Developing a Thick Skin

For weeks it seemed like the dead blank stare of one of my friends kept me from moving forward with my book. I couldn’t understand it, that I had reached out to at least three people regarding my book or author business, and not one had responded to me. All I wanted to do was either tell them about the book, get some professional feedback, or get some advice. I was met with silence all three times in a short period.

Unfortunately, this had been enough to keep me from moving forward for a time, not to mention the temporarily busy life that made time for writing even harder. Was there anything wrong with everyone not answering a single word to me? No, perhaps there was something about how I said something or what I said that made it awkward. It could have been many things.

“Was my book so terrible that it didn’t deserve a response?” This is a question that haunted me. I needed feedback from someone, a touching point to show me I was doing okay. One morning I opened my email on my phone and filled out a questionnaire to see if I might fit a program for authors. The following week was almost consumed with deliberation over the matter; should I really go this route to learn the craft and business of writing for three years? But this would mean less time to work on my current project.

The consultations of that week helped me regain my focus. “No, the problem was not that my book was terrible. Yes, I needed to finish this book, Lord willing” were the silent, unconscious reasonings I made. I would not join the program.

Developing a thick skin can start at any level.