Morale Mishap

In my excitement, I made a morale mishap yesterday.  I began Google searching and reading forums and blogs by other children's book authors.  I was amazed to read that many of them sounded cynical, skeptical and otherwise, discouraging.

One post listed the statistics of manuscripts submitted to manuscripts that develop into published books.  Other posts detailed the meager amount of money you'll make if you are published.  The general vibe was, "Why bother?".  I was down in the dumps last night and didn't work on my illustrations and contemplated making an entire pan of brownies instead.

This morning, with the light of a new day, I am prepared to answer that question of "Why bother?".  People should bother all their life to do what they are meant to do.  Dreams rarely 'come true' without effort and persistence on the part of the dreamer.  At the end of the day, dogged determination and belief in yourself matters a whole lot.  So in the words of my old friend, Madeline, "Poo, poo!" on all you who have been published and yet do not see joy in your accomplishment, profession or calling.

One day I hope to be among you, but I hope never to be so negative like those authors I heard from yesterday.  Dream always, love forever and never, never give up!