Yes, I’m aware the olympic games are over. However, some of the stories and lessons remain – as they should.
It occurred to me as I heard all the hype about Lindsey Vonn – and watched how she handled it with grace and pretty good spirits – that a similar thing happens to writers.
Those who dream of careers in commercial fiction often face heavy expectations from people inside and outside the publishing industry.
Everyone has an opinion – or a particular delusion – about published authors. Often it starts with the notion that you merely write the book and then send out a brief letter about the book to an agent.
That agent falls in love with the book and sells it for a seven figure deal to a ‘major’ house. The major house launches a no-reader left behind publicity campaign. The book is wildly popular and the author cashes royalty checks while eating chocolates and writing the next book.
Reporters were eager to label Lindsey Vonn the Vancouver Darling and predict she would gather gold in her every race. As a prime athlete she trained, envisioned, and competed with the intent of peaking at the 2010 games.
But did her expectations match the expectations of the media?
In her own words- no.
What Vonn had in mind for her olympic experience probably differed greatly from what the public anticipated. And it should. She knew her strengths and her limits. She knew her goals. She knew herself.
Vonn dreamed and prepared, she gave every event the best she had, and she had every reason to be proud of herself when the games were done. She was the first American woman to take gold in the downhill, that alone made her a standout success.
A writer’s expectations may differ wildly from the outsider’s expectations. In reality, writers can only control the writing and submitting part of the publishing program. Oh – and the promo efforts too of course!
No matter what family, friends, neighbors and postal carriers think about the life of authors, only the individual author knows the strengths, weaknesses, desires and ultimate goals that set them apart from the pack.
Live the adventure!
