There's a delicious and under-appreciated moment in the life of a working writer, and it's this.
Just before I send anything out to other people, there's a brief pause, which can be a heartbeat or, occasionally, a few minutes. And in that pause, I sit and I look over the email (it's been a long time since I sent any work out physically, though I did do it, about twenty years back, and the same pause happened as I sealed the envelope) and then, finally, I click send. Sometimes I get nervous, delete the attachment, save and close the document, triple-check it's the right version, re-attach it, then hit send. Occasionally I forget the attachment entirely and have to sheepishly reply-all and send it on a few minutes later.
But there's always a pause. And I've learned to love that pause. Because it's a sign that I'm doing the only thing that actually gets your work in front of people. I'm sending it out.
There's lots of different kinds of 'sending it out' - you might start by showing your work to a trusted friend, or your partner. You might graduate to a critique partner or group, apply for a workshop or enter a competition. And when you get into the thick of trade publishing, you might be sending out queries to agents, sending a draft novel to your editor or sending out blurb requests to other authors.
What they all have in common, though, is that you are taking a deliberate and deeply meaningful step with your work, which is to expose it to other people.
Why is it so important to take this step? And how do you actually go about it? Let's find out.