Piggybacking:) It only takes one yes!

At Limitless Publishing another author Shane Scollins has written a couple of blogs which have been posted on the Limitless website.  After reading the last two I feel the need topiggyback:)


The first one was How to sell your first novel:) Pretty much every line he wrote was something I could relate to.   As I look back on my road to Limitless Publishing  I now see that the first 100 - yes at least 100 - queries I made were no where near ready to be put out there.




My ideas and writing weren't the issue - What was, I suck with grammar and punctuation and I have a tendency to repeat myself quite a bit (I think it's the mother in me...) - and I like to use the same word a number of times:  That, Finished, So, Very, Really, Just ...and a whole lot more!  I didn't catch onto any of it - the ones who did were the small group of trusted ghost readers I'd chosen - not just for their reading and grammar knowledge but because of their honesty.  (Believe it or not, some people have a really hard time telling others - in a politically right way - that their writing sucks)




A friend of mine was my sounding stone (Hally lingo for a friend who would clam me down and let me bounce ideas and frustrations off of)  when it came to all of my rejections - she'd always say - "Okay Hally, what is the universe telling you?  What have you learned from this?"  (Honestly, she'd first tell me to take ten deep breaths, slow down and tell her everything again so she could understand me...) Which leads into Shane's second posting - How to Avoid Rejection Blues.
I had a tendency to take every single rejection personally and she would reel me in and point out where I went wrong and a light would go off within me - I'd get it and what I learned from it and move on -


The one thing I'd have to say is the most important thing to remember - you have to move on you can't give up.  If you do, then you won't achieve a thing.




Some other advice which helped me out -
READ what you've written - at least ten times - and read it out loud.  You will always find something to 'fix'.  Research what a query letter is and if you have someone who knows the business end of writing ask them for help with it. (I re-wrote mine at least 200 times)

My journey in writing is just beginning...it's a dream I know I am blessed to have the chance to chase and I am truly grateful for it.

The last bit which I chose to never forget - something my New York friend and my sounding stone friend told me ....
It doesn't matter how many rejections you get - It only takes one YES:)  Thank you Limitless for believing in me and my writing.