Someday...

You will know my name.

Okay, it may not ever be on a New York Times best seller list, but someday it will be in a bookstore.

I was scrolling through Facebook today, when I noticed an article shared by a friend. Good-to-know stuff about the Christian fiction market. While reading the article, I noticed a link in the sidebar to this one: Five Reasons Why You May Never Get Published.

I stiffened. I clicked. I prepared to be shattered. I wasn't.

I may not as regimented as I want to be, but I am willing to put in the years   yes, years!   that it takes to accomplish this goal.  I don't expect to write a rough draft and have total strangers drool over it. I am not a professional. I WANT to be. Someday. What I know compared to what I need to know is a drop in the bucket. Or ocean. Yes, more like a drop in the ocean. It is sometimes overwhelming, but yet I plug away...

I am willing to take criticism, and LEARN from it. I have sent pieces of my WIPs to friends 'in the business' and listened to their advice. From pasts posts, you know that I am friends with the recently published author, Terri Tiffany. Terri has offered to be my critique partner, and has offered me tremendous encouragement. But she has also pointed out my mistakes and offered well-informed advice to correct those areas. AND I LISTEN! Apparently, that is not the typical reaction from a novice. Many people tell me stories of hurt feelings and 'I never heard from her again' scenarios. Why? If you're serious about writing, as I am, shouldn't you prize that information?

I won't even think about submitting my work to anyone until I am positive   and have other knowledgeable people in agreement   that my novel is the absolute best it can be. I worry enough about Terri seeing my drafts! This book is my baby. I birthed it. I want to be proud of it. It isn't enough to be published. I could self-publish tomorrow. (And I think too many have at this stage.) I want to be an author   by my definition. I want to write a really good book that people will recommend to others. A book that people are willing to pay for   not just willing to read because it was free.

I want my book to be different. I don't want to write a book that is predictable, or just like so-and-so's. I have my own voice, and want to perfect it so that is stands out from the crowd   or rather, the slush pile. I'm not so in love with my current WIP that I would continue down the same path if told the idea is overdone and will not sell. That is true insanity if my goal is to be published.

Lastly, I'm not so big-headed to think my talent surpasses that of other published authors, and therefore I will be 'discovered' by that lucky agent...blah...blah...blah...  Just as my book is my baby, I am a baby in this world of writing. Even though I've been doing it all my life, I've never before attempted to do it correctly. Yes, there is a method. There are rules. There is so much to learn. But I am willing and eager.

I  stumbled across this bit of wisdom today:

 "There is no comparison between that which is lost by not succeeding and that which is lost by not trying."     Francis Bacon 

 I am trying. I am definitely trying!

Wisdom for Writing

While reading my morning mail, I came across this in my daily devotional message from the Presidential Prayer Team:

"One definition for wisdom is “the skill of navigating toward a goal with precision.”" Even though the message was pointed to the leadership of this country, I quickly associated it with my writing practices.

Am I using wisdom with my writing? I'm not speaking of the text of my novel, but rather my own personal habits regarding when and how I write. To answer my own question, no; I do not navigate toward the goal with precision. The goal of course being FINISH the book!

Do I possess the skill or wisdom? Yes, I believe I have the skill to push ahead on schedule. The bigger question is, why don't I employ the skill? Hmm... Good question.

I am, by nature, a procrastinator. I've just never been a hurry-up-and-get-it-done type of person. Don't get me wrong. I'm never late! I never turned in assignments late. I've always been punctual with my work. One of my favorite examples concerns my best friend's wedding gown. I made it for her. I remember her coming over the day before the wedding asking about the dress. I calmly told her, it was almost done; all I had left was the sleeves and the hem. Yes, the dress was finished in plenty of time. She would have preferred a little wiggle room on the time-line. We laugh about it now, but seriously, if she had told me to have it ready a week before... it would have been ready a week before. Not eight days, mind you, but a week.

The problem with my book is that I don't have a due date. I just realized this! If I had a written-in-stone date that I had to meet, I'd meet it. I don't have a set number of hours per day designated for writing my book. If I did, I would fit it in. See, I have the knowledge. I know what's wrong with my habits and what I have to do to change it. I guess the wisdom part comes in when I decide to do what I know.

Are you using wisdom in your writing habits? Do you have a clear goal you are pursuing?