Sunday, February 9, 2020

Celebrating


I’ve always believed we writers need to celebrate every accomplishment. Let’s face it, we suffer a lot of rejection in this business. Our critique group hates the latest chapter. Rejection emails or total silence from the dream agent we queried. Series canceled by our publishers. Scathing one-star reviews from readers. The list goes on.

We develop thick skins and stop taking criticism personally (sometimes). But the best way to deal with the downs of the writing life is to celebrate the ups.

Finished that troublesome chapter? Have some chocolate. Get a request for pages from an agent? Have some wine. Get an offer of representation? Pop the cork! Sign a 3-book contract? Dinner and champagne, baby!


I just turned in the manuscript for my 10th book this week. Met my deadline. You’d think this would earn a trip to Tahiti! I admit, in past years, I’ve scheduled a much-earned vacation (usually to New Mexico) right after a deadline. But this being February, New Mexico being cold right now, and the travel budget in rather abysmal shape, I’m staying home.

My celebration was to be on a smaller scale. I planned to clean my house and get my tax prep done early.

Woo hoo! Do I know how to have fun or what?

In all honesty, my house is a disaster, since I’ve been holed up in my office at my computer for long days of writing and polishing. I’m looking forward to corralling the dust bunnies and decluttering.

(I never look forward to working on my tax stuff.)

But even my minimalist celebration has been put on hold. I had a filling done before Christmas and the resulting sensitivity never really cleared up. In the last week of my rush to deadline, “sensitivity” morphed into “brain-piercing pain.” Instead of blissfully dusting and vacuuming, I spent the day after my deadline in a dentist's chair. The day after that, I had a root canal.

Tax stuff sounds like a picnic by comparison.

The good news is I can once again drink hot coffee without crying in agony. The bad news is I still have some minor “bone soreness” to deal with and a return trip to the dentist for a permanent filling in my future.

Not the celebration, even small, that I had planned on.

Fellow writers and readers, what do you do to celebrate life’s accomplishments? And do you have any suggestions on how I can celebrate turning in my 10th book and surviving a root canal?


18 comments:

  1. Ten books!! Congratulations, Annette. That’s an amazing accomplishment. Sorry about the root canal. I’ve been there, and the pain before the procedure was worse than natural childbirth.

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  2. Slightly different area though, Grace! Haha!

    Margaret, YES! And books, of course!

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  3. Well, I cruise, but that's me. Some suggestions: a well earned shopping trip to a store for a personal item that makes you feel good. That sparkling beverage pictured (I won't use the French term, so American or Italian are great) with a nice dinner, or, my all time stay in town favorite, s massage!

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  4. I'm so sorry New Mexico is out! I would have come up and met you! Rats! I've never thought about celebrating even the smallest accomplishments (good idea). I already treat myself to lots of coffee, so I guess it's not a good idea to up that. My doctor is telling me now when I feel the urge to stress eat, I should dance. So here's an idea, Annette, when things go your way. DANCE. Gives new meaning to HAPPY DANCING. Congratulations on completing book 10. I thought you were a star years ago; you've mega-succeeded that one star into five! Take that one-star reviews!

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  5. Pat, a massage sounds soooo good right now. If you look closely, that sparkling beverage is actually sparkling cider!

    Donnell, Left Coast Crime is in Albuquerque next year. Just sayin'. Also, I dance a lot. I keep Body Groove dance videos open on my computer while I work. When my Fitbit buzzes to tell me I need to move, I stand up and click play!

    But I also eat!

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  6. Survival techniques (not necessarily productive):

    Nap extensively

    Drink heavily

    Of course, you need to get done with what you have to do before using these!

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  7. Hahaha! Napping extensively is absolutely at the top of my survival technique list, KM!

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  8. Whoo hoo! Congratulations on book 10. That is a major accomplishment. Sorry about the root canal and hope you are feeling better.

    How do I celebrate? A night out or hubs will grill dinner. He makes the best steak and last time he made lobster tails. Yum.

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  9. You are a rock star! 10 books. Woo hoo. I can emphasize with the tooth pain. I had a toothache (nerve issue) for 2 months. The doctor finally put on a temporary crown. Pain got worse. I went to an endodontist. 90 minutes into the root canal he told me he couldn't save the tooth. Two days later it was pulled and still hurt for a month. Glad you're feeling okay. You definitely need to celebrate now!

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  10. Thanks, Warren! YES, chocolate is my go-to for celebration or soothing wounded souls in the case of failures too!

    Kait, can I come to dinner the next time he does lobster???

    Thank you, Cynthia. And OUCH. You poor thing! My DH had a wisdom tooth pulled last fall (while I was in Dallas for Bouchercon!) and had some long-lasting pain from it too. I'm very grateful that my root canal seems to be healing nicely.

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  11. Annette, Indulge for one night at Nemocolin! You’ve earned it! Have a great meal, a glass or two of wine, hit the spa...if TEN books doesn’t deserve that, I don’t know what does!

    Best,

    Jodi

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  12. Jodi, that sounds like an awesome idea. Probably won't happen, but it sounds awesome!

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  13. Congratulations on your book completion. I hope you'll be able to celebrate pretty soon. I discovered endodontists for root canals. What a difference a specialist makes!

    Susan

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  14. Susan, absolutely! That's who I went to!

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  15. Congratulations on finishing your tenth book. I can think of better ways of celebrating than sitting in the dentist's chair. Anything sounds like more fun than that. I've always said that my teeth have helped every dentist I've ever had gather a down payment for their summer home. The good part is YOU'VE FINISHED YOUR TENTH BOOK!

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  16. Thanks, Polly! And sorry for your contributions to those summer homes. I bet the ingrates don't even let you spend any time in them either!

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