Move Along

One of the pieces of advice given to (new) writers is to not stop writing just because you got a piece done. As you look for a home for that short, or novel, or whatever, you start a new one. And then another. You keep working.

It can be frustrating. In my case, I have 5 shorts out looking for a home, another 11 ready to go out into the world, 9 in various stages of rewrite, and some 2 dozen waiting to be drafted. Of course, some stories never sell, or don't sell right away. One of the shorts that's in the 'waiting' stack has already visited all the obvious markets. Maybe it will find a home someday. Maybe I will have to chalk that one up as a learning experience, part of me 'paying my dues', and give it a home in the back of a drawer.

It's the same with novels, I suppose. My first novel has been trying to find a home for a couple years. My second is in the polish stage, so now as I look for an agent for the first, I'm also starting to consider the possibility of sending a query for my second book.

Meanwhile, I keep drafting, re-writing and polishing. I can't just stop. Maybe I'm still learning, and that's why things haven't started to sell yet. If I gave up, I'd never get there.

I can't be a quitter. See you next week. Trudy