Letter to Myself: Beth Revis
Posted by annastan on August 16th, 2010. Filed under: Guest Post, Letter to Myself.Two posts in one day? Sure, why not? Here’s the next installment of the “Letter to Myself” series in which authors write letters to their younger writer selves giving advice, encouragement, or words of warning. Today’s letter comes from young adult author Beth Revis.
Dear Beth,
It’s what–the year 2000? And there you are, sitting in your dorm room, writing a story. You think it’s going to be a short story, but it’s not. You’ve got something much bigger there, and when you finish, it’ll be a novel.
And I hate to say it, even now, but it’s not a very good novel.
When you finish writing the sequel, you’ll actually consider publication. This is going to come as a surprise: no one but your parents and your boyfriend (Dude! You marry that guy later!) care that you wrote a novel. No agent does. No publisher does.
But it’ll be okay. You don’t love those novels. They were experiments, just to see if you could do it.
The next ones will hurt. A lot. They’ll make you cry. A lot.
And they’re still not going to be published, even though you want them to be. Not now. Probably not ever. And all these years later, that *still* stings.
So I’m writing this to you now, so that when you get there, you know.
It’s going to suck.
A LOT.
And there’s just no way around it.
And don’t think I’m going to tell you what to do right. Because, honestly? At first you do everything wrong. You don’t get anything right. You’re so clueless you don’t even know how little you know. You have no idea that you’re screwing up great opportunities and shooting yourself in the foot.
And I’m not going to tell you how to fix it.
Because in the end–and trust me on this, when you’re curled up on your bed crying because you’re afraid some dreams don’t ever come true–in the end, you wouldn’t change a thing.
Sincerely,
Beth
Beth Revis’s debut novel, Across the Universe, is coming from Razorbill/Penguin in Spring 2011. A former high-school English teacher, Beth can’t help but blog tidbits about writing, grammar, and publishing at her blog, Writing it Out. She is the founder of the new popular dystopian blog League of Extraordinary Writers, and blows off steam by trying to come up with something witty in 140 characters or less on Twitter or by lusting after books on GoodReads. Beth is represented by Merrilee Heifetz at Writers House.
August 16th, 2010 at 10:00 am
I’m really loving these letters, Anna.
Beth’s letter is really inspirational. Can’t wait to read more letters in this series.
August 16th, 2010 at 10:03 am
I loved this post. No, I mean, I REALLY, loved what Beth Revis said. True! True! True!
August 16th, 2010 at 10:08 am
Beth, this is so encouraging. I knew the journey toward publication was lonely; I felt it with every passing year and rejection. Somehow, though, I don’t think I knew the extent of the loneliness until I was welcomed into groups like the Elevensies and 2k11. So much lonely stumbling around, learning through it all. It’s wonderful to see it all was worth it on the other side.
Anna, thank you so much for this series!
August 16th, 2010 at 10:26 am
These letters are so fantastic!
August 16th, 2010 at 10:53 am
Yay, Beth! This is a great letter! And Anna, this is a great series!
August 16th, 2010 at 11:32 am
Awww, great letter!! This is a great idea for a series!
August 16th, 2010 at 1:01 pm
I’m so glad I popped over from Beth’s place. Great blog you have here!
I love your letter Beth – honest and hopeful
August 16th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
You won’t change a thing – because in the end it all works out and that makes it that much more worth it!
Awesome Beth, and thanks for sharing Anna!
August 16th, 2010 at 1:22 pm
Thanks everyone! Isn’t this such a nice burst of inspiration? I’m loving posting these letters so far!
Caroline, you are so right about the loneliness. What did writers ever do without online groups?
August 16th, 2010 at 1:57 pm
Oh, I love Beth and I pretty much already know her whole road to publication. But what a cool idea for a series!
August 16th, 2010 at 2:10 pm
Awesome letter! I think for all writers we could almost write the exact same letter to ourselves – don’t give up!
August 16th, 2010 at 2:17 pm
I just LOVE these letters! Beth sounds like an amazing person and her story is similar to a lot of writers I know. I’m glad she’s gotten past the worst and managed to enjoy it.
August 16th, 2010 at 2:48 pm
I love you more everyday, Beth!
August 16th, 2010 at 8:47 pm
Very inspirational letter Beth. Especially since I feel like I’m more where you were than where you are now. Hope I get there someday too.
August 17th, 2010 at 8:48 am
I love this series, and Beth is fantastic, so this was wonderful to read. So inspirational! Thanks for posting these!
August 18th, 2010 at 5:46 pm
2 days late to the party… but this letter was something I really needed to hear right now. It lifted my writer’s soul. Thank you Beth. And thank you Anna!
August 22nd, 2010 at 4:53 pm
Excellent letter, Beth! And so so true. I especially liked how you’re not going to tell yourself how to fix it. Brilliant.