Nov. 3

I have found that writers are a unique combination of optimist and fatalist. You have to be an optimist to think that you could even write a book. Even more of an optimist to sit down and finish a book - think about it, you are creating something out of thin air. Then you have to be optimistic enough to let others read it- to revise- to query and to publish. Even then you have to be optimistic that readers will want to buy it and read it to do any kind of marketing and promotion-sending out to be judged in contests, etc.
But at the same time we are fatalists- the only part about being an author that is in our control is the actual writing and revising. With bad economies, publishers not buying, readers not buying, and rejection letters mounting, writer's tend to "know in their hearts" this probably won't fly but I'll keep trying. Case in point, a friend finalled in a contest for the first time. While we were all congratulating her, she looked at the other finalists and said-"They have all won other contests, I haven't. I don't really have a chance to win..." lol. Not true. She has as much a chance as any of the others, but she is already resigned to the possibility of not winning.
Fatalism is a learned reaction to protect us from the things we can't control- such as whether someone "loves" the book enough to take it on. It's not a bad thing- as long as we don't allow it to overtake out optimism and keep us from attempting our dreams.