I don't know why I suddenly decided to write a book. Maybe after turning the oven to 350 degrees, then baking myself for 30 odd years, the buzzer finally went off and ding, I was fully cooked. Hopefully I'm cooked. I could turn out to be medium rare, under-baked, pink in the middle and full of salmonella. Yuck. I sound gross! Unfortunately, it could turn out to be that kind of temporary insanity. Although, I'm rooting for divine intervention. What I do know for sure, is that after reading the page turning Gone Girl and temporarily hiring The Help, I decided to write a book. Literal Period.
I guess those two books either inspired me or it was just a coincidence. So what happens when I'm done writing? Do you know what happened to Kathryn Stockett? Lots of rejections happened. Sixty rejections happened. Or, at least that's what it says on the internet. I can only imagine the frustration. Give me a year. Then I'll know. To think you can write an awesome book like Kathryn and then have the mailman break your heart sixty times. What a jerk! Well, Kathryn might not have blamed the mailman, but I'm not as nice as she is. Actually, I have no idea if she is naughty or nice. But I'm sure we'll be best buds after my book is published. Obviously. Duh.
But then Kathryn sends out manuscript number sixty-one. Now The Help is a world wide best seller and one of my favorite books. I'll never look at an innocent chocolate cream pie with out at least a little anxiety. I loved it. It was way better than the movie.
Do I have the patience to send out my novel 60 times? What if 60 publishers tell me to go back to my day job of wrangling cats. I guess I'll have to do what T.V. evangelist Mac Hammond say to do. Have patience. He says patience provides the time to grow.
You might not instantly blossom. A seed (a cute little seed like you and me) takes time to grow. I like that!
Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.
If you have enough patience, head over to Springtime in Magnolia for my book review on The Birds of Pandemonium.
2 comments:
Gone Girl and The Help are two wonderful books and I enjoyed them both very much. Persistence is key. That is very true. BUT I also know that if you plan on not self-publishing (which is a huge trend now) you need a fantastic agent. Have you ever looked at current copies of Writer's Market? They give you tons of resources. You have to send out query letters to agents not publishers....I didn't know if you were aware of that. How far along are you with the book?
Let me know how to guest publish on your blog and I write that piece I promised. I am just not all that computer savvy. :-) Thanks for the invite, though....I really appreciate it!
You do indeed need an agent. The last time a publisher looked at a manuscript cold was twelve or fifteen years ago. Fortunately, thanks to the internet and infinitely reproducible e-mail, it is not possible to be rejected hundreds of times for a few clicks of the mouse.
Okay, actually not accurate. You will still only be rejected dozens of times because infinitely multiplying queries causes many agents to click 'delete' without any reply at all. When you haven't heard anything for six months, that's a 'no'.
The exception to needing an agent is found at small, independent presses. Many serve specific niches, though something highly 'literate' like 'The Help' would interest at least some.
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