I’ve always felt that the true optimist is actually a pessimist at heart. If you pack up the car for a family vacation expecting nothing but blue skies and familial bliss, you are going to be frustrated and disappointed. But if you pull out of the driveway knowing that you are probably going to face schedule disasters, road construction, and the occasional whine from the back seat AND you are ready to drag out an extra measure of patience to deal with it when it comes, you are far more likely to have a rewarding trip.

I like to know what I’m up against, whether it be vacation or publishing that first novel, so I can face it with a smile. Thanks for giving this newbie a good grounding. Now…on to the chubby babies!

I see the publishing industry as a one-step-forward-ten-steps-back, but it must be just my current state.

As to “happier” themes (I’ve really enjoyed all your other posts) I would like to know how you help your clients find their “sweet spots” or how to make those stair step decisions to come onto a platform. What fits? What doesn’t? How do you know? Just a gut feeling? Or is there a bit of science to it sometimes?

Actually, this is a good post. We all need to be reminded, old and new, that writing is definitley not a sprint, but a marathon.

Yes. You have created a real heart of darkness amongst the persecuted brethren and sistren. I hope your time wandering through the Dakotas gives you time to ponder the damage caused. Here are some topics which will brighten our disposition and lead us in the direction of forgiveness. The series would be titled “Shortcuts To Author Success”:

* Be a bestselling author without writing a single word.

* How to develop a John Maxwell sized platform in one day.

* Why revisions should be left to your underlings

* Demanding a Super Bowl commercial for your debut novel.

Count it as grace that we’re extending the olive branch.

Nah, its been great to hear all of this. Better to learn now via your blog than later by experience.

At first I was eager to get accepted immediately, but now I understand more how authors mature in their writing and how good it is to have more books under my belt. After all, that’s often one of the questions authors get: do you have anything else?

We’d love to hear what makes you go “wow!” when you get a query. Other than reading the guidelines. : )

What about a positive spin off of QueryFail? QuerySuccess. I always find it interesting to see what makes an agent say, “I have to see more.”

Amen. I don’t know any other remedy for the stress of impatience than remembering that. A writer could drive herself crazy fretting the details that are out of her hands. Why do that? God has each of us well in hand.

While I understand the frustration of having to wait a bit longer for a second book if the publisher takes a wait-and-see attitude, the silver lining in that scenario is that the author would, presumably, have more time to make her next book better than it would have been were she rushed to complete it. Or, if she chooses not to write whatever book the proposal proposes until that proposal is contracted, she can begin the book that’s been stirring in her heart to write, the one there hasn’t been time for until now. There are always ways to use that extra time, and see it as a gift instead of a delay.