Kelly Gibbons, artist and writer, about me

Thursday, January 08, 2004

Sometimes the hardest person to be honest with is yourself. I think I'm in over my head. There I said it.

There is so much I don't know. I am trying to learn, but it is overwhelming. I have surrounded myself with books, I am taking classes, I research constantly, and I try to do all the things others suggest (the ones I find useful anyway). I believe in myself, I write daily, I seek out others for support and advice.

I am not sure what to do next. I need to find more places to submit writing but I am clueless. I used the writer's market and other books, but they are a source of my anxiety, not a relief. They are too full of information--for me anyway. When I start out looking for places to submit I am quickly overwhelmed by the volume. I want to find the right places and then when I think I have some, I start to wonder if my piece will really fit it in.

I have read so much that everything is mush in my mind. So much of what is out there is contradictory. One book says to send a query letter not the full article, the next book says to send the article. Some people say simultaneous submissions are A OK others say they are a big taboo. Send clips, don't send clips. The list goes on and on and on. I am having major problems sorting it all out.

At one point I decided to go with what feels right for me. That seemed to work for awhile, but it is not anymore. If it was I don't think I'd be here right now spinning my wheels.

As I write this I think of things I need to work on:
confidence
organization
relaxation
patience
persistence

Sometimes I think trying too hard is just as bad as not trying hard enough. But then I re-read that sentence and think I'm an idiot. I guess what I have to do is find the right balance of everything. But that statement in the nutshell sums up the problem. How exactly do I do that?

posted by Kelly @ 1/08/2004 09:26:00 AM

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