Friday, February 3, 2012

Long View

We like instant gratification.  If results aren't immediate, we freak.  Take the long view of this process.  I guess I'm tempted to include a story by Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananiah from the Talmud here.

Once a child got the better of me. I was traveling and I met with a child at a crossroads. I asked him, “Which way to the city?” and he replied: “This way is short and long, and that way is long and short.”
I took the “short and long” way. I  reached the city but found my approach obstructed by brambles and rocks. So I retraced my steps and said to the child: “My son, did you not tell me that this is the short way?” Answered the child: “Did I not tell you that it is also long?”

I don't know a lot about digital publishing.  Other people have had different experiences, but this is all in flux.  It changes with each new decision Amazon makes, with each new reader, with each new country that comes online.  It's all changing.

What's not changing is that there are no shortcuts.  You have to do your work.  Your work.  Tell your stories.  Follow your path.  Experiment.  Try things.  Find joy in it.

Finding joy is the important part.

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