"Welcome To My Blog"

Welcome to my first blog. I am so excited to finally be able to communicate with everyone in this fashion. It reminds me of a line from the movie, "Julie and Julia" where Julie says to her husband, "I can blog, I have thoughts." I got a kick out of that, but it's true. We all have thoughts that we can share. I hope you'll feel free to make comments on my thoughts and to ask questions or suggest topics.

The main focus of this blog will be about writing, and you'll not only hear my viewpoint, but I'll be iniviting other authors to share their comments, too. I've learned a lot over the years, but it doesn't mean I'm still not learning something new every day. To be a writer takes commitment, not only to learn the craft, but to sit in front of a computer on a regular basis and put words down. It's a lonely job, but also one that can be extremely fulfilling, especially when "The End" is typed. I knew this was what I wanted to do in my early twenties, but I learned the hard way that before you can run you have to walk. Getting to this point has taken many years of starts and stops and hard work, but I wouldn't trade a moment of the sweat and tears.

The first thing I learned is that if you want to be a writer, you must have thick skin. No matter what you do, there will be people who will love what you write and others who can't stand it. But isn't that the way it is with everything? Everyone has an opinion and they're not shy about expressing it. In order to write, you have to learn not to take criticism personally, just understand that you can't please everyone.

That said, you must also turn out a product that is professionally written. Spelling and punctuation errors don't go over well with editors and can cause your manuscript to be rejected or sent back for revisions. In addition, plot holes, characterization flaws and a story that veers off into another direction before getting back on track can be cause for rethinking and major changes. Just because a first draft is written doesn't mean it's going to be instantaneously accepted. Revision is a way of life.

I've attended plenty of conferences over the years and have heard editors talk about the "slush pile". As a writer, that's the last place you want your manuscript to be. Publishers get thousands of submissions every month and getting throught them is not easy. That is why they hire people to read the mail that is not directed to a specific editor. The story that you have put your heart and soul into for over a year can be summarily rejected by someone who is not an editor. You have a much better chance of having an editor read over your first three chapters and a synopsis if you attend a writer's conference and pitch your book to an editor. That's why I make it a point to attend at least one conference a year.

Some people write a book and never send it out, some send their stories out and get rejected, so they give up. But persistence is one of the things that separates a successful writer from the others. There are many other factors, but I'm going to save that for another blog.

Although I now have three books under my belt (so to speak), I cannot sit back and bask in the glow of those accomplishments. I am often asked, "What are you working on next?" because yes, there is always the next book. So for now, I'm going to say goodbye because if I don't get back to writing, I'll never get it published. Thanks for stopping by my blog.