Last words and Announcements

As the final post of the month, the final words that you’ll hear from me in this series on getting from manuscript to published book, I have a few last words of wisdom, for you to keep in mind. And a few announcements, for the coming weeks and months.

Don’t get offended

When you’re sending out your work, or when you’ve gotten a response from an editor, it’s easy to get offended by anything and everything that they tell you. Even if you get accepted, they’re going to want to make changes to your manuscript. They are. Don’t allow yourself to be offended by anything they tell you. You’ve only been researching the business for a few weeks, but these people work in it. You picked a publisher you can trust, so trust them.

Don’t get impatient

It’s all a process. Every little bit of it. Whether it’s the submissions part, the waiting part, contracting, editing, or waiting for your book to hit shelves. There’s a lot to get done, no matter the stage. Don’t get impatient while you’re waiting for a good thing to come to pass. Patience is a virtue, so they say. And they say it with good reason. Get impatient, and you’ll get offended no matter what happens.

Be a nice human

Remember Wednesday, when we talked about reaching out to people? It’s important enough that I’m mentioning it again. Don’t be a jerk to people you might be working with for the rest of your life. Be nice to them. Treat them the way you want them to treat you. If you’re a jerk, they’ll be a jerk right back. That’s just how people are. So, don’t do that. Unless you like working with jerks. I can’t even fathom that, though.

Don’t stop writing

No matter what happens, do not stop writing. If it takes years for an editor to start reading your manuscript, if you get a million rejection letters, don’t let any of it stop you from writing. Just keep going. You’re getting better and better, while you’re waiting to hear back from them. And you can start sending out multiple works, which means you might end up getting signed by two companies at the same time. It happens. But whatever you do, whatever is going on around you, don’t give up on the thing you love. Never stop writing. Ever.

And remember, while you’re waiting to find out whether you’ve been approved or not, don’t get testy. Stay calm, stay sane, and stay writing. Never give up because of what any publisher may tell you. They don’t know the whole world, do they? They’re looking to fill a gap in their market, and maybe your book doesn’t suit that. But none of that means your book isn’t publishable, isn’t sellable.

There’s an audience out there, for your book. You just have to find them.

And now, as promised, I have some announcements.

My position at RAD Writing has changed! Which means I don’t have as much time for my own stuff. Which, admittedly, is a little sad. I’m not going to forget about you guys, or stop writing in Too Many Books to Count, don’t worry. But, I will be changing my release dates. Since I’ll be the primary blog writer and podcaster for RAD Writing (podcasts coming soon, TBD), I’ve decided that it’s time I scale back a little bit, in here.

Starting in July, I’ll be posting in Too Many Books to Count on Tuesdays and Thursdays, instead of Monday/Wednesday/Friday.

What does this mean for you?

Well, it means you’ll get fewer posts from me. But it also means that I’ll be able to dedicate more relevant information to each post, so you won’t feel like you’re getting the same thing two times in any given series. It’ll be a good change, don’t worry.

And if you just can’t get enough Rani, remember, I’ll still be posting in the RADblog on Fridays, and the plan is to start podcasting in the next few weeks as well.

I’ll still be around. It’s just time to move up in the world.

[love and hugs for each of you]

{Rani Divine}