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16
Don’t worry about being
worried, and don’t let worry
drag you down.
Not long after his novel Hold Tight debuted at #1 on the
New York Times Best-Seller List, Harlan Coben was speak-
ing to a crowd of suspense readers. He was asked if, with
all his success, he still felt insecure with any part of his
writing. He laughed and admitted that’s the writer’s
stock in trade. Coben said he always gets to a point in a
work-in-progress when he thinks, “This is terrible! I used
to be so good. When did I lose it?”
In fact, if you’re not insecure about your writing,
Coben says, you’re either mailing in forgettable stuff or
somebody else is writing for you.
You will worry if you are a writer. Turn that worry
into writing.
Some years ago, I was teaching at a writers’ confer-
ence in New Mexico. After lunch I noticed one of the
conferees sitting at a back table, looking distressed. I
went over and asked her what was up.
“I don’t know,” she said. “Am I ever going to get any-
where? I see all these people; they all want it just as much
as I do. How do I know if I’ll ever make it?” Tears started
down her cheeks. “Sorry,” she said.
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PUBLISHED
MULTIPLE
NOVELS
MULTI-
PUBLISHED
FINISHED
NOVEL
LEARNING
WANNA BE
BREAKOUT HIT
51
I handed her a paper napkin. Then I took another
one and drew the following diagram:
I explained that at the bottom, where most of the
people are, is the realm of the “want to.” Or “think I
have a book inside me.” But outside of some scribblings,
maybe a short story or two, perhaps an unfi nished novel,
these people never move on to the next level …
… which is where people like you are (I told her).
Those who actually try to learn something about writ-
ing. Who buy writing books, go to conferences, take
classes … and write.
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Above that is the level for those who actually fi nish a
full-length novel. This is a great place to be. This is where
real writers come from.
The next level holds those who write another novel,
because the first one is probably going to be rejected.
They do this, because they are novelists, not just some-
one who happened to write a novel.
Next are those who get published. Above that are
those who are published multiple times.
At the very top is a Wheel of Fortune. This wheel goes
around and lands on a book like Cold Mountain. Or The
Shack. No one can control this.
Your job, I told the young woman, is to keep moving
up the pyramid. Each level presents its own challenges,
so concentrate on the ones right in front of you. As you
move up, you’ll notice there are fewer people, not more.
If you work hard, you might get a novel on the wheel,
and that’s as far as you can get. After that, it’s not up to
you anymore.
The conference went on, and I eventually forgot all
about this incident.
A couple of years later, I bumped into her at another
conference. She told me that this conversation and the
diagram had a profound effect on her, and that she was
going to keep going.
Two years after that, she wrote to tell me she had
landed a book deal. She is now a published author.
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