I am NOT a Literary Hustler!

Failure is Just a Mistake You Didn't Learn From

While I certainly cannot claim to have avoided failure all my life, I've fortunately managed to get at least a bit better at managing the chaos and rebounding quickly when it comes to potential failure.


If you ever have the chance to talk to my parents, I'm sure they'll be eager to tell you how I love to "learn things the hard way". Some people might view that as a negative, but I actually don't. You see, the reason I tend to learn the hard way is that I am of the breed who likes to take well-planned risks in an attempt to improve or enhance my life. Sometimes they work out, and sometimes they don't, but the key here is that I almost always choose to use those would-be failures as learning experiences and growth opportunities.


Take my recent endeavors for example. Here I am, at the start of a second career and eager to make a good name for myself in a tight job market and a tough economy. So in an effort to establish a reputation as a talented and capable publishing professional, I decided to put my talents, skills and passion out there as a "freelance editor". I thought this was a genius move, but yesterday I learned it was more like a ticking time bomb.


Man— I had NO IDEA that putting my name out as an editor without formal "in house" experience could be detrimental to my career and/or my professional reputation. Apparently literary professionals like in-house editors and literary agents actually steer their authors away from self-proclaimed editors like me, and after hearing my friend out, I was totally able to see her point.


But now that leaves me in a bit of a quandary, and here's why: 


I do have a very natural talent for editing in all its forms, and that natural talent was strengthened and honed via my years as an English teacher and my voracious reading. It was then validated through my internship at a literary agency, confirmed when I assisted a client with proofreading some client manuscripts, and even more so when I completed a manuscript for my first official editorial client. But at the end of the day, aside from my BA in English, I have no formal editing experience or credentials. 


While interacting with and guiding writers is something that brings me true joy, I wouldn't want to jeopardize a long and vibrant career by coming off like a literary hustler.


I am NOT a literary hustler! 


But, I am going to figure out how to make lemonade from this mess, and I've already started by revising my current job description on every site from LinkedIn to Facebook to Twitter to this blog. 


Until Next Time...


~Michelle In Turn