Reaching the next step

Progress is scary.

I was shocked, but pleasantly so, when I got two offers on Beta-Readers for Dragon's Voice from the Victoria Creative Writing Group (which I have been a member of since 2011 and help manage too!). One was so fast, she read it in 48 hours (or less!) and we're meeting for coffee next week!

Amazing! But terrifying too! It's been a lot of years since I first started reaching out to writing circles and critique groups, and I've done a fair number of exchanges with other budding authors too. I'm not scared of just having my work out there anymore. I know it can hurt, but that I'll be able to pick the parts that fit my vision and gently put aside the parts that don't convey what I want. My writing experience has given me that much. I'm a big fish in my tiny pond over here; I can take it!

But the whole point of this adventure is to leave the pond. 

I'm excited, and nervous, to hear what the Beta-reader has to say. Feedback is so important and can be so helpful. But it can come with that confidence-destroying pain of knowing your work is not as awesome as you'd like. Since I already feel like my work is good, but not stellar, that's a hard blow. 

But I need to leave the pond.

So we're meeting for coffee . Then another edit down the road and it'll be time for the next step.