Wednesday, February 22, 2017

What About Turning Over a New Leaf

Year 2017.
Would ya look at that? Did you ever think you would make it this far? I did but not necessarily in the way I thought I would.
Old me would  be graduating from veterinary school, interning somewhere familiar and starting my life.
The me now? Nowhere near those goals above. And I'm okay with that. :)

Thanks to a few encouraging people, cheer-leading on the side, I've accomplished far greater tasks than in the past. Do you know the anxiety and struggles of handing your novel over to Beta Readers?!
Intense! Would have ever done this in the past? No. Nope, aaaaaaaand nope.
Then I realized something this brand new 2017 year.
How exactly did I expect my novel to be loved by others if I don't share it?
If I don't share it, how do I expect to be published? No agent nor publishing house is coming to knock on my front door (AS IF they could find me out here in rural Bible Belt), ask to read my novel then offer to publish it.
My solution to all of this; buckle down hard.
The Betas provided very good feedback. No, not all of them raved about my book. They offered very constructive criticism. Something I discovered, I may ACTUALLY have excellent material. Not only is it worthy of reading, it's so polished it's near publishable state.
Hiding away in the closet, showing not a soul, under the box of keepsakes, are my beloved stories.
All the hours, sacrifice, questionable strips of my novel have paid off.
This year. This 2017 will be my year to pursue publishing. I won't stop working, editing and re-submitting until I win.

#keepyourpenup