If You're About to Lose Hope, Remember...

It's always too early to quit. - Norman Vincent Peale

We've been told time and time again, genius = perspiration, overnight success comes mostly to those who've been toiling at their craft for years, but it's always easy to forget.

When I'm struggling to put one word after another down on the page, I think about quitting.  I think about giving up and writing something else, or trying another genre (that is currently big on the bestseller lists) or just leaving the writing altogether and focusing on my day job.

It's so easy to get discouraged when another rejection rolls in, because there are dozens of these for each acceptance I get.

It's so easy to quit.

But then I remember (or have to force myself to remember) that the easy path is usually the one not worth taking.  What does it matter if I "waste" my time writing stories that never see the light of day?  I'm honing my craft.  And so what if my story is rejected several times...it might one day be accepted by some other publisher or editor.

If I don't keep writing, I won't ever know if success is just around the corner.

Don't give up.  Don't quit.  It's always too early to do that.

Partial (or Full) Ecstasy!

Today, I received my first request for a full manuscript, after having submitted a half dozen partials over the weekend to various romance publishers.  I am thrilled!  And only this morning, I posted an article about having spent much of my two-week annual vacation time researching publishers and sending out submissions.

All of my hard work is starting to pay off!

I know, I know, a request for a full manuscript is in no way a guarantee that the full manuscript will pass muster, be accepted for publication or eventually make its way to any of the scores of voracious romance novel readers out there.  Yes, I realize that none of these things may happen for this manuscript or even for me.  But I still can't help but see this as the possible first step on the road to my dreams.

This is a milestone in my quest to reach my writing goals, both short term and long term, and that is very exciting!

I have promised myself that I will savour these small victories and, right now, this seems like a pretty big victory to me.

So, no matter what happens with this or any other submission I have put out into the world, I will remember this feeling and hug it close.  I may need it.

Stay tuned...

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My Writing Goals

How do you know if you get off track if you don’t know where you’re going?

I’ve written about the need to have your writing goals defined so that you can both create a plan to achieve them and then set about implementing that plan. But what about my goals?

My writing goals have evolved over time from my first adolescent aspiration to become the female Stephen King – okay, stop giggling – to more recent (and sedate) dreams of publishing my stories and perhaps, one day, a novel.

These are my goals. Hold your laughter, please.

Short term goals

Most of my short term goals are simple enough: write a really good manuscript, find a literary agent willing to take a chance on my work, publish a few stories in a respected literary journal. Hopefully, within the next two or three years. That is all.

The problem is that some of these goals are more recognizable than others. For instance, I will know when a journal accepts one of my stories for publication because they will send me an acceptance of my story in writing. Later, I will have a copy of the journal in which my story appears to gloat over and show off to my friends. Similarly, an agreement for a literary agent to represent my work will be evidenced by a contract, an email, something in writing.

But how will I know when I’ve written a really good manuscript? Is it merely dependent on whether someone wants to represent or agrees to publish the book? Perhaps. I wish I believed that the best manuscripts were the ones you were really proud of but that’s not always the case. A story you think sucks hard might impress your readers and what you believe to be your best piece of writing might be panned by everyone you know and love (and who loves you). Face it, few of us are the best judges of our own work. So, in some ways, a good manuscript is evaluated based on who is willing to read, represent and publish it.

Long term goals

I dream big.  Tell me it’s impossible to achieve what I’ve set out for myself and I will look serious, nod in agreement, and go on thinking that I can do it. It’s human nature. Certainly, it’s my nature.

So what if I fall short of my Stephen King-like aspirations? I tried. Maybe I’ll go far enough that it won’t even matter. Success for me, realistically, would be to have one or two well-selling novels published. My dream is to live off of the avails of my writing. It’s a continuum, with success coming far far before my dream goal. I’m happy with success. Hey, I’m happy having tried. Too many writers give up on their dreams early and live to regret never having tried to reach them. I don’t ever want to do that.

I may never be able to live off of my writing. I’m fortunate enough to be respected, challenged and fulfilled in my day job. Plus, they pay me. That’s a big deal.

Every day I can, I work towards achieving my goals. I tweet and blog to connect to my online writing community. I attend writing courses and go to my writing group meetings. I research and read about the genre I write in, the agents who represent such writers, and publishers who might be interested in my work.

Most, and best of all, every day I write. It’s the only want to achieve my goals. And that’s what it’s all about, anyway, isn’t it? The writing. The thrill of putting pen to paper or fingers to keys and creating a new story, a new life, a new world. How many other people get to do that?

Good luck, all, and may your writing dreams come true!

Photo courtesy of pixtawan at freedigitalphotos.net

Dreaming Big

What's your dream?

Come on, tell me.  I won't laugh.

I'll bet it's something people have laughed at, at one point.  It's a goal that most people think would be risky, unachievable, or just too distant to even reach for.  I know.  I've been there.  Heck, I am there.

From since I was a child of twelve or thereabouts, I've wanted to be a writer.  A professional writer.  A no-other-source-of-income writer.

Okay, stop laughing now.

In a way, I've spent my whole life trying to achieve this goal, in fits and starts.  When I was a teenager, I churned out a bunch of unreadable manuscripts.  They were never even submitted anywhere.  Same with when I was in my twenties.  I wrote and wrote and wrote.  I edited myself very little.  I even wrote in front of the television (how about that for quality?).  But, again, I didn't submit any of my work for publication.  I was content to simply become my own audience.  Instead of reaching for a favourite Johanna Lindsey or Karen Ranney novel, I occasionally re-read some of my own work.  Just as good, right?  WRONG.

These talented ladies were published.  The proof was in my hands.  I was just scribbling aimlessly on my computer, without reason or purpose, but still with that big dream in my head: become a writer.

In 2006, I finally clued in.  I started writing manuscripts that I meant to sell somewhere.  I had a specific publisher in mind and I read all of their novels and targeted my works for them.  Or, as it turned out, for their slush pile.  I was rejected again and again, on at least a half dozen completed manuscripts.

I thought my dream was dead.

I was doing everything right.  I had a plan this time.  I had a rigid schedule of writing, polishing, and submitting my manuscripts every few months.  How could I fail?

It turned out that I was failing to hone my craft.  While concentrating now on the practical side of my writing, which was a good decision, I was still falling short of the standard of writing I needed to break into the professional realm.  Indeed, I still am.  But I keep trying.  And trying, and trying.  I read all of the articles I can get my hands on about writing, making the most of my Writer's Digest subscription.  I think (and blog) about writing regularly.  I keep it on the forefront of my mind, even in the face of many other distractions.

Trust me, I've heard every negative comment you can muster.  "Writers don't make much money".  "Successful writers are mainly lucky".  "You have to know someone to get published".  For a long time, I let those comments determine how I wrote.  I wrote for myself because I was building up my "other" career (or so I kept telling myself).  In fact, I was letting my career narrow my dreams of writing.  I had a job.  Where was the urgency?

Some days, I still feel like that.

Where is the urgency?

Well, let me ask you this: aren't the biggest dreams the most urgent?

Stop thinking about all of the tasks you have to do every day and start dreaming about what you want to do.  If you want to become a professional writer, as I do, what are you doing to reach your goals?

Are you taking writing courses?  Are you reaching out to other writers, in cyberspace or in person at clubs and conferences?  Are you writing every day?

I do all of these things now.  It took me a long time to learn.  So far, I'm not any further than I was at twelve, writing my little poems in my diary.  But I believe that one day I will make it because I will never let go of my biggest dream.

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