Enough With the Self-Pity!

A Literal Literary Loser Changes Her Tune

Looking back on almost a year’s worth of posts, I have come to the conclusion that a larger than I would like proportion of them is, oh, what’s the word I’m looking for… whiny.

I like to think I’m not a whiny person. I like to think I’m not a person prone to self-pity.

But when I review post titles like: Maybe I’m Paranoid, Rapid (And Patronizing) Rejections, Putting My Worst Foot Forward, and an explanation of Why I’m a Literal Literary Loser, it all starts to sound… less than positive.

And even if that’s who I am, that’s not who I want to be.

So - enough with the whining, enough with the negativity, enough with the self-pity.

I have a new book coming out this November. “My Mother’s Secret: A Novel of the Jewish Autonomous Region” by micro-publisher, History Through Fiction. (What’s a micro-publisher? Find out here! Note the exclamation point for positivity!)

Which means it’s time to stop lamenting the past and charge forward into the present! (Another positive exclamation point! My kids tell me punctuation is for old people. I am an old person, damn it!!)

I am going to positively do everything I can to make this book a success!

Book launch party being planned? Check!

Cover reveal? Check!

Annoying potential readers on social media? So, so many checks!

Personally reaching out to everyone who requested a review copy on NetGalley? Check?

Personally reaching out to any organization that might want to have me in to speak? Check?

Putting together a mailing list of those whom I’ve already spoken to who might want to have me in to speak again? Check!

Promoting the book as part of my day job as an education writer? Check! (Hey, just because you’re concerned about the sorry state of American schools doesn’t mean you also might not want a novel to read… to take your mind off the worrying for a bit.)

I’ve got my parents bugging their friends, and my kids bugging their friends, and my husband bugging his friends. I assume all my friends are already supportive and don’t need to be bugged. Right? Right?? (Two old people question marks!)

The point is, no more feeling sorry for myself, no more spiraling into depressing thoughts about how hard it is to get readers’ attention these days amidst all the multimedia distractions, no more paranoia about the entire publishing business being against me (see the Maybe I’m Paranoid post, above).

I’m a very lucky person. I have a great family, supportive friends, a new book that’s about to hit the market which readers seem to find compelling, a responsive and enthusiastic publisher, and Substack readers who put up with - nay, encourage - my streams of consciousness.

I started this column as a way to share my journey to publishing at the age of 52, after 17 traditionally published books, starting all over again from scratch, in order to create a community for those of us in the same boat, and inspire/guide/warn others who might be just starting on their publishing quest.

Nobody needs a community of kvetchers. Whining isn’t inspirational. So it’s good vibes from now on!

I’ll keep you posted on how that works out….