As I wrote about here, August is the month of The Good Stuff around these parts. Every week I’m going to be focusing on something worth celebrating in the publishing journey, whether it’s stories about new deals and successes, or writing inspiration, or platform-building encouragement…

Now, last week we talked about the 6 moments along the publishing journey where you should stop to celebrate. But what if you haven’t started that official journey to publication? How can you savor a journey you haven’t even started yet?

Well, here’s a newsflash: no matter where you are, you’re on your way. The real publication journey starts far before signing a book contract—it starts with years of building skills. And the most important skill to build in order to succeed in publishing? Patience.

I know that sounds groan-worthy, but it’s the truth. You’ll need patience with yourself when you sit down at your computer and all the words come out wrong. You’ll need patience when you try to build your online presence and can’t figure out why people aren’t flocking to you. You’ll need patience when you want results now, but all that’s in front of you are new, confounding challenges.

And all that patience you’ll be building? That’s A Good Thing.

I know it doesn’t seem like it—it never does. But as Wayne Stiles wrote this week over on Michael Hyatt’s blog:

“This season of waiting is a present—a gift that allows us to deepen our commitment to why we do what we do. Whatever our why is, it alone helps us to keep writing, keep speaking, and continue building while we wait.”

The person who has seemingly instant success with anything in life probably spent years building the foundational skills—both the tangible skills and the character strengths—necessary to execute on that creative vision. Those years were also the incubation period for a deep connection to the why that fuels us in our most challenging moments.

When we accept the reality that it takes time, we can start enjoying that time. We can also stop yearning for that mythical “one day…” when everything is finally easy and perfect and comfortable. When everything will suddenly be changed. That “one day…” will never arrive.

As a reminder of that (because it’s the easiest thing to forget in this industry!), you can download a free printable art print with Jack Kerouac’s famous quote:

“One day I will find the right words and they will be simple.”

It’s a reminder that even legendary writers like Kerouac never reached that mythical “one day” when all the right words came to them easily.

You can download this art print for free here, then print it on regular-sized paper and frame it to hang in your writing nook. And if you love hanging visual reminders to yourself in your work space, check out this free Anne Lamott printable art print and this free Brené Brown printable art print!