Oh, Gratification? There You Are! (Jody Feldman's Take on the April Theme)

It’s no secret that I wrote the first word of my first published novel approximately 17 years before it was accepted and almost 19 years before The Gollywhopper Games finally came out.

I expected some delay in getting the positive feedback I wanted, but I never expected to wait that long. At least the good stuff finally came ... including, but not limited to, The Call, the privilege of working with editors, the three (yes, 3) cover reveals, the first school visit, the first fan letter, the first state list ... and in between, all the smaller things that erased much of the negatives that had badgered me for so long.

Long ago I learned, especially in the writing world, you need to embrace gratification whenever you can. This is basically a business of rejection. Whether it’s us pooh-poohing our own ideas, publishers rejecting our stories, or readers passing our books in favor of someone else’s, it’s there. But there’s also so much good.

From the start, I knew what I’d gotten myself into. So I celebrated the smallest victories ... positive feedback from critique groups, personal rejections, new inspirations, family accomplishments, a good batch of cookies. Everything inside and outside the writing world.

These days, I’m celebrating bigger. The little inspiration that came barreling toward me in 1989, the one that became The Gollywhopper Games? It’s paying out even more than I could have imagined. My wonderful publisher said yes, write a Gollywhopper 2. And while you’re at it, throw in our order for a Gollywhopper 3.

Nineteen years? It’s all in the past.