Tomorrow Is The Day

Today marks the last day before I join the ranks of traditionally published authors. One of my earliest memories regarding writing is from when I was in elementary school. I remember drawing/writing a little book. I remember being frustrated that it wasn't more professional. I remember deciding, when I grew up, I wanted to publish a real book.

And just what that meant changed over the years, until the goal crystalized into, I dream of being a traditionally published author. And getting traditionally published is not easy. It took decades of work, and now that work is paying off.

But it was not work done in a vacuum. Throughout my life, I've had countless people cheering me on, encouraging me not to give up. Some of these people have been constants. My parents for one, have always encouraged me to pursue my writing dreams, and I am extremely lucky for this. I love you mom and dad. And to my brother, I love you. Thank you for always letting me call you when I write myself into a technical corner.

Some people I've lost touch with or grown a part from, but when they were in my life, they supported my dreams. Even without being in contact with them now, I'm so grateful for their support in the moment.

I have friends now who are great beta readers, editors, or who are just psyched that I have a dream, and I'm chasing it. I've been extremely humbled by the amount of people whom I didn't realize were cheering me on but who are. People have come out of the woodwork as supporters of what I'm writing or where I'm going with my writing. Nothing makes me happier than getting a random message from someone saying they read my blog and loved it. So to everyone in my corner, your support means everything to me.

I'm grateful to all my teachers and mentors, and even to the random coworker I met when I was in my early twenties. He fancied himself a 'real' writer and one day yelled at me that if I was going to be a real writer, I had to be so hungry for writing every morning I could not go to the bathroom or wash my face prior to sitting down to write. I think of that interaction all the time. It's not how I write, but he was the first person I met in the wild who made me really consider what it means to be a writer.

And I'm grateful to all the people I don't know who are cheering me on. It humbles me.

To my husband, thank you for installing standing desk legs on my desk and a mini split in my office, and all the other little, and not so little, things you do to help me with this dream.

So before I make a long post even longer, simply, thank you. A life long dream is about happen for me, and it was never a path I walked alone.