Now, I’m a pretty spiritual, woo-woo person. Astrology, manifestation, crystals, the Universe—I love it all. But you don’t have to be spiritual to have trust in the process. You just have to… be.
The problem with traditional publishing is that your success doesn’t just depend on you or your writing. It also depends on other people, timing, and luck. Lots of luck. You need to have the right book sent by the right agent to the right editor at the right publishing imprint at the right time. If any one of those variables is wonky, you might not get your desired outcome. Whew.
So there are only two things you can control during that entire, long-ass, exhausting journey: the quality of the book you write, and… the trust you have in the publishing process.
But what does trusting the process mean?
It doesn’t mean shutting your eyes and praying for a book deal while also gritting your teeth in preparation for rejection. Been there, done that, kinda still doing that.
Trusting the process involves honoring your hard work and efforts, reminding yourself that you are worthy and deserving of all your desires, and that growth as a writer is always possible. It’s about letting go of the fear of failure—because as long as you’re trying, you’re succeeding in your own way.
Part of me has always been a major pessimist. Like MJ says in the latest Spider-Man, “Expect disappointment, and you will never be disappointed.” Kind of makes sense, doesn’t it? But also… what fun is there to life if you’re constantly searching for the next thing to be disappointed about?
There isn’t. It’s a depressing mindset to have, not to mention detrimental to manifestation, if you believe in it like I do.
So how do you build trust in the process?
I’m still learning to do this, so I’m making a promise to you—and myself—right now. This entire month, whenever I have a negative “what if it doesn’t work out?” thought, I will ask myself, “But what if it does?” Whenever I feel like a shitty, worthless writer for whatever reason, I will read the Google Doc I compiled of compliments every agent and editor has ever given me (I seriously recommend doing this, by the way). And whenever I go to bed dreading what tomorrow might bring for my fate as an author, I will choose instead to visualize getting that “good news” email from my agent as I fall asleep.
If you’re reading this on Substack, comment below and tell the world what promise you’ll make this month on your way to trusting the process. And if I’m in your inbox right now, hit ‘reply’ and share your promise with me.
Please do share my newsletter with your writer pals if you’re enjoying my content—word of mouth goes a long way for authors like me :)
Until next Friday, then!
Love hard & dream big,
Swati