So I’ve signed five manuscript contracts with three different publishers now for books to be released at the end of the year and in 2014. Let me repeat that because I’m happy and in shock. Five. If you were near my apartment in Miami, and heard me screaming, I do apologize for my horrible dancing. The blinds were closed though.
I am not done with writing. Far from it. I have a manuscript on submission. My original works everyone rejected. One I’m working on right now that’s different. One I’m in the stages of cleaning up. Then I’m back to finishing off the contemporary Collins brothers. While I have an idea for a fantasy that needs revisiting.
In signing up to be a motivational speaker for an online blogger event, it had me thinking. They might not pick me, but it doesn’t matter. Following your dreams is hard and things get thrown in the way. People think I’m strong, but that’s not necessarily true. My dad once said he yelled at me and made me cry because I shouldn’t be weak. He didn’t want me to crumble into tears in public, and to push myself. I was a lucky child who had two parents who instilled confidence in me to go after what I want. And I’m sure back in the day of publishing, it was harder to push yourself ahead. But now the hundreds of rejections I received don’t dig into my psyche and make me think I’m horrible. In fact I love finding bad books in the book stores. It’s inspiring because if that person found someone who liked them, then so can I.
We don’t necessarily control all aspects of our lives, but we can push ourselves in the direction we want. Then when the complications of life get in the way, it’s looking for a way around the problem to forge ahead. I told a friend in a horrible accident that put her writing dreams on hold that the bigger the obstacle, the bigger the prize, and that I’m sure she’ll be a NY Times best seller one day. First she has to heal. She, of course, thinks I’m partly crazy and too optimistic about life, but it’s just part of who I am. When a cop pulled me over to give me a ticket for something I didn’t do, I nodded and smiled. Little issues like that are meant to aggravate us, and shake us away. If we stay focused, the good outweighs everything else. Oh and the lawyer I hired took care of the ticket, so no I didn’t pay it. Case dismissed. I signed a publishing contract within 24 hours though of that incident. Some call this paying it forward, so I’m good.
Anyhow I really do love helping writer friends. My friends I meet with and share story concepts with are fun, but it’s more. The world is bigger. So I’m helping our group. If you are an unpublished writer, think about our contest, the Golden Palm.
I’m including the no frills youtube video I put together with more information.
[youtube_sc url=”http://youtu.be/WldrmexiL_s” width=”400″]
Hugs everyone reading this.
