First to Read

When I was a kid my mother was widowed so we were poor. I would only get two new books a year, one for my birthday and one for Christmas. But as I got older I shelved books in our local library after school while I waited for my mother to pick me up when she got off work. As a reward, the librarian always let me be the first one to check out new children's books when they arrived. What a thrill!

Maybe that's why I still feel honored to be one of the first people to read a book.

When I first joined a critique group I was afraid I'd be jealous if other members got their books published before I did. Instead, I was thrilled!

Just as a mother is proud of her children's achievements, I glowed with pride at the success of the other members and was pleased to know that some of my comments and suggestions may have helped to make those books a success.

And I'd gotten to read those books before they were even published!