Excitement and Little Victories

I had expected my next post to be the second part to yesterday's Following the Muse, but instead today's going to be a brief update about my own creative pursuits, plus a brief musing (punny, I know) about little victories.

Although I've had no acceptances this week (at least not officially), I have had one publisher who said they liked a handbell piece I submitted to them, but the rhythm had problems in some spots, and they wanted me to take a look at it to see if I could make it work better.  In my mind, I'm counting that as a yes, even though it's not an official yes yet.  I should be able to make the changes the publisher wants and get it back to them in a form that they'll like.

That same publisher rejected a different piece, which I sent off to another publisher, who wrote back the same day and said they loved the piece, but due to their production schedules (sad to say but nearly every publisher I work with has had to cut back the number of pieces they release each year, solely for economic reasons), they couldn't release it for another couple of years.  That editor suggested (all my editors are great folks who seem as interested in advancing my career as they do in my pieces) I see if any other publisher wanted it and could release it sooner, but that if there were no takers, they would be interested in it.  Again, it was essentially a yes, but since the piece is still out there circulating amongst some other publishers, I'm not considering it an official yes.

And then today I was on Facebook (my one time for the month of August -- I'm on there only sporadically because, to be quite honest, I'm not a big fan) and saw a link from the Raleigh Ringers to their Young Ringers Festival, and lo and behold, my Celebration is one of the pieces for that festival in February.  Again, quite the ego boost.

So many times in our creative lives, we toil away with no tangible or visible payback for what we do.  When I have a week like I had -- with two potential acceptances and another piece played at a festival -- it's amazing what a boost for my self-esteem that is, as well as a boon to my creative output.  It's these little victories that make it all worth while, and that give us the strength and energy to carry on.  Even a simple kind word from someone who has heard one of our pieces or seen one of our paintings, read one of our stories or seen our dance routine -- these small things, the sort of things that might even be afterthoughts from those who give them, give us the confidence that we're moving in the right direction, and suddenly the hours of lonely work, creating and practicing and working on our own, are worth it again, and we once more give those hours gladly for the privilege of creating.

Here's hoping you have a small victory in your own life this week, and that it buoys your spirit for weeks to come.