I have become accustomed to success with my health research grant applications. Usually 9/10 that are submitted are successful. So my first foray into applying for writers grants was always going to be interesting. I knew it would be harder; it was. I knew I would be competing with some pretty serious writers; I was. And most importantly, I knew the world would not end if I didn't get the grant: it didn't.
So what was a I applying for? It was one of the Copyright Licensing NZ's $35,000 non-fiction grants. The winners are amazing authors, with amazing projects. Congratulations to them.
But I won also. As part of the process, I was required to write a full proposal, with chapter outline, and some sample chapters. "It would be helpful to have letters of support from a publisher" the application form read, so I did.
Now I find myself holding a pretty good book proposal; I have a couple of key individuals all queued to help; and most importantly, I have a publisher who says they are still keen to explore publishing the book.
So an unsuccessful grant has a positive lining and I don't think I have wasted a single minute (or in this case days) of my life. Although, I do not deny that the money would have made the writing easier.
As Bill Cosby said, "in order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure."
