On Patience and Publishing

On Patience and Publishing

The first query I sent received a request for a full in less than five minutes. (I know, right? I had an instant heart-attack.) Upon later enlightenment (much later) I realized that particular manuscript stunk on ice. This was an unfortunate event. Why you might think. Well, because it gave me unreal expectations about the timeline of publishing.

Don’t fool yourself kiddo. Writing is a long-term investment of your mind, and your heart.

What I've come to realize is that you’re going to do your time before you emerge triumphant. You’ll also head down into the Valley of Fail (many times) and work your way back up to the peak of I can do this. (If you want to win)

There will be rejections.

Either you’ll get them at the front from agents and editors or you’ll have them from reviewers. They will be there—in spades. But there will also be moments of pure joy. The day you write THE END on a story and the first time you hand pages to someone to read and you can see them sucked into the world you've created.

The best of all is the day you’re signed by your dream agent. (I was so floaty and flabbergasted that I lost a brand-new phone—seriously, I never found it again. Only Heaven kept me from wrecking the car because I absolutely do not remember driving.)

Everyone has a different experience. Some few go straight to the top. But most of us plug along day after day and take years. Don’t think you’re all alone out there in the dark.

The rest of us are rooting for you. So pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get to work. We know you can do this

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Here is a hug. *HUGS*