The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking spaces – Will Rogers
My mother gave me this quote, handwritten on a note card, when I first started the struggle of becoming published. I had just finished my first novel, which has not yet been graced with publication, and was in the first stages of querying. That particular novel was rejected, so my mother’s notecard was hung above my writing desk where it stayed for the next two years. In that time, I wrote Blind Date and Only You. The entire time Slade and Dekker were telling me about their game-show meeting, and Rawley and Case shared with me their fight toward love, that quote was within sight. A constant reminder to keep writing, to never give up. The words burned into my brain.
There are far too many parking spaces in the Super Mall of Rejection. Every successful writer will be parked there for a time. There are a multitude of pull-offs for self-doubt. An infinite number of parking lots with names like procrastination, inner critic, writer’s block, family commitment, volunteer work, and my personal demon – the day job. While I can now say I’ve been published, my journey is not over. My road to success is nowhere near finished. There is plenty of room at the top of Mount Success for anyone who can resist the urge to park. For those of you on this road with me, fight the temptation and I will see you at the summit.
