IleftuniversitywithagooddegreeinEnglishLiterature,butnosenseofwhatIwantedtodo.Overthenextsixyears,Iwastreadingwater,justtryingtoearnanincome.Itriedjournalism,butIdidn’tthinkIwasanygood,thenfinance,whichIhated.Finally,Igotajobasarightsassistantatafamouspublisher.Ilovedworkingwithbooks,althoughthe 　　jobthatIdidwasdull. 　　虽然我是英语文学专业毕业,但是我没有底要做什么工作.毕业后的六年时间里,我行尸走肉地工作挣钱.我尝试过作记者,但是我觉得不好,然后改行作金融,后来也不欢而散.最后我在一家著名的出版公司担任法律顾问.尽管工作比较枯燥,但是我喜欢和图书打交道. 　　Ihadenoughsavingstotakeayearoffwork,andIdecidedtotrytosatisfyadeep-downwishtowriteanovel.AttendingaNovelWritingMAcoursegavemethestructureIneededtowritemyfirst55,000words. 　　当我有足够的积蓄可以休假一年,我决定实现我内心深处的愿望完成一部小说.参加MA小说创作课程让我明确了写作框架,我完成了55000个字. 　　Ittakesconfidencetomakeanewstart—there’sadarkperiodin-betweenwhereyou’reneitheronethingnortheother.You’reoutfordinnerandpeopleaskwhatyoudo,andyou’retooashamedtosay,“Well,I’mwritinganavel,butI’mnotquitesureifI’mgoingtogetthere.”Myconfidencedived.Believingmynovelcouldnotbepublished,Iputitaside. 　　开始创造确实需要信心——在你犹豫不决的时候,生活是一片黑暗.当你出去吃饭,别人问你在忙什么,你会不好意思说,我最近在写小说,但是我不确定我可以完成.想到我的小说没法出版,我的信心越来越弱了,我便把写书这事抛在九霄云外了.ThenImetanagent（代理商）whosaidIshouldsendmynovelouttoagents.So,Ididand,tomysurprise,gotsomewonderfulfeedback.IfeltalittlehopethatImightactuallybecomeapublishedwriterand,aftersigningwithanagent,Ifinishedthesecondhalfofthenovel 　　随后我遇见了一个代理商,他告诉我应当把书寄给他们机构.我如实做了.让我感到惊讶的是,我得到了一些很好的反馈.我突然觉得有希望,有一天我成为了一名作家.签约后,我完成了后半本的写作. 　　Thenextproblemwasfindingapublisher.Aftertwo-and-a-halfyearsofnoincome,justwaitingandwondering,apublisherofferedmeabookdeal—thatpublisherturnedouttobetheoneIonceworkedfor. 　　然后的问题是找到一个出版商.在过去的两年半没有收入的漫长等待和思考中,一个 　　出版商结束了我的困境,后来成为了我效力的出版商. 　　Itfeelslikeanunbelievablestrokeofluck—offate,really.Whenyousetouttodosomethingdifferent,there’snoendinsight,sotofindmyselfinapositionwhereInowhavemyownnameonacontract（合同）ofthepublisher—tobeapublishedwriter—isunbelievablyrewarding（有回报的）. 　　这像是命运中难以想象的运气.当你决定要做一件不同寻常的事时,也许你看不到希望,但是找到自己准确的位置,比如成为一名签约作家,你会发现这些漫长的等待是有回报的