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Slow and Steady: The Winning Approach to Publishing Your Work
In the race to succeed, look forward, not back.
Remember Aesop’s fable, The Tortoise and the Hare? While there are numerous versions of that story spanning centuries, my interpretation of its moral is to have patience.
The tortoise’s will to keep moving forward is inspirational. He’s saying, “Don’t give up — even if the odds are against you.”
As someone who has written and shelved two previous novels, I’ve come close to giving up on my current manuscript more than once over the last year. Several of my “dream agents” have passed on my initial pages, and most requests for partial or full manuscripts have resulted in rejection. At this point, it might be easier to abandon hope than to keep plugging away, investing more time and effort into a project I’ve devoted countless days and nights to without gaining much traction.
But, if I gave up now, I wonder whether I’d have the gumption to start something new. Could this mark the end of my journey toward becoming a published novelist?
Something tells me “no.”
Actually, “some things.” Plural.
I’m always looking for breadcrumbs to help propel me forward. You can find tiny tidbits of encouragement everywhere, scattered within reach and ready to…
