Other Roads

I bookmarked this article when I read it on Jane Friedman because I thought it was a great lesson for the kids as they work to secure research positions or internships and think ahead to careers and graduate school.

An author publishes her first book to great fanfare:

My agent sold international rights in eighteen countries. For a few glorious weeks, The Bookseller was on the New York Times bestseller list. Julia Roberts’s production company, Red Om, came calling, and I happily signed an option agreement.

External changes between the first and second books impacted that experience, and further changes between the second and third books led her on a completely different path. Nothing is a given; even the most successful-looking start may change course, and the most unsuccessful-looking start may work out fine.

She writes:

In the end, you have to just do the thing. Might work out, might not. But if you never try, you’ll never know.

Here’s to just doing the thing. I love this message and wish her a lot of success.