Being new to a field is full of firsts. We tell kids all the time that feelings are a personal thing - that each person experiences feelings in their own way. On this journey of becoming an author, I have learned that some feelings never change, no matter how frequently you experience them.
The first time someone told me I should become an author, I laughed. I was taking a children's literature class as a required part of a teacher education program. One of the assignments was to create our own story and illustrate it. Having that instructor look at my work and tell me I should consider being an author someday was surreal. Ironically it happened again about ten years later with a different manuscript and a different program. I laughed again, because it was my dad reading the Delbert manuscript before I turned it in. But then my instructor had a similar response to Dad's, and something about having a third person say that there was potential in that story got me thinking. It was years of people telling me I should be an author before I finally took the plunge. I am really glad that I did.
Finishing any manuscript is a rush. No matter how many times I finish a project, whenever I get to the point that I am hitting the submit button there are always butterflies in my stomach. Now I thought that might be exclusive to publishing a new story, but no. I got those same butterflies when I sent drawings to the printer for the coloring book and the calendar. There is a rush of accomplishment in handing over the complete set of drawings or pages and knowing they will become a book. The first time I hold a completed work in my hands as a published book or coloring book, it is the most amazing feeling. That rush never gets old.
Probably my favorite feelings come from kids. Their reactions are so honest and unfiltered. When I am at a school, and I tell the students that their sub is an author (or illustrator when it's an art class) they get look of surprise that is just priceless. As fun as that is, the even better feeling is when kids see me and refer to me as 'the author'. Now that one comes with responsibility, because the question of 'what have you published lately' usually comes next. I will explain to them that it takes time, but I also let them know if a new story is in the works. Sometimes they give me story ideas too. Interacting with kids makes me glad for what I do as a teacher as well as an author.
Having first feeling rushes is part of learning new things. Some of those firsts only come the one time. But those firsts that happen again and again just never get old. How we react to them and experience them may be a very personal thing, but I for one, hope that the butterflies and rush feelings never change.
Comments