If...

If you stare at a blank screen, desperate for a story to emerge from your brain through your fingertips then you're just like me.

If your characters fight with you over what you hope they'd do on the page, and they win the fight, leaving you no choice but to write as they say, then I can relate. 

If you keep the dream alive despite the big fat zero under the sales column of your account then you and I have something in common.

If you juggle a family, a job, and somehow manage not to lose your mind as the bills pile up just so you can tweak another chapter then we're on the same rocking boat.

If you fantasize about what that next shiny cover will look like, and draw immeasurable joy out of seeing your name on the spine then I'm smiling right along with you.

If you respect and appreciate the triumphs of others without a sliver of envy, for you know how hard it is to write a novel then I'm with you a hundred percent.

If you write a passage that make sense only to you, and you rage at the world for not getting it then you and I have screamed together.

If you fret over a less than favorable review, resentment coursing through you at the thoughtlessness of a stranger then you're a lot like me.

If you swallow your pride and dignity to face up to an attacking review that mocks your efforts then you and I have wiped away the same tears, and gritted our teeth with new determination.

If you steel yourself against the naysayers who shake their heads and mockingly wish you well then we've just come across future characters that may meet an untimely demise, and if you just laughed because you know you've done this then I'm cracking up with you.

If you've spent countless hours on social networks, doing all you can to be noticed, but feel like a drop of water in an ocean then you and I will be checking our tweets and statuses as soon as we're done here.

If you lift your face to the sky when a glowing five star review validates the author you strive to be then I'm doing a happy dance with you.

If you have a story to tell, born from an idea, inspired by an event, a person, a picture, a fantasy, a sunset...then you're a writer, an author, a novelist, a poet, and I'm so proud to be in your company.

Javier A. Robayo 

Indie Author 

like many of you.