Show it to yourself first.
The genuine writer is rarely in his shoes.Sometimes he is a reader, sometimes a critic, sometimes a victim and so on.
If you step outside your shoes, away from your prejudices, experiences, etc....then surprisingly enough you will start seeing your work in a different light
Self-publish them and don't be afraid. Do it for yourself, you are worth it.
Show them to some close friends or family members and ask their opinion, see what they think. Then, once you get some feedback, hopefully good, start submitting them and see that happens. Otherwise, you will always ask yourself "What If?" That would be a terrible way to live.
Bring them out again and take another look. You may have some ideas you hadn't thought on before. Sometimes we are afraid to show our writing to others. Take the plunge. Do some revising, if necessary.
Find the courage to show it to someone, anyway. It's scary at first, but remember that writing is a performing art - not unlike dance, music, painting. You have to be prepared to have your "best work" rejected, or ignored. Even the most successful writers didn't start out that way. Think "starving artist".
Then take the criticism and use it to spur you on to better things. You'll never know the thrill of seeing your name in print, if your manuscripts just collect dust in a drawer.
Get them out of that closet, or box or wherever they are and read them. If the story still holds your interest, what's to say it won't hold others? Update it if necessary and go for it!
Someone very drunk once said to me, that it doesnt matter if they love or or they hate it because you've struck two of life's most powerful emotions. It's when they have no opinion at all that it's a problem.
If you can't bring yourself to show anyone you know and yet your caught in a trap of what you feel is a wasted talent. The internet is a valuable space of oblivion. It's there for everyone to see and yet for no one to find, unless there looking for something that interest them. Pusblish it on a blog or a website, and have the anonymous find it.
Oh and one more thing ... Believe in yourself!
Put them together and publish them, hey, they have been sitting all thes years, so if you self publish, it wont matter if people buy your work, so be it and if they don't so what.
I put a lot of old poems and short stories together and came up with THE JUNK IN MY TRUNK now a best seller on Amazon . com.
Show them! Publish them! Be naked and don't be afraid.
Get all the writings of yours on blog. divyanarmada.blogspot.com can provide a platform for all.
Trust yourself. Reread those old writings and decide if they have potential.
What I consider to be my best book took more than 20 years and went through several transitions before I thought it was ready to send out into the world. The New York agent liked the original novel. I did not. It did not say what I wanted it to say or reflect my philosophy. The final version is far superior to the first version.
So.....look at those old writings with a fresh perspective and proceed from there.
Get them out, read them, fix them, then get someone to read what you think is you best work. The someone shouldn't be a friend - and agent or publisher is best. Don't be afraid that they might be negative, better that than never knowing that you've written a best seller.
what should you do with them? dust them off, let someone you trust have a read, then, believe in yourself.
Take them out and review them. You may find they are better than you think. Or maybe they can be rewritten and made better. At the very least, your old work may give you ideas for new projects.
Dust them off, tidy them up and look for new markets - don't waste them! |
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