Dreams Really Do Come True!!!!

Some authors take years to write a book. A select few take days. Most, like me, fall somewhere in between. Whether pantsing or plotting, we all follow the same basic routine. Wake up and write. Go to our day jobs and sneak in some writing when we can. Drive home from those day jobs and think about our writing. Get home, feed our *insert appropriate mammals here*, and write. We pour gallons of our blood, sweat, and tears into a manuscript in the hopes that someday somehow somebody besides our mothers and critique groups will read it. No matter the road we take to get there, with enough effort, and coffee, we will reach the destination and finish writing a book.We write because it's in our blood, because it's a part of the glue holding us together, because most of us would go crazy without getting those thoughts on paper. But we also write to share with others. We want other people to enjoy our words as much as we do. And, just maybe, we want to touch their lives in some significant way; to entertain, to teach, to validate their feelings. But first they have to read the words we write.How do we make that happen?There are really only two avenues to take; self or traditional publishing. The biggest pro to self publishing is the time involved. It's fast. With a few clicks, you can upload your book and BAM, you are a published author. The feeling you get when you hold your book in your hands for the first time is indescribable. Try it, and you'll probably agree. I know because I've done it.But the road to trad publishing is long and rough. Filled with hills, valleys, potholes, and all kinds of road blocks. But there is hope! All you need is a guide. A.K.A. a literary agent. Easy, right? Just write a query, do your research, and find that special someone who loves your book and knows exactly where to sell it.I'm happy to say, I've done this, too! After months of reading agent profiles, MSWL, sending out little pieces of my soul in queries, (and reading the rejections) I  found the one. I signed with an agent who not only liked my books, she also understands my purpose. She shares how I feel about the issues in my books. Issues most have every day, sometimes facing them but more often, ignoring or looking the other way. My agent gets them, which also means she gets me. I know she will do everything she can to promote my work and see that it reaches the correct final destination, and I'm looking forward to the ride.It wasn't easy or fast. My heart raced every time I'd open a return email from a query and I'd wonder, could this be it? Is this the last time? Anyone who's been rejected understands the gut punch you get when you open that email only to see, Thank you for sending me your manuscript, but... Maybe it just wasn't my time yet. Maybe I needed to develop an emotional callus to prepare for what's to come. Maybe all those rejections came because the writing gods knew I had to wait for the right person to show me the way. (If you believe in that sort of thing.)My advice to all the writers still looking for that special person, the one who gets you, is to keep trying. Your someone is out there, waiting, just like mine was.  Keep writing, keep searching, and don't give up hope. It's a long, painful, and sometimes murky road, but it's worth it in the end. I found my agent. You'll find yours, too.