Walking the Path of a REAL Writer

Last night I had a difficult time sleeping. Suffice it to say I had a dream where all of my books had been safely deposited in the trash.

I wonder what brought on that sort of dream. But as I recall my journey of being published, I can't help but recall my particular journey, and I say MY because we all have our own personal writing journey to walk.



Not all of us will be self-published.

Not all of us will find that national publisher to take on our works.

Not all of us will have an agent.

Not all of us will sell loads of copies of our books the first time out the gate.

Not all of us will sell our books in bookstores.

Not all of us will want to spend the time selling our books outside a bookstore.

Not all of us will market like we should; we'd rather write after all.

Not all of us will be able to afford a publicist, or someone to market our work.

Not all of us will get on that coveted site.

Not all of us will

 get all
 5 star reviews.



Hopefully, you get my drift. In the walk we do on the path we are blessed with, not one of us will walk the same path, and that's okay. God has something wonderful, groovy if you will, in store for each of us.

And I am happy to be walking the path he has chosen for me.

Kathryn

CHARACTER INTERVIEW: Evan from Life in Slake Patch

Tell me a little about yourself (where you live, who you are, what you look like, what you hope to achieve, etc.) 

My name is Evan and I live in the male compound, Slake on the prairie plain. I am a Second, as my eldest brother is the First. As such I am bound to compound duties only rather than tending to the livestock on the plain. I am 22 years old, muscular, blonde with blue eyes and looked up to as a champion wrestler.

What do you like to do in your spare time? 

I love wrestling and spending time with my best friend, Greg. He and I came to the compound together at the age of six.

What is your favorite color and why? 

We do not have much color in our lives apart from the designated one for our bunkhouses to identify each working group.

What is your favorite food? Why is it your favorite? A thick piece of steak between two large slices of fresh cornbread is perfect. The softness of the bread soaks up the steak juices.

What would you say is your biggest quirk? Unsure what to say about this, I am used to a schedule and hierarchy within the compounds but secretly want to spend more time with Kate.

What is it about your antagonist that irks you the most, and why? 

Aiden and his Tribe used violence as a way of changing the order or only amongst the men but berating young women.

Proof Cover: Expect Life in Slake Patch soon!

What or who means the most to you in your life? What, if anything, would you do to keep him/her/it in your life? 

I am deeply in love with my tryst, Kate and would lay down my life for her. If it was in my power I would change the once a week visiting rule to spend more time with her.

What one thing would you like readers to know about you that may not be spelled out in the book in which you inhabit? 

That I am open to new ideas as long as they do not harm others.

If you could tell your writer (creator) anything about yourself that might turn the direction of the plot, what would it be? 

In truth, I altered the plot several times during the creating of my narrative. Some twits to the original were by my suggestions.

***

Thank you, Evan!

Learn more about Evan and Mandy Eve-Barnett

Website - www.mandyevebarnett.com

So You've Received a Rejection Letter

For most authors, receiving a rejection letter is about as common as that bag of potato chips in the pantry; you never eat, nor do you receive, just one.



For me, the first 'many years' of my writing career were spent sending out query and cover letters only to get a typed form letter back addressed, "Dear Author," as if saying "dear" somehow excused the publisher from knowing my name (even though I had to know theirs :)

I could have saved all of my rejection letters like a friend of mine did, and tape them together to use in future teaching opportunities, (rolling it out across the room at the appropriate time) but I was so upset after receiving them, the idea never occurred to me.

Today, I don't write any more queries or cover letters, but I can tell you that the experience will never be forgotten.

What I want you to know is that receiving them isn't the end of your life, whether you receive the form kind, the kind with your name written on the top, the kind that are personally written to you, or even the kind that say, "We love your book, but have concerns about this and this. Re-write and send the book back." Even the kind that come to you with a hand written note on the form letter are something to write home about.

But in the end, you are still receiving a rejection letter of one form or another, and should take a look at the concerns (if any are mentioned) and do your best to get your manuscript out to the next publisher.

I used to have a numbered list. When the manuscript came back, I would check it over, make adjustments as necessary, and send it right off. And I tried to have a few different manuscripts out at the same time so that if one came back I could tell myself, "Well, at least I haven't heard from so and so yet," and that would help me to hang on.

Rejection letters are, simply put, someone else's opinion of your work. They may like it; they may not. What's most important is that you don't give up on selling or publishing your work because someone you may not even know, has given you a thumb's down.



You wouldn't want to quit when your thumb's up may be just around the corner.