Dealing with Disappointments as an Author

Dealing with Disappointments as an Author

Every day in real life we are all faced with some sort of disappointment or challenge. In our writing lives this isn’t much different. Sometimes we hit the send button on a query letter thinking this is it, this query will be the one. Only a few days later disappointment fills us. I wish I could say that disappointment ends once you get that contract we all strive to get as writers.

As a reader I never imagined that writers go through so many ups and downs with bottomless pits filled with disappointment. But now, I have to say those damn pits suck!

Once I got my contract for my first novella I wondered if I’d be done dealing with the ups and downs and everything in between.  What I’ve found is that the bar of expectations is raised and now disappointments feel harsher.

On a whole I enjoy the writing process but there are times that I wonder what publishers are thinking. Sometimes it feels like you’re a cow being prodded through the chutes to slaughter. Right now everywhere I turn there seems to be a lot of negatives out there about the writing industry. I know for me, that I’m not as happy as I once was with the editing process and having no options at all when it comes to covers. From what I hear through the grapevine I’m not the only writer feeling this way.

Dealing with these feelings is so hard. I want to rant and rave about everything I’ve heard and seen lately but that’s not the thing to do. Even though we are mostly all grownups in the writing industry feelings get hurt easily. Words can be said in the heat of an argument that you can’t take back and then you may be “labeled” for the rest of your writing career.

Whenever I’m feeling disappointed and angry about writing I put those emotions into my characters. Maybe there is something that they are discontented about, maybe they can rant and rave for me.  So today while I’m writing I will be releasing pent up frustration and hopefully letting my characters grow.

How do you deal with the disappointments in writing or life?

Thanks all

Sayde

Riding Double

Hello everyone! I hope you all like the title of this post because it is also the title of my newly contracted short story! That’s right, you heard me I just mailed my contract off and will begin editor revisions soon. Most of you will remember at Christmas I had just received an email from one editor who liked the book I’d queried her with but honestly thought it’d be better as an erotic short story than take the non-erotic elements and use it as a mainstream romance. I balked at first but after really considering my options(others had also wanted revisions) I decided to make two books out of one. More work yes, better outcome? YES.

So now I’ve sent my contract back to The Wild Rose Press, Scarlet Rose and look forward to giving you all a release date soon. Thank you soooooo much to all my sizzlers. You ladies are the best and I can’t wait to see you all in Feb to talk it all over. Get prepared to listen

A picture to entice you to read my book:

Banging my Head on the Desk

Soooooo, last time I posted I told everyone about my revising offer. Today I received an email from another editor who enjoyed my manuscript but thinks I can take a quarter of it away and sell the rest as a mainstream romance.

The editor expressed interest in both the first quarter of my book as a novella and the second part as a new story. I’m banging my head on the desk even now!

I have the revisions for the other press almost complete and now I have the book split into two versions to see how much work I’m looking at if I go the other way. Hmmmm, I admit, it’s a great dilemma to have. But I’m so undecided. And I think my friends are angry with me (Sfcatty, Bec, Cindy, hahaha) because I’m so laid back about it. I’m just not that excited.

Why do we do these things? I always tell authors who are newer than I am to take every compliment they get and be VERY happy because they’ll find out those compliments can get few and far in between. So when we get good news after a while of being in the publishing world are we just to jaded to see it as good news?

For Darlene :