I.

Once upon a time, there was a young girl named Jackie Lea who loved to tell and write stories.  She made a short list of her life’s goals, and one of the items on the list was to publish a book.

Jackie Lea worked tirelessly toward this goal: she wrote all through high school and college.  She wrote after college too, and she created a writing group, and she spent her precious money on workshops and conferences and readings to help her become a better writer.

She was very, very tired.  But still very determined.

“If I can just get a book deal, I’ll have met my goal, and then just think how happy I’ll be!  I’ll be a professional.  I’ll be thrilled.  I’ll be validated,” she told herself.

Then one lovely November day, she got incredible news: an editor loved her story and was going to publish her!  Jackie Lea had worked hard, and all her dreams had finally come true.

II.

Except that the book deal added so much stress to Jackie Lea’s life that she felt overwhelmed and panicked, jealous of other writers, nervous about her revisions, terrified to give up control, and generally quite fearful.

And she would cry about it.

And that felt wrong too, because who cries in a fairy tale when her dream is coming true?

Image credit: Gabriela Camerotti