Do you know the story
of how John Lennon fell in love with Yoko Ono?
While visiting an art
gallery—Lennon himself was a sketch artist as well as a Beatle—he spotted Ono
on a ladder installing her one-woman art show: a huge sculpture of the word
YES.
 |
| Joan Gelfand, guest blogger, poet, writing coach |
There is a children’s
book called Richard Scarry’s Please and
Thank You. The book is an object lesson in teaching children the
consequences of their actions with the help of a cast of lovable
characters—Lowly Worm, Pig Will, and Pig Won’t.
Pig Will does what’s
asked of him. Lo and behold, guess what? Pig Will gets the goodies. He gets to
participate, have fun, and be an all-around happy guy.
Pig Won’t, of course,
always finds a reason to say no. You guessed it. Pig Won’t doesn’t get the
goodies.
Simple as this sounds,
Pig Will has power.
When people see that
you help out, not only because you want to build your reputation, but because
you are a team player, you are also cheerfully having a “Pig Will moment.” You
are “paying it forward.”
Not all of our Yeses or
positive actions are immediately followed by fabulous outcomes. But haven’t you
found that taking positive action—on balance—has benefited you?
The Big, Scary “Yes”
In 2004, I quit my
corporate job to write a novel, had a setback, and was just starting to establish
myself as a poet. Like many writers, I was busy! I still had a daughter at
home, I was running a small business, and my writing projects had projects.
When a writer friend
told me about the Women’s National Book Association (WNBA), I was thrilled to
meet colleagues and friends who were in the same boat! Soon after joining WNBA,
members received an email. The current president was stepping down and, if
someone didn’t take the reins, the chapter would fold. Wow. Okay. I was new to
the group, but with the support of another member, we said “Yes,” and took on
the presidency. Boy, did I get an education! I learned how to plan events,
communicate to a group, and get things going. Together, we doubled our
membership! Somehow, I found time in my busy life to help WNBA.
Two years later, I was
asked to be the incoming national president’s vice president. Now, that was a
serious ask! It meant two years as VP, two years as president, and two years as
Immediate past president. I was loathe to take on a six-year commitment. I
wanted to get back to my novel. My husband strongly advised that I take the
position.
Since that time, I’ve
had five more books published, four of which were directly related to my
leadership role in WNBA. The other one certainly took into account that I had a
national platform.
The point here is not
about happy endings, it’s about why community matters in your writing
life.
Community
Doesn’t it seem to happen
that just when you are feeling stretched thin, crunched for time, and really
not in the mood that opportunities to say YES! present themselves?
What I want to say is
that it isn’t always so obvious when the right time is to say “Yes.” Building
your platform is not exactly like party planning.
Sometimes you need to
say “Yes” exactly when you would be inclined to say NO!
Sometimes you make that
extra effort to build your platform at exactly the time when you want to pull
in your oars, hibernate, isolate and…. WRITE!
But winning writers,
remember, are a breed apart. Winning writers who follow the “4 C’s” are
firing on all burners; building community, working on craft, maintaining
commitment, and moving forward with confidence.
A note on teams:
Remember that you don’t have to go it alone. When I took on the presidency of
WNBA, I had mentors. Past presidents, executive board members, and chapter
members were all sources of great inspiration and encouragement for me.
“Yes!”
Joan Gelfand’s new
book, You Can Be a Winning Writer: The 4
C’s of Successful Authors: Craft, Commitment, Community and Confidence,
published by Mango Press July, 2018 is on Amazon’s #1 Hot New Releases. The
author of three poetry collections and an award winning book of short fiction,
Joan is the recipient of numerous writing awards, commendations, nominations,
and honors. Joan can be found writing and coaching writers at EcoSystms
co-working space in SF. http://joangelfand.com
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