On Sunday, I was scrolling through Facebook (never a good thing), and thinking about how most people spend their time on weekends. For most people, those days off are dedicated to fun, letting loose, getting out and about (or, that’s what Facebook implies). For me, weekends are a little angst-ridden. I struggle with how much to work on — Read More
Category: Rejection
On persistence
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking recently about how we only get about 10% of any one person’s story. We see only the parts they are willing to share–the happy parts, mostly. We shield others from our heartaches. If we do share, we share a small sliver. For example: On Facebook, which I consider an exaggerated — Read More
On “following your passion” (or not)
This post may sound contradictory to my last “push through rejection and keep writing” post, but I don’t see it that way. It could be a footnote to that post, or a part 2. If part 1 was “keep going,” part 2 is, “but don’t quit your day job.” When I was in my early twenties, I — Read More
On rejection
If someone told me they wanted to be a writer, I would say, “Ok, I hope you’re good with rejection.” It’s funny how writers are some of the most sensitive people and publishing is such a harsh, brutally blunt industry. Some fun facts: Robert M. Pirsig received 121 rejections of his book Zen and the Art — Read More
Here we go again
I figure it’s time for a book update. I’ve left y’all hanging. So, at the end of June, I got an agent and she sent my book out to some publishers. Honestly, despite many disappointments with this process before, I was super hopeful. My agent seemed genuinely excited for the book and had so many — Read More
So, I have an agent.
Let me explain why this is pretty awesome. In my mind, there are 4 big steps for a writer who wants to publish a book with a big publishing house: STEP 1: Write the f-ing book. This involves about a billion sub-steps, which I shudder to think about, let alone list. STEP 2: Get an — Read More
Sticking it out
A curious thing happened the other day. Just as I let the first draft of my novel go into the hands of some trusted readers, I started thinking about ideas for other books to write. In the past week, I have scribbled down two ideas on post-its. I’ve gotten the itch to just move on — Read More
How to Make Write
BIG NEWS: I “finished” my book. Meaning, I implemented the last of my edits and printed it out. I say finished-in-quotes because I’m sure there will be more edits after I get some feedback from my first readers–my mom and two good friends. Still, it’s something to celebrate. I know there is a long process — Read More
Why We Write: Continued
As I said last week, I just finished reading Why We Write: 20 Acclaimed Writers on How and Why They Do What They Do. As promised, here are some words of wisdom from the contributing writers: “Whenever I am writing, or more accurately, whenever I have written, I feel better and more at peace as — Read More
Why We Write
I just finished reading Why We Write: 20 Acclaimed Writers on How and Why They Do What They Do. I’d recommend it, mostly because proceeds go to 826 National, a nonprofit dedicated to writing and tutoring centers. I didn’t think the entries were all that compelling. In fact, my favorite part was the introduction by — Read More