What I’ve Learned

The fabulous Julie Klumb tagged me to share what I’ve learned in the last year, specifically my top 5. She even created a cute little award for this particular meme.

I don’t normally perpetuate blog chains, so I won’t tag anyone specific, but I’d love to hear about anyone who read this and decided to share their top 5 lessons learned in the past year.

Here’s my top 5:

• Hit the Send button. I even blogged about this particular lesson – linky.
• Beta readers, not every person is a beta reader. People are busy. Other writers have their works in progress to address. Non-writers might not give more than an overall sense of “like it” or not. You and your potential beta reader may not click in the creative process.  And as much as you would like to think a person would never do it – you have to be smart about your intellectual property. So when you find beta readers who work well with you, cherish them.
• Keep Working. Whether you are accepted or rejected, faced with trial or tribulation, keep moving forward.  Constantly work on your WIPs, create new material. Be a writer. Because hopefully, you started writing because you love to write, have to write – not because you wanted a royalties check. Besides, working on a WIP helps get you through the anxiety of waiting to hear back about a submission.
• Industry Research is Key. It’s not just about writing your story. It’s about knowing the industry and how to approach it in order to pursue publication. With education you can provide publishers the best, most polished submission package possible. You can behave professionally and go into the industry with realistic expectations.
• There is always more to learn.