Addressing Jealousy

The envious die not once, but as oft as the envied win applause. ~ Baltasar Gracian

It was mentioned, this past week, in passing during a conversation in the LASR yahoo group about how some folks are not supportive of other authors' good news. In fact, at times they can get downright nasty when other authors share their contest wins, new contracts or positive reviews. How sad.

EDITED TO ADD: I think some folks have misunderstood what I wrote, above. Please note, the LASR group wasn't the one who was negative--a member of the group was recounting something that had happened elsewhere.

I'll be honest... when I hear of friends or other writing acquaintances having great success in their writing, I often times wish it were me. But, understand this: I don't wish it were me at the expense of their success, and I don't want them to ever think they shouldn't share their good news, because I want to rejoice with them.

I think it's only natural, as human beings (and I'm pretty certain everyone reading this is one) to have a moment of -- Why not me, too?

Am I wrong? And, do you think that kind of feeling makes me a smaller person?

On the other hand, to think, "Why them?" is a lot different than, "Why not me, too?" -- yes?

I don't think people who share their successes, big or small, are trying to make me (or anyone else) feel bad. At least, I hope they aren't. I love to hear about new sales, or contest wins, or fantastic reviews. It's awesome! Why shouldn't they be proud. Odds are, they've worked as hard or harder than I have.

I have to admit to being very proud of the responses in the LASR group--we have a wonderful bunch of fun, supportive people in there, authors and readers alike, and have never had any nasty or unkind posts. I imagine that may change down the line, but how wonderful it is that people can feel comfortable sharing their triumphs in there, or their bad news, too, and know that the other members are ready with a "atta girl" or a hug.

Those are the kind of people I want to be associated with, and the kind of person I want to be. I hope I am, or at least that I'm on my way.

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So, I got another rejection on "Kitchen Matches". I guess I didn't tidy it up enough after all. Once I'd licked my wounds a bit, I shared the rejection letter with Judy and we gabbed a bit... and you know what? I might just expand this out into a category length book. The major complaints I've rec'd from both editors are that the hero isn't fleshed out enough, the story just happens too quickly, and the H/H need more time together to make it all believable.

At first, the thought of expanding "Kitchen Matches" overwhelmed me, but after giving it some thought and brainstorming some ideas, I think it can be done. How cool would it be if I had not one but TWO submissions for HQA by the end of summer?

I think I'm going to give it a go.

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You Are 64% Good

You are a good person. You do the best you can to be ethical, fair, and moral. And as you know, being a good person means making hard decisions... and following them through. If you're confronted with an ethical dilemma, you will usually do the right thing. Of course you do slip up. No one's perfect. But you do your best to correct your missteps. You are also probably: incredibly honest, especially with yourself Right now you are on track to being: A respected leader To be a better person: Be kind to someone who is not very kind to you

How Good Are You?