If you are a creator of any kind, Elizabeth’s Gilbert’s Big Magic is a must-read.

I’m kicking myself that I had not read this book earlier, way earlier when it first came out in 2015. It could have saved me so much time, anguish, and tears.

Here are some of the golden nuggets that I got from this gem of a book:

#1. Writing is a gamble

Writing is not an exact science, and every time you are shipping something, you are at a casino, playing a one-arm bandit, hoping, and praying to win big. Gilbert, of course, is better with words than me, so here is how she eloquently described the creators’ gamble:

“Artists, by nature, are gamblers. Gambling is a dangerous habit. But whenever you make art, you’re always gambling. You’re rolling the dice on the slim odds that your investment of time, energy, and resources now might pay off later in a big way — that somebody might buy your work, and that you might become successful.”.

#2. Dealing with negative feedback

I’m someone who struggles with negative feedback. Although my skin gets thicker as I get older (literally and figuratively), I still get heart palpitations when someone trashes my writing.

Here is what Gilbert says about that: