Indie Life--Confidence, that Crucial Element, plus Ruby Tour Continues

Today for Indie Life, sponsored by the fabulous Indelibles, and which posts once a month, I’m talking about confidence. About moving forward with authority, without doubting oneself, and how I developed this… skill, really, over the years. As an indie author, one needs a sense of sureness. Yes, we all have trusted colleagues that we run big decisions by. That said, anyone in the arts must have a strong sense of intuitive intelligence about their own work. Is it well written? Is the characterization true enough? Is the piece done?

In my former career, as an artist, specifically as a painter who showed work in galleries in Manhattan, I had that in spades. I was raised to be an artist, expected to be an artist, and I always had that gut strength that I knew what I was doing, where I fit in, in terms of genre, whether what a random gallerist said was BS or not. I sent my slides around everywhere, and landed great shows. I also got rejected from some galleries, but it slid off my back because intuitively I knew that opinion is subjective, and part of the process. I rarely took it personally. Tearing myself away from a fairly lucrative career where I sold work and got reviewed in good art magazines was like tearing out part of my heart and sewing up the gash with crude rawhide. But I needed to move on to my second love: writing!

Fast forward to my present career as a novelist. When I started to send out manuscripts I didn’t have that same sense of sureness. When editors pointed out flaws in story I was devastated. I asked for direction from way too many writers—some who were not good mentors. It’s taken me years to reach that place of authority—trusting in my gut, knowing whether a piece is solid without having to ask dozens of people.

But I took those lessons from my art career along inside me, and I did rely on my previous learning experiences to talk myself through rejections, through periods of insecurity. It helped me immensely. Of course, your latest novel often seems like your truest love--perfection. But I can really say, with the completion of Ruby’s Fire, my new YA fantasy, that I’ve reached that point of intuitive authority that I had as an artist—knowing it’s good no matter what anyone says, knowing that I’ve created deep, amazing characters and crazy plot twists. I remember how it felt to have that inherent sense of knowing, and it’s a relief to feel it again. I know I’ll have future moments of insecurity, but I’ll think back to my art career, and remember those life lessons. Oh, and Ruby and Fireseed contain my interior illustrations, so I've been able to blend my two careers!

The Ruby’s Fire Tour continues 'til week's end. Here are the hosts for today, Thursday and Friday (Links go live on the day of). Stop by and say hi! For the entire lineup click here. Enter the Rafflecopter below for big prizes. Here's the link to read more Indie Life posts.
What helps give you confidence as an author?

August 14
Fae Books: Guest post: What Inspires me to Write?

Read Books & Live Green: Review

August 15

Mousehead & Tales: Review

August 16

Marked by Books: Sneak Peeks & BONUS mini-review!

Brooke Blogs: Review

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B is for Bottom Line in the A to Z Challenge

Let me start by saying that I've settled on a theme for the A to Z challenge. I'm writing posts on The Creative Life-anything about writing and art, and how to live as fruitfully as possible as a creative being, not always simple in the world of commerce, competition and fast paced-moves.

Now for B! The first thing that popped up for me (repeatedly) when I thought of B is the phrase Bottom Line. The dictionary defines it as 1. The essential or salient point, 2. A line at the bottom of a financial statement that shows the net profit or loss. 3. The most important consideration.

In considering a truly creative life, here is my bottom line:
Live by my intuition... if it feels right, go for it, no matter my anxiety. If it feels wrong, don't do it, even if the choice seems glittery and golden.
I have followed my intuition in editing a manuscript and sensing when it's done, in choosing an agent, in choosing a gallery, in using or not using manuscript critique suggestions, in choosing friends, even in buying a car or a piece of real estate. If an artist or writer cannot trust his or her intuition, he's working without a rudder.

The medieval cups are symbolic of intuition

To help me in this path, I often meditate before I face an onerous decision, or if I find myself unsure and waffling. This always helps. I might find that my gut is saying wait, you're not ready to make that decision, or it might tell me get on that phone now and stop procrastinating!

In your creative life, what's your bottom line?