Getting complimented, that is. In this case, I've received compliment after compliment for my writing recently. Including one comment that really, really, REALLY left an impact on me:
Someone who was doing the complimenting, for a living, does writing. They write for their business. I don't exactly know the details of how that works. But when saying I write well, they also said that if they expanded their business, they'd be interested in hiring me.
...Let that sink in for a second.
I'm not sure if it does or not. But basically. Think about an industry you've always dreamed about being in. It's been your dream for over half of your life. Someone, in that industry, says the above to you. Even if they can never follow through on it, bluntly...there's no greater compliment which can be given.
I mean, "Your writing's good, if you put it into a book, I'd buy it", that's a good compliment. A close second, I'd say. I've gotten those, too. And I appreciate them. But...the difference between "I'd buy it", and "I'd hire you", is that the former is someone supporting you from the outside.
The latter is someone, already inside the industry, who says they want to support you. In other words, it's the difference between, saaaaaaaaaaaaaaay, a random stranger saying, "You're good", and, oh, let's say Stephen King saying "You're good". The former is valuable. The latter is something which, to a writer, cannot be topped.
I mean, I did have to tell them that, yeah, I don't have any professional experience, and wouldn't know what I was doing. But it would be a dream come true, and a person acknowledging, recognizing, that I can do it, who is actually part of the industry? That's the greatest possible compliment.
So, feeling good.
Someone who was doing the complimenting, for a living, does writing. They write for their business. I don't exactly know the details of how that works. But when saying I write well, they also said that if they expanded their business, they'd be interested in hiring me.
...Let that sink in for a second.
I'm not sure if it does or not. But basically. Think about an industry you've always dreamed about being in. It's been your dream for over half of your life. Someone, in that industry, says the above to you. Even if they can never follow through on it, bluntly...there's no greater compliment which can be given.
I mean, "Your writing's good, if you put it into a book, I'd buy it", that's a good compliment. A close second, I'd say. I've gotten those, too. And I appreciate them. But...the difference between "I'd buy it", and "I'd hire you", is that the former is someone supporting you from the outside.
The latter is someone, already inside the industry, who says they want to support you. In other words, it's the difference between, saaaaaaaaaaaaaaay, a random stranger saying, "You're good", and, oh, let's say Stephen King saying "You're good". The former is valuable. The latter is something which, to a writer, cannot be topped.
I mean, I did have to tell them that, yeah, I don't have any professional experience, and wouldn't know what I was doing. But it would be a dream come true, and a person acknowledging, recognizing, that I can do it, who is actually part of the industry? That's the greatest possible compliment.
So, feeling good.
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