When I first started writing, I was under the delusion that it would be easy. I don’t think I consciously thought, “oh, this will be easy”, but I just didn’t realize all the challenges that would arise. I hadn’t really considered the business end at all, so I missing out on the difficulties in that area. And I was so green that I didn’t realize that when you write well, it’s VERY hard to do. That old adage that good reading is damn hard writing. I didn’t get that. I thought writing was the easy part. (throw things if you must, just nothing too hard) I don’t remember when it hit me, but I remember when it did, it became like a mantra to me, “writing is hard.” I repeated it (whined about it) often. But at the same time, it gave me a strange sense of freedom. Acknowledging that it was difficult somehow made it more appealing and more of a challenge and it started me on my quest to master the craft of writing. I wanted to tackle the beast and win.

At the same time that I began studying craft, I had a mindset change and became an instant businesswoman. I made significant decisions about what I wanted in a career, set some goals and a business plan. In my local RWA chapter, I was given flack for being so “picky” with publishers. But the way I saw it, if I was going to succeed in this business, then I had a right to be picky. Being picky meant striking some publishers off my list - I never submitted to them. And when I sold to Avon, the house I’d aimed for, those same people in my RWA chapter were actually surprised that my plan had worked. I’m not saying, make a goal to sell to one house and if you work hard enough you’ll make it. I wish it worked that way, but unfortunately it doesn’t. I know plenty of great writers who are tenacious and determined and still haven’t sold. But they haven’t settled either and I have tremendous respect for them for that.

With that being said, I want to go back to something I think I said in an earlier post - writing is intensely personal. This goes for the business end as well. Your goals are going to be as individual as your writing. Don’t adopt someone else’s goals because they make a good presentation of them. Maybe you want to sell and sell consistently and you don’t care (or don’t need) the money. Or maybe you’re so settled in your own confidence that you don’t need critical acclaim. Everything about this is so individual. So ask yourself what you want, what you’re after. What are your business goals? This is something you should know if you’re wanting a career in writing.

If, however, you’re writing for your own pleasure and whether or not you sell doesn’t matter, then just relax and have a good time. I suspect though that most of you are feeling rather serious in your pursuit. Hang on, ladies, you’re in for the ride of your life. It can be a brutal business, but it can also be incredibly rewarding. The friends you’ll make, for one, are incredible. And if you don’t feel as if you’ve made those friends yet, just wait, they’ll come. (joining RWA certainly helps) Then you make a whole ‘nother group of friends with your “graduating class”. The other authors who sell about the same time as you. There was such a large group of us at Avon that sold about the same time. Many of us are Jaunty Quills, but there are others and we all genuinely like each other - we help with brainstorming, even critiquing at times. It’s so nice to have these ladies who are right there with me going through similar emotions and experiences.

Okay, so let’s say you’ve already done all this. You’ve figured out your business plan, you know what you’re after and you’re just working towards it. So how long does it take? It’s a legitimate question. Pick up a few RWR’s and look at the First Sale announcements and you’ll see anything from “Sold her first book” (which under most circumstances doesn’t evoke positive, happy feelings from other writers, but in some people we forgive- Anne Mallory… ) to “has been writing for 10 years and sold her eighth manuscript.” This goes back to it being a unique experience for each of us. It’s just not going to work for you the way it worked for me just as my experience wasn’t the same as Shana Galen’s. Accepting this early and reminding yourself of it often will help keep the green eyed monster at bay. But know that envy or jealousy, whichever you want to call it, will hit often and it’s totally normal. You just have to decide how you’re going to react to it.

So you’ve started submitting and you’ve received a few rejections and your skin is thickening up. Oh, what’s that? You haven’t started submitting yet? May I ask why? You’re not ready. They might say no. They might say yes. They might ask for changes. Whatever the reason it is, only you can know it. I think RWA is really good at encouraging people to submit, because some writers have a really difficult time doing this. At the same time, some of us do not. We’re ready instantly to send our stuff out into the world. I submitted WAY TOO EARLY and so I started collecting rejections very early. So by the time I actually sold I was really burnt out on the business and really close to quitting (although I never would have actually quit.) Which brings me to a quick sidebar – if you can quit, you should. But it’s totally normal to want to quit and try to quit and most of us have for a day or two. Back to the submitting thing. Fear is not a legitimate excuse for not submitting. You’re going to get rejections (they don’t stop after you sell either), they’re part of the game and they actually toughen you up for some other icky stuff to come (like bad reviews!) Fear is normal in writing. Ask any published author about their fear. Most of us are more than happy to tell you all about it. It’s just part of the gig. And fear can be either the fear of rejection or the fear of success. So if you’re experiencing fear, try to identify which one and then just work through the fear. Chances are it won’t go away, so just get used to it being the background.