I Shall Be a Bestselling Writer

positive self-talk and prophecy from Octavia Butler

Greetings, writers—

One of the things I’ve been trying to do before I dive back into my novel is gather together all my notes on it. These scribbles are in various notebooks and folders, on legal pads, napkins, subscription insets, and Fred Meyer receipts. (Electronically, they’re also in Word files, the Apple Notes app, and Google docs.) I’m trying to put everything in Scrivener; we shall see how it goes.

Unfortunately, many of the handwritten notes are barely legible, and so the question arises: will the insight or idea on this piece of paper be worth the time it takes for me to decipher it? It’s an interesting test of one’s faith in oneself.

Looking at all these different notes, in all their different places, made me think of Octavia Butler. Perhaps best known for 1979’s Kindred¹, Butler—novelist, visionary, and card-carrying genius (she was the first science-fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship, aka the Genius Award²)—made constant notes to herself throughout her life and career.