Thursday, July 19, 2012

Taking Risks: By Natalie Charles

Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads. -- Erica Jong
There has been a lot of talk about risk in the Charles household this year. After seven years of practice, Mr. Charles has decided to start his own law firm with two of our colleagues. Being lawyers, the four of us have had long discussions about risk, sacrifice, and trusting in the unknown as we’ve all tried to figure out whether it’s worth diving off the proverbial cliff for a chance at a better life. Every single detail of this move has been planned, from the space to the reclaimed wood conference room table to the decision to go paperless, but at a certain point, it’s all a deep, dark unknown. We know what we’re starting with, but we aren’t completely sure what the journey will entail. We simply believe it’s a journey worth taking.

Divin' off some cliffs, takin' some risks...
I'm not leaving Day Job to join them, but it’s a risk I’m sharing, and I’ve taken the discussions we’ve had and applied them to writing. Let’s be honest: writing is a risk. There is the risk of time spent. I don’t even want to think about all the hours it takes me to write a book. It takes lots and lots of hours over months, and there’s always the risk that the end result will be unpublishable. Or terrible. Or both.

Writing is a financial risk, as well. I refer to my writing as the third shift of my day (after Day Job and Family Job). I don’t make much money doing it, and it took years before I made a cent. My first dollar in publishing came in 2010 when I sold a 5k short story to a literary magazine for thirty dollars. That’s less than a penny per word. Another publication paid me in contributor’s copies, which are great if you’re out of kindling. I could have picked up a different job doing almost anything else and made more money with all of the time I’ve spent writing.

So why do it?

I’m not sure. It’s just never occurred to me that I should give up. I even save rejection letters. I have one from Harlequin that I received in July, 2011—about three months before I won New Voices. Here I am, about to publish with Harlequin Romantic Suspense, and that impersonal, form rejection letter still drives me. I like the idea of coming back stronger. Like anyone else, I have plenty of self-doubt, but usually I can recognize doubt for the waste of time that it is. After all, I have words to write and things to prove.

It’s easy to look at someone successful and say, “Of course. She does X better than anyone, and she got lucky when Y hit the shelves.” Fine. But that’s hindsight. That successful person was once like you and me, and success was never a foregone conclusion. That successful person had to rack up her share of rejection, grow stronger and learn from it, and practice, practice, practice.

At some point, writing, like any risk, becomes an act of faith. We have to trust. I’m looking forward to the Olympics this year because I think that those athletes are a shining example of trusting in their own abilities. Think of the time they’ve sacrificed and the many mornings they rose before dawn to practice their sport. These are individuals like us: people born with a talent that they nurtured and a dream of achievement, but success has never been a guarantee. They competed and lost, or were injured, or experienced other setbacks. And they kept coming back and taking the risk until one day they made it.

I have come to accept that there can be no success without risk and, often, some failure. We don’t risk to succeed immediately; we risk to succeed ultimately. Like Mr. Charles, I’m taking a risk because I believe the journey is one worth taking, even if the destination is unknown. At least we’re both in good company.

14 comments:

  1. What a great post, Natalie. I think absolutely anyone can identify with that fear of risk. We've taken a lot of risk in our house too, when DH left his job 8 years ago and we pursued our own business together. It's had its up and downs, and we often reflect on it-and how we have no regrets. In order to make a major life change, I think you have to firmly believe in yourself and not view failure as an option at all. Best of luck to him! And you-well, you're already there! Can't wait to read your HRS!!

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  2. Thank you, Victoria! It's so great to hear other business owners say that despite the risks and the ups and downs, they have no regrets. We're definitely going into this venture because we believe that in the future, we'll wonder why it took us so long. :-)

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  3. That's right. You have to trust in something. The greatest risk, is often, in not taking a risk.

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  4. Great post, Natalie! I think that anything worth having often involves believing in yourself enough to take a risk and to keep going until you succeed. The pursuit often makes the victory all the sweeter, and I'm a firm believer in the saying, "if you want something bad enough, go out and get it!"

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    1. It's so true. We each have to take our own journey, and in the end it's what makes is who we are.

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  5. Great post, Natalie! You and Mr. Charles are very inspiring! I don't consider myself one to take great risks, and I am in awe of those that are strong enough and willing enough to take great risks, and become greatly successful because of it, weather it be personally successful, financially successful, or otherwise successful. When reading your post, I realized that I have taken great risk, and won--by moving over 1,000 miles away from home to pursue my relationship with your brother! ;-) I have not regretted that risk once in the last six years, and don't see it happening in the next six+ years! Thanks for helping me see I'm not as boring of a person as I sometimes feel!

    Extremely proud of the risks you've taken and seeing the results coming now-your book on pre-order already! How amazing! I cannot wait to see where the new risk takes your family! I see it having a great return on the risk! Good Luck!

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    1. Thanks so much, Kristi! Moving so far from home for love is not only the stuff romance books are made of, but a huge risk. You're much braver than you give yourself credit for. Thanks for stopping by. :-)

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  6. There are a lot of risks happening the Charles household :) Congratulations on being brave enough to take those steps into the unknown. Great post!

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    1. Thank you, Lacey! Yes, this is a kind of scary-exciting time in the Charles house. :-)

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  7. Great post, Natalie! And good luck to the Charles household with the new ventures. I hope you have great success. I firmly believe life is one big risk and without risk you can't have love or anything else that matters. :-)

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    1. Isn't it funny how our characters take risks for love and happiness as a matter or course? It's so much angstier in real life. Le sigh. But yes, I agree that it's a necessary ingredient to the things that matter. :-)

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  8. I loved this post, Natalie. And it was a great quote to kick-start it. I'm a firm believer that you have to venture into dark places before you can see the light - and sometimes it's you who has to turn that light on. I wish the Charles household every success - scary times ahead but also very exciting, I'm sure! :-)

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    1. Thanks, Lindsay! I like the idea of venturing into a dark place and turning the light on ourselves. Scary at first, but as soon as you find that light, things start to make sense. :-)

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