Well folks, I have made a final push and finished my Contracts 101 book.
Last week I posted my giant ball of sad comic. This comic was actually one of the first ones I did almost a year and a half ago when I first started posting comics. Basically one of my worst fears (and true story) — where the defeat of my first try was too crushing to continue.
Was my first book a success? Not really. I guess what matters is that I did it.
My book didn’t sell nearly the number that we had printed and a lot of them are coming home to me after being out in the world. Boxes — that will sit in my apartment that remind me of my failure.
Alas, I must dust myself off and continue. I sold some books to strangers, that’s a definite start! Furthermore, I kept going and I refuse to get beat down. I may not get there for a long ass time, but I am having fun in the process which I suppose is what matters the most. Also, perhaps “getting” there is not ever going to happen because what does “getting there” mean anyway?
Lately I have been reading the interesting Ask Polly column and I would like to share two that are especially relevant: (1) Hating your job as a lawyer and (2) Feeling like a writing failure. Heather writes so viscerally and her readers are very raw which is why I love her column. This quote felt especially liberating for me:
“There’s a reason a lot of your successful friends are “lovely odd ducks for whom you’d never predict bonkers mainstream success.” Those are people who do the work they love passionately, who bring the full force of their personalities to every project, and the world embraces them with equal passion. Those are not people who are trying to “connect” with some imagined audience. They’re fucking weirdos who are foisting their weird creations on the world without apology.” – Heather Havrilesky
So, while I can admit that my first book was not that successful, I have not been defeated and I am going to continue. I can be proud that my second book is complete (at least the rough first draft) and that like it or not I’m here to stay. One foot in-front of the other. One awkward comic at a time. Make. Law. Fun.
Repeat.
Make. Law. Fun.
-W.
