Words

When I was six years old, I knew I would be a writer one day.

Strike that first sentence.

When I was six years old, I knew I would be an author one day.

I became a writer in early grammar school, because most of us learn how to write at that age.

In my early twenties I saw my first article in print in the American Kennel Club Gazette, and I considered myself a published writer.

I recognized myself an author in 2009, about ten months after I received an unsolicited email from an acquisition editor. She was able to locate me by doing a search for 4-H Dog Training – which happened to be the subject of the book her publisher wanted to produce and a class I was teaching to kids in my county. It wasn’t exactly the subject I had planned as my very, first book. But, what wanna be author is going to refuse such an invitation?

In 2018 I finally produced and published a book I had always thought I would write. But, I had kept busy practicing my craft. In those nine years from the 4-H Guide launched, I self-published a few other books, including two that focus on dog training, a memoir about a spiritual journey I traveled, and a handful of self-illustrated children’s books. Most of the kid’s books were written upon request of acquaintances who hoped I would help their youngsters overcome a childhood struggle.

Eventually, it happened. In late 2018 I published Shamaron – Dog Devoted. Although it is a true story, so it falls in the category of non-fiction, Shamaron – Dog Devoted was created to read like a novel. It was not until I held the premier copy of that chunky book in my hands and allowed the pages to run off my thumb, that I finally felt like a real author. Nonetheless, I have many more stories to scribe.

Clearly, everyone has their own opinion (perhaps even a legal definition) of what it means to be a writer, an author or novelist. I simply share my experience here because it’s worth noting (might I say embrace) that we all have our own passions in life. We all know when we have been successful at our own endeavors.

Let no one define your own accomplishments. May you feel secure doing a little dance when you are triumphant – regardless of the height of the hurdle you have vaulted. And still, when others cheer your success, try not to simply shrug off their authentic praises, even if you know in your heart you have not reached the summit of the mountain you have chosen to climb. Merely keep climbing.

You will find my writing in the Category: Words.