It’s a familiar feeling for the writer. Once he or she has finished a manuscript, essay or book of poems there is a sigh of relief and a feeling of satisfaction for a job well done. The writer puts the work aside for a bit, then takes it out again and starts the editing process.

Changes, additions, revisions—constant polishing until it is “perfect.” The writer is now ready to release their work into the world. Their baby, their treasured piece, goes into the hands of a select few beta readers. A warm feeling ensues until the comments start to come in.

“I liked it but I’d change this part.”

“Did you know you repeated yourself?”

“That sounds dated. I’d change it to this.”

“Overall, it’s a good story but I think it could be better.”

I’ve had these reactions to my work. And after many decades of writing I’ve concluded that my primary emotion should be one of gratefulness. Gratitude that someone took the time to read my work and had the courage to make suggestions for improvement. They saw the flaws, the holes and the areas to be fixed and were willing to speak up and to tell me about them.

Today I learned of the death of a friend, an editor I worked for during my newsroom days. She was the one who gave the okay to my feature story ideas. She approved the time needed to track down sources, conduct the pertinent interviews and, finally, the time to write the story. She would then go into editor mode. Sometimes she’d rubber stamp the story as written. Other times she would give constructive criticism meaning I’d need to do more revising, changing, polishing, etc.

What I remember most is that she offered encouragement, enthusiasm and humor to myself and my coworkers who were struggling to put out a daily newspaper in a small town. As we wrote through our four daily deadlines she was the captain of our ship who steered us into port. We might not have always agreed with her but disagreements were put aside because she was the editor, we were the writers. And, in the end, we experienced a collective gratitude.

Gratitude.

I have gratitude for the many suggestions that have come my way as I struggle writing my second Middle Grade novel. I have gratitude for the readers and writers who encourage me along this path. I have gratitude for having time to write, time to research and then time to write and rewrite over and over.

Gratitude.

And I will try to pay it forward. I have offered extensive ideas and critiques for a fellow writer’s teachers’ curriculum. I’ve written blurbs for other writers’ books and posted reviews on amazon and goodreads. I’ve offered guidance, notes and suggestions to those just entering the writing field.

We are a community of writers. I complained to my son yesterday about the hours involved and how those hours don’t always seem to be productive.

“Well, you chose this profession,” my son said, and he was right.

Part of choosing to work as a writer includes extending a helping hand to others in our profession. Gratitude for a profession which nurtures us and allows us to nurture others. Gratitude to those who have paved the way and gratitude to those who continue to do so.

This was true before the pandemic and remains true today.

Bio:
Ann has lifelong roots in Michigan’s UP. Her first Middle Grade novel, Cady and the Bear Necklace, was published by Henschel HAUS Books of Milwaukee. She started out as a newspaper reporter/photographer and returned to journalism after retiring from teaching. She loves delving into “the story behind the story” whether it be of persons, places or things. She continues to freelance for several publications while writing about 13-year-old Cady, and the challenges she faces—and overcomes—while solving mysteries.

Cady and the Bear Necklace has won the following awards:
*The Historical Society of Michigan State History Award 2020 (Books: Children & Youth)
*Midwest Book Award Winner
*Next Generation Indie Book Award Finalist
*New Mexico-Arizona Book Award Winner (Multicultural)
*Readers’ Favorite 5-Star Review