Writing is a Journey. Keep Going.

photo by canva

By Shirin Shamsi
Writing is a journey with many twists and turns. We can all agree on the fact that every writer has their own unique path to publication. One of the most frustrating “stops” in the journey is the one of waiting. 

When you know you have a manuscript which you have polished to a shine; when you feel satisfied you have given it your all, after many rounds of critiques, much editing, multiple revisions. You hold your breath when it goes out on submission- and wait. 
And wait. 
Crickets.
Cicadas.
Silence.
It can feel like an eternity.
You begin second guessing your abilities as a writer.
Maybe I’m not good enough? (It happens to the best of us!!)
It’s all part and parcel of this path we have chosen as writers.
Patience is what we need.
Helpings of it, and then some.

The best advice I can give is, once you send your said baby out into the world, then move on to your next project. Throw yourself into it, so that one day, weeks or months from now, when you hear back - an offer for acquisition, perhaps a contract - then it will be a wonderful well deserved surprise you can celebrate.
Until then, keep creating.
Keep writing. 
Onward and upward.

Shirin Shamsi has lived on three continents. She moved to the USA over three decades ago, where she has raised six children - three human and 3 feline. She now spends her days writing, sketching, painting and reading. School visits and reading to children are some of her greatest joys. Shirin has twelve published books, and is working on numerous works-in-progress.

Laila and the Sands of Time (Clear Fork Publishing, 2019) is her middle grade novel.
Planting Friendship: Peace, Salaam, Shalom and Building Bridges: Peace, Salaam, Shalom (co-written with Callie Lovvorn and Melissa Stoller, illustrated by Kate Talbot 2021)
Zahra’s Blessing: A Ramadan Story (Barefoot Books 2022)
The Moon From Dehradun (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2022)