40 Writing Milestones to Celebrate
Or: 40 Excuses to Buy Yourself an Ice Cream
Published in
3 min readAug 28, 2019
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As a writer, it can be really hard to keep going. One way I keep myself motivated is by celebrating the small things. Sure, I was over the moon the first time I got a poetry acceptance. But I’ve learned that to keep going, you need to celebrate every little step. Every time I hit a new milestone, I try to appreciate that moment, because it validates all the hard work, long hours, and general malaise that being a writer sometimes entails. I love writing, but writing is hard.
So here are 40 things to reward yourself for as a writer:
- The first rejection
- The first personal rejection
- The first acceptance
- The first dream publication
- The 20th Rejection
- The 50th Rejection
- 100 Rejections in a year
- Your first critique group
- Your second critique group because the first one fell apart
- Your third critique group, this is the one, finally
- Your fourth critique group that really is The One
- When an editor solicits your work
- When an editor accepts you, then says they like your other work
- The first time you are asked to speak somewhere
- Your first time as a panelist at a convention
- Your first book draft
- The first story you shelve
- The first book you shelve
- Getting an ARC in the mail
- Getting paid a pro rate
- Your first review
- Your first bad review
- Your first terrible, inexplainable, weirdly mean review
- Your first fanmail
- Your first angry fanmail
- The first time someone asks you to sign a book
- The first time someone dresses up in cosplay as your character
- Your first reading
- Your first reading where someone other than your…