I'm writing my 6th book right now. And my 7th. The only book I have actually gotten published is my 3rd. Here's a little breakdown of my books.
1: The Last Heir: Wrote in 2008: YA classic fantasy
2: The Solindran Stone: Wrote in 2009: YA contemporary fantasy
3: Not Your Average Fairy Tale: Wrote in 2010: YA contemporary fantasy
4: Bound: Wrote half in 2010 and half in 2012: YA urban fantasy
5: Inbetween: Wrote in 2011: YA paranormal
6: Not Your Average Happy Ending: Writing now: YA contemporary fantasy
7: Super Secret Project: Writing now
So, out of all of those, only one is published and one its sequel is under contract.
What do I do with all the leftovers?
I really want to re-write book #1. It's so overwhelming right now though, so that won't happen for a while. I wish I could re-write #2, but some books can't even be re-written to save. That one will never see the light of day. Unfortunately.
Believe it or not, sometimes you have to write a crappy book and then dissect the good scenes and put them in another book. In my case, that's exactly what happened. Book #2 has a bunch of scenes in it that I pulled and stuck into book #6. Never throw anything away. Especially an old manuscript.
Book #4 I've always had a love/hate relationship with, and I've finally figured out that I hated the main character. I loved the love interest though and he may make an appearance in book #7 instead.
Book #5 was written at the wrong time, since no one is taking paranormal anymore. Maybe someday.
It makes me kind of sad to have that many books written but most of them aren't published. But then I think about how much I've learned and how far I've come in writing all of them. I've gotten better with each one. I can tell and my readers/crit partners can tell. Each book is a part of me and a great learning experience. And you never know. A few of them may be published someday. It's just not the right time at the moment.
I've recieved plenty of rejections over the past few years. Most of my books weren't ready to query, but when I was a newbie I didn't know that. Even now that I know more about writing, I still get rejections. The bottom line? This business is super hard. REALLY HARD. But I keep writing my books, hoping that an agent will love one of my ideas and take a chance on me. Someday.
Don't give up. Even if you've shelved 5 manuscripts like me. Perfecting your craft takes time. No need to rush it. :)
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Fire and IceJolene Perry