Tasting A Dream

Many of my followers know that I've written a novel. Years and years went into editing, cutting, and perfecting this book. I started writing my inspirational women's fiction novel in 2007. It was more of an "off and on" hobby, but in the Fall of 2010 I truly (and urgently) felt the Lord call me to give the book my full attention. I cut out all TV and any extra reading to give my writing/editing just that. My husband and boys can attest to my obsession! There were many days I'd forget about dinner and would have to throw a family-sized lasagna into the microwave and call it a meal! Finally, after a year and several months, my manuscript was complete. Oh, let the angels sing!

However, I had no idea that finishing the book was just the beginning...

My dream (lofty as it might be) was to be discovered by some huge, incredibly famous Christian publishing house and win lots of awards and accolades. However, my bubble was quickly burst when I realized how hard it is to break into this industry. The simple fact was (and is), if you're not going to self publish, you'll most likely need an agent. So, I had to pull up my bootstraps and figure out what to do.

The very first website that helped me was: www.michaelhyatt.com. I found some great articles for first time authors and some wonderful and basic general information. I even ordered his book on writing a winning book proposal (http://michaelhyatt.com/writing-a-winning-book-proposal ) which helped me tremendously. Furthermore, I scoured the websites of numerous agents - whether they represented my genre or not. I wanted to learn as much as I could, and doing this helped me gain a fuller understanding of the publishing world. In fact, I printed off so many articles I literally filled a binder!

So, when people ask me how to get started I warn them that it'll take time, time, and even more time. The best advice I could give a hopeful writer is to finish his/her book. Make it perfect. Then spend time researching what to do and which agents to pursue. Self publishing is also a viable option, especially if you have the resources to do so. I've had several friends do quite well self-publishing, and they have raved about the care they were given.

Can you taste your dream? Whatever it is, I say go for it! It may take time, and lots of frozen meals, but I can assure you it'll be well worth it!