Flopping out?

As the time gets closer for my book to be published, I am facing the fear of failure. There is a possibility that my book may flop. In spite of my friends’ and families’ affirmations—they love me, after all—it might not be all that good. My publisher believed and took a risk, but there are no guarantees. I spent some time thinking and worrying about this yesterday and came up with the following: It is okay. True, it will be hard to face the embarrassment. It will hurt and sting when I read the reviews and people have nothing good to say about something I poured my heart and soul into. But I’m tough and I can take that. What I can’t face is the possibility that I might never have tried. What would be really hard is not having had this experience, no matter how public the humiliation. Life is meant to be lived with our hearts wide open, not avoided, and I truly can say that the joys of this journey outweigh any future distress. Mahatma Gandhi said: “My imperfections and failures are as much a blessing from God as my successes and my talents and I lay both at his feet.” The only true failure in life for me would be not to know Who to turn to when things get rough. I mean really, when all is said and done, what matters most is if this experience is making me grow and learn to be a better person, not just a writer. And I hope it is! I’ll close with a more humorous quote, not only because it’s so true, but because I love to laugh. “Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, professionals built the Titanic.”