Jul 28, 2011

Does Stephen King still get butterflies?

Have you ever wondered that? I do.

We are coming up on my sixth year of being published. I went to RT in the spring of 2005 and pitched to a wonderful editor at Loose Id. Came home, polished and submitted. Blood Kiss hit the 'net in October of 2005.

I submitted a new story today. I still get the achy feeling when I hit send. I automatically want to call the story back with "I'm not ready" flashing like a big neon sign in my brain.

I've accepted that I'm always going to be that way. No matter how many times I submit, no matter how many times my stories get accepted, I will always feel the nervous butterflies floating in my stomach.

Does Joss Whedon pitch a storyline and wonder if it's coming across? Does Sherrilyn Kenyon shake a little before she gets up to speak in front of an audience? Does Karen Rose wonder if her story is accurate and how it will come across?

Yet we (and I include myself in that group) keep doing what we are doing even when it makes us neurotic creative types. Maybe that's how we stay sharp?

All I know is I will now be on pins and needles waiting to hear back from my editor.


Mechele Armstrong
www.mechelearmstrong.com

4 comments:

Lacey Savage said...

Good luck on your submission, Mechele! I bet you rocked it. :-)

I don't know about Stephen King, but I agonize over every submission, every edit... and of course, every release. It's never gotten easier. I'd worry if it ever did!

Barbara Elsborg said...

Good luck, Mechele. I think it's in a writer's nature to worry over their babies. Who wants to be told they're less than perfect even though we know they are. But I suspect Mr. King oozes confidence out of every pore!! Then again, you never know. Even though rejection is unlikely, he cna't know how his readers are going to react!

Crystal Kauffman said...

I for one can't wait to read the next thing you write.

To answer your question, I believe the answer is yes. The biggest stars in the (any) industry may have experience and notoriety behind them, but they're still just human.

Seo online said...

I really like the idea.

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