I
don’t often care if someone has more money than me or on the surface seems to
be living a great life. There’s no point in being jealous. Maybe I can learn something from them or find
a trait to model for my own success.
Perhaps I also don’t pay it much attention because I know that some will
always have more than me – and many will not.
I also know that appearances are misleading. Are these people as successful as they appear
to be? Are they happy? Do they lack in other areas? The competition game is a losing proposition
– their status will neither make me better nor worse.
But
what I do find myself competing in is the world of writing, thinking, and
creating. In that arena, I can feel
envy, jealousy, competition…and all of those human qualities that turn us into
crazed people.
It’s
only natural to wonder: Why does their
book become a big hit while another languishes?
It’s only human to feel competitive when seeing what you believe to be
lesser talents rise above your station in life.
But
the truth is that success is not directly correlated to talent in a singular
area. It has to do with your
connections, your experiences, your education, and even your demographics, from
gender and sexual orientation to race, religion, geography, and economic
status. So many things factor in to
where you will land in life, and talent isn’t always the leading factor.
There
are many great writers out there, but some don’t get discovered because of
other factors, from how one was published and promoted, to misperceptions about
a writer and his work. The opposite is
true too, that mediocre writers sometimes advance far – getting more sales and
media coverage than they truly deserve.
Life’s
unfairness and randomness extends to writers and their careers. The world doesn’t always reward others on their
merits. Authors know this well.
But
to those writers who are very good and deserve the acclaim and riches they are
experiencing, can other writers appreciate them without feeling that they
should be the ones getting awards, book deals, critical praise, and lots of
sales? Can we, the writing-class, rise
above our jealousies, insecurities, and self-centered angst and applaud others
without secretly wishing them ill will?
Great
writers make all writers better. Strong
writing eventually gets discovered and finds its fan base. For some, the rise takes too long, and falls too
short of expectations. For others, they
catch a break and become instant successes.
But there’s enough room for more to succeed, to capture the hearts and
attention of potentially millions of people.
Keep writing what you know, and do your best to practice the art while
enjoying the process. Others will decide
your value, but deep down you should already know what yours is.
“Every book has a collaborator in its reader.”
--Maurice Barres, Mes Cahiers (1929-38)
“The novelist is, above all, the historian of conscience.”
--Frederic Raphael, in Contemporary Novelists (1976)
“The novel could disappear, but it won’t die …The human race needs the novel…Those who say the novel is dead can’t write them.”
--Bernard Malamud, in interview in Writers at Work (6th series, 1984)
“If good books did good, the world would have been converted long ago.”
--George Moore, Hail and Farewell (1914)
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