“Writing memoir.” I knew it wasn’t the most original Google search I’d ever done, but all I wanted was somewhere to start.
The first page of results was full of people wanting to sell me things. On the second, though, a link grabbed my eye: “Write a killer memoir.” That was what I wanted to do, so I clicked.
The article was great, and I ended up clicking through a lot of the blog before coming up for air. I hadn’t heard of Alan Rinzler before, but he clearly knew what he was talking about. A link at the bottom of the page invited me to inquire about rates for developmental editing, and without thinking I clicked and sent a short email.
After hitting send, I decided to explore the non-blog parts of his site. Just looking at the people he’d edited, I knew he was way out of my league. Fortunately, you can’t un-send email. I wasn’t sure he’d even get back to me, but he did. We discussed his method of working, and then he read the pieces I’d linked to in my original email.
I waited impatiently for his reply. People have been telling me I write well since 8th grade, but this was different. This guy knew what he was talking about, and if he told me I was just okay, it would be a painful awakening. When his answer came, I stared at the subject line in Gmail until I realized I was holding my breath. “Oh. come on, Deb,” I muttered, rolling my eyes at myself and opening the email.
I skimmed it at first. He was willing to take me on, which was awesome, but I had to find the part where he said that my writing was not great. There it was! “Having read the three pieces you linked to, I agree that you can definitely write.”
I’m pretty sure my feet weren’t touching the ground as I walked back to my desk. It was validation from the big leagues. I still didn’t know if I could write this book, but I was going to try.