The Blog In Which I Write About Writing

Are you a blog-starting addict?

I’m not gonna lie—I’ve started more blogs than I can count on one hand. I've tried my hand at teaching blogs, mommy blogs, and even one blog where I posted a bunch of poetry I’d written in high school.

Yikes. Not sure what I was thinking on that last one.

Now, the only one still alive is my Mommy blog, where I occasionally post pictures of my super adorable offspring (how could I not share their cuteness with the world?).

Today I begin this new blog to tell my journey as an author. An unpublished-and-thinking-about-eBooks-or-hoping-to-get-an-agent-soon author. Through this blog, my hope is to build a network of other aspiring authors in which to share my author anxieties with. The late night why-is-it-so-hard-to-write-500-words-today-when-I-wrote-2,000-yesterday nights. Or the if-I-get-one-more-rejection-letter-I-might-toss-my-computer-out-the-window moments.

Any other aspiring authors out there feel me?

Here are some things I’ve learned along the way:

·        Writing a novel is hard. It takes years. Thousands of hours. Sometimes you have to choose to make the time to write even when it takes you away from other fun things in life.

·        You have to take yourself seriously. If you want to become a published author, it’s going to take a lot, lot, lot of work (see previous) so writing can’t just be a “hobby.” Instead, it has to be a priority.

Think of it as a separate job, in which you might spend 20+ hours/week doing. You’re going to have to make sacrifices as you carve out time in your schedule to write.

·        You will get rejected. You’ll be rejected by literary agents, publishers, maybe even your friends or family. You have to get used to it. Dust yourself off, and move on. Remember, you’re doing this because you love it.

·        Having a “great story” isn’t enough. Even if your manuscript is a.maz.ing, there is no guarantee an agent will feel the same way. This. Totally. Sucks.

·        You cannot give up. If you’re doing what you love, you have to keep going. Write for you. Write for your characters. Write for your story that you believe in. Just. Keep. Writing.

How about you?

How many blogs have you started and how many do you currently keep up with? Writers—what’s your story? Have you made your way into the publishing world yet? Still writing your first novel? I’d love to hear what you’ve learned along the way.