Personally, I struggle with it with this self-publishing project. I am willing to forge ahead anyway. I’m doing it for my sister Annie.

You have a fascinating story.

I’ve failed a lot too (some of it’s more failure in the eyes of others than in my own eyes). I grew up loving to tell stories but got the impression that writing was not a “real” career option. I was so excited when I won a writing scholarship for college and then disappointed when the scholarship was taken away because my declared major was biochemistry…apparantly I didn’t “eat, sleep, and breathe writing” and was therefore not a real writer. So, my love of writing began to wither. I slogged through the biochem major, not really loving all of it and not doing especially well in the grades department, changed to microbiology (entertaining thoughts of medical school or nursing) and added psychology (which I ended up loving but not enough to make a career of it). None of those career options excited me the way writing had, but it seemed like I couldn’t find my creative flow anymore. I married and planned to stay home once I had children (big fail in the eyes of some family members…compounded when we chose to homeschool). Then I came back to writing. However it turns out, I’m so glad I came back. And maybe, if I’d stuck with writing back then, I wouldn’t be here now. And I’m happy to be here! I feel blessed to meet all of you and I’m excited about the changes in publishing. And all the fails have built my character.

I’m a published poet and an unpublished novelist. I may not be as successful financially at writing as I was at real estate, but I’m richer by far already.

A discouraging mother is a writer’s gold mine, kho…

You must encourage her to be discouraging, therefore.