Apparently It's Called a Judas Cradle

I've been reading a lot of writing blogs lately that harp on wannabe writers. Most of these are written by established professionals who ply their trade for a respectable living. It's incredible to me how often they try to discourage others from following in their shoes. And frankly, it makes me want to smack them.

     There are basically two types of these publication guardians. One group seeks to protect the aspiring author from the hardship they will undoubtedly face. Their anecdotes and warnings are not relayed so much to actually keep the newbies from joining their ranks, but to give them an accurate picture of just how difficult the game really is. To these, I say, "Look buddy, I appreciate the concern, but I've been zipping up my own pants for two years now. Now if you have some legitimate advice for me other than 'Beware of Papercuts and Hate-Mongering Publishers,' then I'm all ears." To me, this group almost feels like they regret their choice to become an author. "Don't make the same mistakes I did, young whipper-snapper. Save yourself while there's still time... I hear Home Depot is hiring."

     The second group is full of people I really want to punch in the throat. They're the ones that not only talk about how much work is involved with writing, but also drone on and on about how if you don't write at least ten hours a day and hate every minute of it, then you'll never be successful. They keep telling me that because I have a "real" job, that writing is obviously beyond me; otherwise I would be doing it full time. This group often is peopled with the same... um... people that think self-publishing is for 2nd Grade short stories that my mom really liked. In fact, there was a comment from a published author on one of the blogs I read regularly that said something to the effect of "just because you self-publish doesn't mean anyone will care... good luck getting anyone to read it." Wow buddy, you really get your jollies from killing dreams, don't you? To this group, I say, "Go sit on one of those nasty torture pyramid things they made people sit on in the Middle Ages."

     So I have a 8-5 work-a-day job... So I'm a wicked-awesome father and pretty much the best husband my wife has ever had... So I'm still a few months away from publishing my first novel... So what? Go crap on your own dreams. I just got home from work, played with my baby girl until it was time for her to go to sleep, and now I've got some writing to do.