Labor Stories: Your Journey to Publication

Get a group of mothers together, and talk often turns to labor stories. The good, the bad, and the ugly. And if someone doesn't have a story of their own, they know a good one that a friend experienced.

If you've ever attended a writer's conference, it's not all that different. In a roomful of writers, there are dozens of stories:

The Easy Labor: Publication went smoothly. Timely contract, easy revisions, great publicity (by the way, in labor and in publication, this is rare).

The Long and Difficult Labor: It took years to secure an agent. Publishing houses turned up their noses. The house that finally bought the manuscript went out of business. In the complex business of publishing, it's a given that something will become a speed bump in the process.

The Home Birth: The writer who wants full control. Who isn't afraid of doing all the work themselves, and investing their money up front.

Infertility Issues: Those who have tried and tried, often spending lots of money in the process, and publication has not happened yet.

Why do we tell these stories? 

1. Because of a shared experience (or one we hope to share)
2. To give others an idea of the road ahead (so they can choose it, or avoid it)
3. To encourage others the way we were encouraged (somehow I did it--hang in there and you can, too)

If you are presently pre-published, just remember: you're in the middle of labor right now. There are many times where it seems too hard, and you're tempted to give up. But what you learn and apply in these years will determine if yours is a positive experience or a negative one. Yes, there are a lot of factors outside your control. However, you decide what you learn, who you learn from, and the attitude you have within you.

Here's to a great labor story.