editors say 'write a brilliant, unforgettable, saleable book' but that seems sadly dependant on trends, fashions, other books and films that are coming out etc. There must have been a writer out there with a nice 'girl meets boy vampire' a few weeks after Twilight was bought up, who is still grinding his or her teeth. Maybe a better writer (rather likely, if you believe Stephen King, whose opinion of Stephanie Meyer's writing I share).

So, because it seems random, it doesn't seem fair. You can't, by the application of hard work and study and practice, make it happen. Make it more likely, of course. But you can put that effort in for years and years, and your number may never come up. So when a fellow blogger (a very good writer, I might add) got a book deal, I was jealous, and I just hoped I didn't come across as snippy, snappy or whiny. Instead, I shall rise above my childishness and recommend her book, an extension of her blog which has come to fruition as a book, and if it is as funny as her regular posts, well worth the money. I just hope that other Canadian ex-psychiatrist who is trying to publish her French blog into a book isn't grinding her teeth as I type...

PS Since I wrote this blog, the winner of the Mslexia competition (in which I was a runner up), Rosie Garland, has received a well-earned deal for her book, and amazingly, I am NOT jealous. I can't imagine what it feels like to be in her shoes, but that's one hell of a rollercoaster! Maybe a tiny bit of envy, then! Certainly a lot of tension, since my book may be doing the rounds shortly...

PPS I am GUESTING ON ANOTHER BLOG!!!! See me over at Write it Down-ith, I'm so excited, I've never been a guest before!