Into the thick of it

One very hard truth for new writers to learn is that writing is hard. And usually takes MUCH longer than you expect to get where you want. If you are determined you will keep pressing on, and fight until your work is good enough to be published.



Last year I thought I was almost ready. I went to a conference in NYC to pitch agents. Though I wasn't sure what to expect, if they would want to read my work or consider it an inconvenience, I jumped in head first. Excited. I pitched 6 agents, every one wanted to read anywhere from 10 pages to the full manuscript. Needless to say I was ecstatic.



Unfortunately for me I wasn't really ready. I think I knew it at the time but it was an opportunity I wasn't willing to pass up. Four of the agents sent me a form rejection (a standard, pre-written rejection letter), one never responded. The last, the one who requested the full, sent me a very nice letter saying that it just wasn't ready yet, but to keep working on it.

So I have. I've continued working on it for the past year and the amount of progress I've made is pretty incredible. Spending 3 1/2 years working on the same thing get pretty tiring, and frustrating, especially for a new writer who sometimes doesn't even know what they are doing wrong.


But you know when it's right.

The moral of the story is that if you are serious about writing you will make mistakes. Lots of them. But don't give up. Even if it means moving onto your next work that's fine. Most writers don't publish their first novel, or second. Just don't give up on writing.


As for me? By summer I hope to be moving full steam ahead, finally ready to jump into the thick of it and see if anyone wants this thing! If not I will sit it aside and work just had hard to get my next novel published.



<p><a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=3062">Image: David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></p>