When I first started freelancing, I wanted to set an attainable goal – something I could work for beyond the publishing credits and the paychecks.
So I cleared off the top shelf of one of my bookcases and created a dream shelf. It was my goal – my dream to fill that shelf with my books and have a tangible reminder of encouragement.
Freelancers must possess persistence because success comes slowly and is papered with many rejections. We hone our craft, learn and grow while working several jobs to survive and trying to find as many writing gigs as possible.
Gradually, I began to fill a notebook with copies of my printed articles. Then – one by one – my words were accepted in anthologies: Chicken Soup books, Cup of Comfort books, Guideposts prayer books and others.
After several years, I also became an editor so I included those books next to mine. They represented a collaboration with writers – a joint effort to birth a finished product we could both be proud of.
Now, after 40+ years of freelancing, my dream shelf is full, and I am expanding to a new dream shelf.
The new one does not stand in my office, but it represents the hard work, persistence and many prayers that brought about the filling of my first dream shelf.
This new shelf stands in a library, within the Johnson County Library System. One of my readers recommended, “The Unraveling of Reverend G”, and the librarian agreed to put it into their system. Hopefully, people will regularly check out my book and find encouragement within the story of a woman who bravely faces her Alzheimer’s struggle.
Do I have a new dream, another goal? You bet I do. I want the second Reverend G book and then the third to also grace library shelves. I want my books in the hands of as many folks as possible so that they find encouragement within the words that God and I wrote.
And someday, I want even more books on my dream shelf, because I’m not finished with ideas and I’m not ready to give up on my dreams.
Words still stir within my soul and more empty shelves beg to be filled. I need another bookcase.
©2013 RJ Thesman, Author of “The Unraveling of Reverend G” http://amzn.to/12NUghB
I’m enjoying your blog posts. I always find encouragement and hope. And it’s awesome that they come right to my inbox!
Thank you, Susan. That means a lot to me, especially coming from another writer!
This is great! I’ve stood in a bookstore and imagined a book on the shelf that has my name on it! Guess I need to learn from you and have a bigger dream! Thanks for the inspiration 🙂
You are welcome, Melody. You are well on your way to filling up your own dream shelf!