Yeah, Josh Sitton: What Is The Point?

If someone were to stick a mic in my face after I've opened another rejection email, I'd probably say what Josh Sitton said after the Green Bay Packers lost to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Conference Championship game, "You feel like it's a waste of seven, eight months. What's the point of getting this far? I'd have rather not even made the playoffs."

Yeah. What is the point?

Why have I spent, seven, eight, 20, 25 years tap-tapping away on my computer, writing, when I never make it to the payoff? I look around my bedroom-turned-office and there's not one championship banner hanging, no trophies. I've never been named to the Creative Non-Fiction All-Pro team.

Why do I sit here, watching the curser follow my Times New Roman thoughts-turned-into-words that might only be seen by my dry and extremely nearsighted eyes? Will anyone think highly enough of my tome to throw some shekels my way? Maybe. Maybe Not. What's the alternative? To not even try?

In the world of writing, I'm sort of a walk-on. I didn't major in English. I never took writing classes, I guess you could say, I have a gift. You could say that, I can't. It's too self-serving. It falls under the Thou Shalt Not Boast Lest Thou Get-ist Smite-d commandment.

Writing. It's what I do. Who I am. I gots to write.

Every time I hit 'send' or 'submit' there's a chance that I'll get rejected -- did I say chance? I've got quite the collection of snubs -- but if I just let sit on my desktop the chances of someone giving it the time of day, liking or sharing or caring? Needle points to nil.

So, yeah, Josh, I feel your pain. Come April or May, you'll be ready to pull on the pads and chase the Lombardi trophy. Just like I'll sit here and type away chasing the chance of some editor somewhere saying, "Yes!"