if i could give one piece of advice for aspiring authors or people just getting into the industry, it would be to get goals & hobbies that are not publishing related. This industry has a way of making you feel super unimportant, can& #39;t put all your self worth into this one thing

the mental fortitude it takes to make it long term in publishing is serious. Self doubt is part of being a human, being an author amplifies it - you need other forms of self expression, a fountain to pull self esteem and happiness from that don& #39;t have anything to do w/books

it will also come in handy in a lot of instances but especially when it comes to the two things that are most prevalent: waiting and disappointment. If you have other things to turn to, it only feels like one part of your world is crumbling not the entire thing.

I will also say: have non-publishing friends if you can AND talk to your publishing friends about things other than the industry/books. It can feel a lot like an obsession (and in a lot of ways it is) but taking breaks to just talk about LIFE or music or farts or w/e is important

I LOVE talking to my friend Peter about music for example, & we watch British reality shows together too - next year Ryan & I are going to a podcast live show, Kat and I talk about murder podcasts all the time. Diversify bc it can be UNHEALTHY to be all books all the time