From One Writer to Another: Start Working on Your Dream

This post was originally published on Kerry Evelyn’s personal Facebook profile.

You climb a mountain one step at a time. Sometimes you feel stuck, or like you’re sliding down. Sometimes you get frustrated because you can’t climb fast enough. Sometimes you realize it’s important to stop for a minute, look down to see how high you’ve climbed, and just take in the air and views from your current position.

I was doing some admin work on Goodreads recently. I don’t usually pay attention to my stats. I don’t generally like numbers, and Goodreads is not often a happy place for authors. Most don’t visit the site very often because people can be so unkind in their reviews and comments. 

I had to take a minute to let this sink in:

• 35 distinct works
• 325 reviews
• 537 ratings

for a combined average of 4.58 stars!

Thirty-five works added since December 5, 2017.

Thirty-three works published in four and a half years.

By December 5, 2021, I will have five more works published: one anthology story, two workbooks, and two novels. 

It doesn’t matter how old you are when you start working on your dream. What matters is you keep going, learn as much as you can, and don’t quit. It took me two years to write and publish that first book once I decided I was going to it.  

Since then, several of my friends have become published authors, too. It’s amazing to know that you’ve had even the littlest part in helping or inspiring someone else to get started and follow through on something they’ve always felt called to do. It’s also amazing to know that thousands of people have read my books and hundreds have reviewed them. Seriously surreal!

I can’t even imagine what these stats are going to look like in another four and a half years because I have no plans to stop!

Are you working your dream? If not, consider getting started, no matter how old (or young) you are. You can do it!

Kerry Evelyn is an author and instructor in the Orlando literary community. She mentors students and teaches classes for Writer’s Atelier, libraries, and professional organizations. Kerry’s upcoming workbook, How to Binge Write Your Novel, pulls together decades of experience and empowers writers to make the most of their time. Her sweet romance novels feature small towns, a touch of the supernatural, and charming characters pursuing happily-ever-afters.

You can find her on Goodreads, BookBub, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Visit KerryEvelyn.com to subscribe to her newsletter and learn more!