She Feels Guilty That She Landed The Book Deal Her Best Friend Has Spent Her Whole Life Working For
This 32-year-old woman has a 36-year-old best friend named Dee, and she really believes that Dee is a talented writer.
Ever since she and Dee were children, they adored writing and reading together, though Dee is the one who grew up to be a writer.
Although that’s not Dee’s official job title, it’s her number one passion in life. Dee also got her Master’s degree in a relevant area and takes writing workshops as well as classes.
Dee has a large body of work; she has dabbled in many different genres and has finished four books.
With all the books Dee has written, Dee hired professional proofreaders and editors to help polish up her writing.
“I can honestly say I have loved reading everything she has ever sent me to read,” she explained.
“Not only me but all of our friends are huge supporters of hers and hope/know she will make it big one day. On the other hand, my approach to writing is… barely an approach. I attended the 1st of 8 workshops with her and have written maybe 10 things in my life, and while I enjoy it, it is neither a passion nor a hobby for me, partly because I don’t have time.”
“Dee has been incredibly supportive of me as well, always encouraged me to share my one complete book. On a very theoretical level (fantasy land), I would love to be a world-famous, inspirational, influential author (who doesn’t?), but this has never been my dream. It is hers, and I truly believe she can do it.”
She is already working in an industry she adores and is good at, so writing is never something she wanted to seriously pursue.
Drobot Dean – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
Anyway, Dee has had a small amount of success so far, with her work being published on some websites, but Dee has not been able to land a major book deal with a publishing house.
The last time Dee sent her book out to publishing houses, Dee asked her to send her book too so they could share in on the agony of having to wait and hear.
She wasn’t that interested but went along with making Dee happy, so she only sent her book to one publishing house, and it’s one of the biggest ones out there.
Well, 5 weeks after she sent her book out, she heard back from the publishing house: they’re offering her a deal for her book.
Getting an answer that quickly is shocking, and what’s even more surprising to her is that she heard back so far, yet Dee hasn’t heard from anyone.
She has not told Dee that she just landed the book deal Dee has spent her entire life working for.
“That was almost a month ago, and I am running out of time to sign the contract,” she said. “I don’t know how to tell her; I am incredibly hurt for her; I feel guilty; it all feels so unfair to me.”
“In my humble opinion, I am in no way, shape, or form as good a writer as she is, so I suspect it was the genre/theme that got me through instead of her.”
“I don’t know what it was, and I don’t know how to proceed. I know she will try to be happy for me, but I also fear it will destroy her, and I fear our friendship. I don’t know what to do.”
What advice do you have for her?
You can read the original post on Reddit here.
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