Quieting the Inner Debbie Downer

It seems that every time I put my foot forward to step in a new direction, that inner Debbie Downer rises up within me and tries to discourage me.  "No one wants to hear what you have to say," she says.  "No one wants to read your work.  No one cares about what you're doing, how you're doing it or how well you do it."  She pops up at work, telling me to stay quiet, that my voice doesn't matter.  She steps in when I start looking into publication options for my latest piece of writing.

I read in a book once that in times well removed from now, when someone lied, they had their tongue cut out.  While that seems somewhat extreme at times, I can often see the value in it.  A person who can't speak, can't lie.  It has its merits I admit.  So I've decided to give myself a hunting license and begin the stalk for the Debbie Downer within me.  I'm really sick of hearing her voice, and the next time she pops up I'm going to cut out her tongue so that she can't lie to me anymore.

I can already feel the freedom in so many ways.  Someone once told me, possibly my Debbie Downer, possibly someone that I actually had a conversation with - in truth I do not remember - that self-publishing is the worst thing an author can do.

In the days of Kindles and Nooks and mobile phone app readers, I no longer believe that this is true.  So I have challenged myself to complete and self-publish my first novella before the summer is over.  It will be a romantic comedy, in a way, a fresh voice on the lame overdone love stories that are put out time and time again.  And most importantly, it will be my voice, in published form.

I am doing my research on how to market my own self-published novella, and how to have it printed on demand, if I decide to go that route.  Truthfully, I feel that having a tangible book would make me feel more accomplished, but I fear that I will not be able to find stores to carry it.  On the other hand, I do live in one of the most artistically free cities in the country.  Perhaps I should take that step.

So long, Debbie Downer....