The Struggle in Meta
Most of the time the struggle to achieve a goal is seen as moving from outside to inside: if the goal is a job, we want the company to lower the bridge that we may cross the moat. Once Inside a warm sense of belonging infuses the newcomer. It feels good. The outsider is no more, an identity discarded. Benefits blossom: health care, free parking, shrimp cocktail at the Holiday Party.
Consider the writer, the person who seeks publication for their work, not the casual dabbler, but the driven writer. This person has much in comon with the jobseeker with a few additional complications. The work they do is speculative. The job they seek exists in a precarious construct that requires the active participation of unknown others, an agent perhaps, an editor certainly. Not only is the writer firing a shot from half-court there is no guarantee that there is a basket for the ball to find. After a beautiful pirouette, an elegant release, the ball vanishes into oblivion.
The reason some value fiction above all else is this: the fiction writer is always an outsider, the process never completes. No matter how many novels someone produces, they start the next one alone. That singularity isn’t punishment, but an essential part of the job. Writers want free shrimp cocktail in a desperate way, but they know it isn’t good for them. That’s for insiders. Wipe the cocktail sauce from your chin. Begin again.