Gratitude for Writers

by Cathy Fyock @CathyFyock

I love Thanksgiving. Focusing on our many gifts and the people who support us is uplifting.

As writers, we have many to thank for the words we produce and the lives we impact.

Gratitude List 

Teachers. Who has helped you along your writing journey? I think about my school teachers and professors who assigned me essays and short stories and reports. I fondly remember my friend Greg who insisted that I write as a way to grow my business when I was first working as a consultant. Thank you.

Editors. I’ve never considered myself a gifted writer, so I have always valued the word-smithing talent of editors. While I hate to receive an edited manuscript filled with red ink, I love it when I get back my edited draft and it sounds just like me only better. Yes, I’m very thankful for my editors (even though I wish that they would say, just once, “that’s perfect; don’t change a word!”). But they have my back and won’t let me get away with work that isn’t top-drawer. Thank you.

Publishing Partners. To all the people involved in formatting and designing our book covers and interiors, to all those who get our books registered with the Library of Congress, secure our ISBN numbers, get our books on Amazon and through other distribution channels, and help us deliver a printed or electronic book to the hands of our readers—thank you!

Fellow Writers. As an extrovert, I find it enormously challenging to sit and write. It’s so solitary! So I’m continually grateful for my community of fellow writers who give me encouragement and support. I love being able to ask about best practices (“Have you used Dragon?” “Do you find it easier to write at Starbucks or in your cave?” “What are the advantages of Evernote?”). And it’s encouraging to find that I’m not the only one who battles daily with that negative voice in my head. I love learning from my writer friends what they do or say to deal with that negative voice! Thank you.

Readers. Without readers our work would be somewhat pointless. While yes, there is benefit of having written a book for one’s own sense of accomplishment or need, having a reader who values our labor is beyond gratifying. Thank you, readers, for helping us fulfill our purpose. Thank you for your need and desire to read what it is we have written.

God. God has called me to write and to help writers, and for that I am beyond grateful. I thank God for his direction and guidance. I thank God for communication, for books, for this world in which we live. Thank you, God.

Yes, as writers we have a lot for which to give thanks. And isn’t it great that we get to focus on our gratitude at this time of the year.

TWEETABLES

As writers, we have many to thank for the words we produce and the lives we impact - @CathyFyock on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Gratitude for writers, thoughts from @CathyFyock on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Cathy Fyock is The Business Book Strategist, and works with professionals and thought leaders who want to write a book as a business growth strategy. She is the author of eight books, including On Your Mark: From First Word to First Draft in Six Weeks, and her most recent, Blog2Book: Repurposing Content to Discover the Book You’ve Already Written. She also serves as Acquisitions Editor for Silver Tree Publishing based in Kenosha, Wisconsin. She can be reached at CathyFyock.com.