Dianne Bright's Blog - Posts Tagged "publishing"
Almost...
Some days, the condition of "almost" can pull us down to the depths of the sea. Not by actual iron shackles, of course.
But metaphorically speaking, as writers trying to make it in the world of publishing and marketing, it gets tough. A numbers game, where the odds are never in our favor.
If you've been at the game for a while, you get what I mean. After questioning my purpose as a writer recently, I asked myself, "Should I just go back to teaching?" But, I've come to realize I'm okay with a pocketful of "almost" adventures compared to never having tried in the first place.
Here are a plethora of "almost" moments you might relate to:
1) I almost drowned during that killer set of waves surfing in San Diego before a dolphin saved me;
2) I almost died falling down that boulder face upside down while repelling out at Joshua Tree;
3) I almost died of thirst climbing the Pyramid of the Sun in Mexico City;
4) I almost got attacked by a host of wild monkeys in the southern part of Japan while trying to get my camera to work;
5) I almost got eaten by a thresher shark in Puerto Rico out scuba diving off St. Thomas;
6) I almost crashed into my husband while parasailing off the coast of Maui (we were actually just trying to make out in the clouds);
7) I almost lost a limb after a jellyfish stung me in Oahu (kidding--just my dignity after a surfer told my husband to pee on my leg);
8) I almost crashed in the Atlantic Ocean on my way home from the Ukraine;
9) I almost lost my return ticket looking at all the cool artwork in Paris (I could seriously move there tomorrow);
10) and last but not least-- I almost gave up on my writing dreams after interminable rejection emails/letters.
But if I hadn't endured the trek to the bottom of the sea, I wouldn't be writing this now or formatting book #2 of my Soul Reader Trilogy, or pitching my #ya fantasy/novel: Blood Towers to a gazillion agents and publishers.
The point of this somewhat exaggerated post (though I did actually visit all those places) is to NEVER EVER GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS!
Keep writing!
--Dianne :)
Soul Reader
But metaphorically speaking, as writers trying to make it in the world of publishing and marketing, it gets tough. A numbers game, where the odds are never in our favor.
If you've been at the game for a while, you get what I mean. After questioning my purpose as a writer recently, I asked myself, "Should I just go back to teaching?" But, I've come to realize I'm okay with a pocketful of "almost" adventures compared to never having tried in the first place.
Here are a plethora of "almost" moments you might relate to:
1) I almost drowned during that killer set of waves surfing in San Diego before a dolphin saved me;
2) I almost died falling down that boulder face upside down while repelling out at Joshua Tree;
3) I almost died of thirst climbing the Pyramid of the Sun in Mexico City;
4) I almost got attacked by a host of wild monkeys in the southern part of Japan while trying to get my camera to work;
5) I almost got eaten by a thresher shark in Puerto Rico out scuba diving off St. Thomas;
6) I almost crashed into my husband while parasailing off the coast of Maui (we were actually just trying to make out in the clouds);
7) I almost lost a limb after a jellyfish stung me in Oahu (kidding--just my dignity after a surfer told my husband to pee on my leg);
8) I almost crashed in the Atlantic Ocean on my way home from the Ukraine;
9) I almost lost my return ticket looking at all the cool artwork in Paris (I could seriously move there tomorrow);
10) and last but not least-- I almost gave up on my writing dreams after interminable rejection emails/letters.
But if I hadn't endured the trek to the bottom of the sea, I wouldn't be writing this now or formatting book #2 of my Soul Reader Trilogy, or pitching my #ya fantasy/novel: Blood Towers to a gazillion agents and publishers.
The point of this somewhat exaggerated post (though I did actually visit all those places) is to NEVER EVER GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS!
Keep writing!
--Dianne :)
Soul Reader
Never Give Up!
Most people haven't heard of me as a mainstream author yet, and I'm okay with being an indie gal. But sometimes, it's just nice to feel noticed.
This happened after one of my Barnes & Noble book signing events for my first novel, SOUL READER. A lady came up to me in the bathroom asking, "Aren't you the lady from that book signing event?" I almost died from shock, giving a shy, "Yeah, that was me."
Occasionally someone who isn't from my extended family or my local friend-base will bump into me, sharing, "I really liked your book," which is cool too. But, the truth is, for the most part, I'm just that gal who blends in with the crowd.
Are you connecting with me now? Do you ever feel small and insignificant, like "What big accomplishment can I even do/make before I die?"
But hold on, what was the title again? Oh yeah... my point for fellow readers and authors: NEVER GIVE UP! Whatever you're doing in life. Regardless of what you earn. No matter where you live. Or what you look like. Or how smart you feel. Or what you believe other people think about you.
This especially applies to moms--EXCLAMATION MARK! I love to remind us that our lives matter too. Just for bringing little people into this world and raising them with a smile most days.
Sometimes, amidst the piles of laundry and dishes, our dreams get set on the back-burner. We get behind on our to-do lists and our reading piles as well.
As a line from my upcoming young adult novel says, "Dreams fuel the world." The mom tells her son those words to remind him she believes in him. So, don't let your dreams fade too far away. Sure, it's okay to put them off for a while. But if you wait too long, they might never resurface.
What if they could have been possible, if you simply hadn't given up? It's a message we need to pass along to our kids as well. But, is ANYTHING actually possible, or is that an unrealistic message to pass on to the little ones we love? "Here, kids-- drink the Kool Aid," even as chaos and destruction seem the only constants in our world.
Well, even if some things may not feel possible, I'd rather teach them to reach for the stars, instead of doing nothing to make it a better place. Seeking the impossible could be the very thing each one of us needs to get started on the right path.
We can even shoot for the stars by starting off small; then, we can reach for the next one; then the one after that. All of a sudden, we might just see a sky full of wishes, lighting our way.
"But, writing a whole book?" you might ask. "That's so many words." My upcoming young adult novel is 68,470 words, but it never felt too overwhelming, because I simply wrote one word at a time.
One more thing--NEVER GIVE UP! Oh wait, I think I said that already. :0)
*Dianne Bright is the author of SOUL READER and SOUL JUMPER. She has written for a variety of magazines, including Scholastic's Parent and Child. For similar essays, check out her digital parenting book: MOMMY'S HIDING IN THE TREEHOUSE (With a Glass of Merlot).
Soul Reader
This happened after one of my Barnes & Noble book signing events for my first novel, SOUL READER. A lady came up to me in the bathroom asking, "Aren't you the lady from that book signing event?" I almost died from shock, giving a shy, "Yeah, that was me."
Occasionally someone who isn't from my extended family or my local friend-base will bump into me, sharing, "I really liked your book," which is cool too. But, the truth is, for the most part, I'm just that gal who blends in with the crowd.
Are you connecting with me now? Do you ever feel small and insignificant, like "What big accomplishment can I even do/make before I die?"
But hold on, what was the title again? Oh yeah... my point for fellow readers and authors: NEVER GIVE UP! Whatever you're doing in life. Regardless of what you earn. No matter where you live. Or what you look like. Or how smart you feel. Or what you believe other people think about you.
This especially applies to moms--EXCLAMATION MARK! I love to remind us that our lives matter too. Just for bringing little people into this world and raising them with a smile most days.
Sometimes, amidst the piles of laundry and dishes, our dreams get set on the back-burner. We get behind on our to-do lists and our reading piles as well.
As a line from my upcoming young adult novel says, "Dreams fuel the world." The mom tells her son those words to remind him she believes in him. So, don't let your dreams fade too far away. Sure, it's okay to put them off for a while. But if you wait too long, they might never resurface.
What if they could have been possible, if you simply hadn't given up? It's a message we need to pass along to our kids as well. But, is ANYTHING actually possible, or is that an unrealistic message to pass on to the little ones we love? "Here, kids-- drink the Kool Aid," even as chaos and destruction seem the only constants in our world.
Well, even if some things may not feel possible, I'd rather teach them to reach for the stars, instead of doing nothing to make it a better place. Seeking the impossible could be the very thing each one of us needs to get started on the right path.
We can even shoot for the stars by starting off small; then, we can reach for the next one; then the one after that. All of a sudden, we might just see a sky full of wishes, lighting our way.
"But, writing a whole book?" you might ask. "That's so many words." My upcoming young adult novel is 68,470 words, but it never felt too overwhelming, because I simply wrote one word at a time.
One more thing--NEVER GIVE UP! Oh wait, I think I said that already. :0)
*Dianne Bright is the author of SOUL READER and SOUL JUMPER. She has written for a variety of magazines, including Scholastic's Parent and Child. For similar essays, check out her digital parenting book: MOMMY'S HIDING IN THE TREEHOUSE (With a Glass of Merlot).
Soul Reader
Yes to Hope!
After 200+ queries and ten requests for my full manuscript for consideration, I finally have a literary agent. Her name is Hope, and she gives me hope for the next chapter of my career. Writing isn't for the faint of heart. Anyone who can't take loads of rejection should consider a different job. In some ways, I'd say tenacity is my best character trait, though I'm pretty patient too. Mainly, it's just something in my blood that won't let me give up.
Along the way, it might have made more sense to simply call it quits. My background is in teaching, so it would have been easier to stop putting so much energy into my writing and jump back into that industry. My specific background is in Spanish American Literature and Linguistics (which I do love; don't get me wrong). It's not that I didn't enjoy teaching college students, but I LOVE writing.
It's all been used for the big picture. In my opinion, the pieces of our lives connect together as building blocks preparing us for the next step along the way. That said, I've learned so much from my literary background. Without my previous training, I wouldn't be the writer I am today. Laura Esquivel, Isabel Allende, and Carmen Boullosa gave me a strong foundation for writing fantasy. Magical realism is the equivalent of fantasy in Spanish literature in many ways, with a slightly different shape and voice. I'm currently finishing up the third book in my first series, in which Gabriel Garcia Marquez's over-sized butterflies played a huge role.
If you too have experienced more rejection than you thought possible, just keep hanging on. The voices I listened to, studied, and observed-- like in James Patterson's Master class and throughout Stephen King's ON WRITING kept telling me to press on. So I'm saying the same thing to you. I believe in you even if no one else does. And as a person with great faith (not explicitly a Christian author), I have found hope in two Bible verses along the way.
1) Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."
2) Philippians 1: 6, "Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
Some of you don't believe in God or in the Bible, so these verses may not offer equal encouragement. So, I'll add a few secular quotes to the list that sit next to me at my desk.
3) "Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars, to change the world," Harriet Tubman.
4) "Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game," Babe Ruth.
5) "Life is trying things to see if they work," Ray Bradbury.
When you get your next rejection letter, just remember, you're one step closer to the right fit. It's coming for you, so don't give up. Eventually the math works itself out.
DianneBright has written for a variety of magazines and professional blogs, including Scholastic's Parent & Child. She has also written SOUL READER and SOUL JUMPER. Her young adult fantasy duology is on query with her agent, Hope Bolinger.
Along the way, it might have made more sense to simply call it quits. My background is in teaching, so it would have been easier to stop putting so much energy into my writing and jump back into that industry. My specific background is in Spanish American Literature and Linguistics (which I do love; don't get me wrong). It's not that I didn't enjoy teaching college students, but I LOVE writing.
It's all been used for the big picture. In my opinion, the pieces of our lives connect together as building blocks preparing us for the next step along the way. That said, I've learned so much from my literary background. Without my previous training, I wouldn't be the writer I am today. Laura Esquivel, Isabel Allende, and Carmen Boullosa gave me a strong foundation for writing fantasy. Magical realism is the equivalent of fantasy in Spanish literature in many ways, with a slightly different shape and voice. I'm currently finishing up the third book in my first series, in which Gabriel Garcia Marquez's over-sized butterflies played a huge role.
If you too have experienced more rejection than you thought possible, just keep hanging on. The voices I listened to, studied, and observed-- like in James Patterson's Master class and throughout Stephen King's ON WRITING kept telling me to press on. So I'm saying the same thing to you. I believe in you even if no one else does. And as a person with great faith (not explicitly a Christian author), I have found hope in two Bible verses along the way.
1) Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."
2) Philippians 1: 6, "Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
Some of you don't believe in God or in the Bible, so these verses may not offer equal encouragement. So, I'll add a few secular quotes to the list that sit next to me at my desk.
3) "Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars, to change the world," Harriet Tubman.
4) "Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game," Babe Ruth.
5) "Life is trying things to see if they work," Ray Bradbury.
When you get your next rejection letter, just remember, you're one step closer to the right fit. It's coming for you, so don't give up. Eventually the math works itself out.
DianneBright has written for a variety of magazines and professional blogs, including Scholastic's Parent & Child. She has also written SOUL READER and SOUL JUMPER. Her young adult fantasy duology is on query with her agent, Hope Bolinger.
