Comments on Boxing the Octopus: The Marathoner's Guide to Writing: Staying in it f...

Loved your post, Colleen. In 2009, I attended a PA...

2012-01-12T11:22:18.234-06:00

Loved your post, Colleen. In 2009, I attended a PAN panel in which two agents talked about their veteran authors. The topic was all about the long haul. The single most important quality the agents identified in their authors who stayed in the game for years was flexibility. When they hit a rough spot, they were willing to change course.

Lynn, So glad you stopped by to offer your $.02, b...

2012-01-11T08:11:42.200-06:00

Lynn,
So glad you stopped by to offer your $.02, because you've hit on the number #1 factor, IMHO: keeping the joy alive. It's sometimes tough to not to let the day-to-day grind of deadlines and disappointments leach away the pure love of creating and connecting with our readers.

Thank you!

I agree with all of your post, Colleen, especially...

2012-01-11T06:24:51.033-06:00

I agree with all of your post, Colleen, especially professionalism and mentoring, but I think you also have to love the stories you're telling. They have to resonate within you, and that has to transfer to the writing.
For me, keeping emotion first and foremost in my characters is key. In my genre (gay romance) we say "It's not the sex, it's the emotion." It keeps readers reading and keeps me writing.
I wake up and can't wait to tell the next story...

Thanks, Kay. And being stubborn, determined, and o...

2012-01-10T22:23:21.779-06:00

Thanks, Kay. And being stubborn, determined, and overcommitted is great preparation. But I disagree with the "clueless" part. You're anything but that!

So glad you stopped by, Linda. You always make sig...

2012-01-10T22:21:01.305-06:00

So glad you stopped by, Linda. You always make signings a lot more fun.
I agree that short deadlines can be very stressful. I have found I can pull off one now and again, but stacking them is killer! I always forget to account for revisions, edits, art fact sheets, and real life! Hoping to get better at juggling.
Spreading of which, juggling is an absolutely essential skill!

Well said, Colleen. I may not have sold anything ...

2012-01-10T22:19:37.788-06:00

Well said, Colleen. I may not have sold anything yet, but I'm still here, which is more than I can say for a lot of the women I met when I first joined RWA fifteen years ago. Determined? Stubborn? Clueless? Probably over-committed, too, but still here.

HI Collen, who sits by me alphabetically at book s...

2012-01-10T10:32:31.722-06:00

HI Collen, who sits by me alphabetically at book signings.

Since I have 11 projects under my belt, and a contract for another one sitting on my desk, I have to say that staying in the game is my goal as well.

I love writing, and I'm still a teacher by day, so I'm blessed to have the best of both worlds right now. I don't take this for granted, believe me. I try to change some things up, tweak my style up a bit, and come up with fresh ideas that inspire me enough to be able to write to deadline after my other job.

Short deadlines are stressful. But that stress is a small price to pay for doing what I love, and hopefully getting better at it so that I can continue doing this great thing called writing.

Happy New Year.
Linda

www.lindathomas-sundstrom.com

Love your mantra, Deeanne! I'd be so disappoin...

2012-01-10T09:31:40.012-06:00

Love your mantra, Deeanne! I'd be so disappointed in myself if I felt my best writing was behind me. Still have much to learn, too. And those RWA conference tapes are a treasure trove.

Once I published, my mantra to myself became: *I d...

2012-01-10T09:24:07.935-06:00

Once I published, my mantra to myself became: *I don't want readers to say, 'I liked her old stuff the best.'* So, I challenged myself to try and make every book better than the last. Because schedule conflicts keep me away from our local chapter much more than I'd like, I purchase the RWA National Conference on DVD and listen to all three discs start to finish in my car. It takes about 8 months to get through them all since sometimes I'm only in the car to run up to the store, but I learn sooooo much. And, alas, I've still so much to learn! Great topic, Colleen.

Something that really helped me, Brandi, was havin...

2012-01-10T08:25:34.175-06:00

Something that really helped me, Brandi, was having a second book well under way by the time the first one (my first romance, but not my first manuscripts; I have two short, middle grade children's novels still under the bed) sold and getting myself on a writing schedule with realistic target dates for completion. (I gave myself a year to write a full-length manuscript. Challenging, since I was teaching full time and had a young child at home, but not impossible.) While the first book was being shopped, I tried to emotionally detach from it and throw my hopes to the new book. After all, you never know which one's going to be the one to break through the brick wall.

Everyone's track is very different, though. The important thing to remember Han Solo's "Never tell me the odds!" :)

I think that's a fear of mine. It takes so muc...

2012-01-10T07:58:49.459-06:00

I think that's a fear of mine. It takes so much to get that first manuscript polished and published. What will when I'm on deadline? I have plenty of ideas rolling around in my head, but I'm on a self-impose deadline now and I'm going blank.

Thanks again for another excellent blog post :-)

Thanks so much, Jink and Shana (whose career appea...

2012-01-10T07:25:27.441-06:00

Thanks so much, Jink and Shana (whose career appears to be in fabulous shape!)

Julie, I think there are a few writers who truly only have one story to tell. But in reality, there's a steep learning curve. It's one thing to sell a manuscript you've spent years (and numerous contests and critigue partners) polishing to a fine sheen; it's quite another to do it on demand and on a schedule later and keep up the quality/marketability. Not everyone can manage, and a lot lose heart when an editor leaves (I've been "orphaned" four times this way, and it forces you to sell all over again!), a line folds, or sales are disappointing.

I'm not published but I've been around a l...

2012-01-10T06:26:59.571-06:00

I'm not published but I've been around a long time. One thing I've noticed is the number of one hit wonders who dropped out of writers groups after publishing. Not sure if they thought they were too good or if they simply checked published off their to do list.

Great suggestions, Colleen. I hope my career is as...

2012-01-10T05:12:04.561-06:00

Great suggestions, Colleen. I hope my career is as successful and long-lived as yours.

Colleen, thanks for the great post. I'm a new...

2012-01-09T22:21:01.326-06:00

Colleen, thanks for the great post. I'm a newbie that appreciates sound advice! Staying in the game is my goal, no matter the finish. :)