I can speak from experience that having support from your loved ones, can be difficult to get or easy to achieve, depending on your own family. Growing up, I was part of that first list. I heard multiple times that I wasn't going to succeed and if I did get a book published, I wouldn't make any money with it. It tore me apart hearing my own mother saying these things. And she refused to read anything I wrote, so she didn't even know if I was good or not. She didn't care because all she wanted was to see me fail.
And then I met my husband, and he went on the second list. The moment he heard I wanted to be a writer and publish my stories, he supported me so fast it gave me whiplash. Yeah, that was fast lol. He encouraged me to write instead of watching TV. And when my first book was accepted by a publisher, he couldn't wait to brag about it. He showed me how someone loves someone, how they show support and I felt like I won first place in a contest. Actually, the feeling was bigger than that.
When I decided to become an Indie Author, I began meeting a lot of writers like me and we quickly became friends. I've learned how other writers are supportive and lean on each other for guidance. I learned so much from these people and when someone writes to me that they are inspired by my life and my work, I just melt.
I'm here to tell you something very important. If you're like me and have that group of people in your life who don't understand you and don't support your dream of becoming a writer--it is their loss, not yours. It is not your fault. They truly don't know what they are missing. Seriously. Come over to Instagram. Meet the writers on there and you will quickly see how supportive these men and women can be. You don't have to take the writing journey alone. I'm here. The other writers are here. Even if you're not the greatest writer in the world, you do have worth and your stories have worth. When you're at the bottom, there's only one direction you can go, and that's up. So don't give up. Keep writing. Learn, meet other writers, grow, read a lot, and while other writers support you, support them. You don't have to buy their books, a simple share does a lot more.
Indie Authors is a massive group of writers like you who are working together, supporting each other, and rooting for each other. It's not a race. We're in this together. If you happen to get to the winning box before me and sell hundreds of copies, I will cheer you on to the next hundred. If you find that rejection letter in your inbox or even your mailbox, I will cry with you and encourage you to go back and make it better because that publisher just lost a good story. It's their loss, not yours.
Thank you!