Getting an Education

I'm getting an education I'm fairly sure I don't want. I'm also sure I don't have the time for this. Unfortunately, it's an education I'm going to need, and I'm going to need it fairly quickly.

How many books have I read in my lifetime? I would say that in a normal week I read at least two or three books. There have been many times that I've read a book in a day. That wasn't while writing a book of my own, of course. 

Writing really cuts into my reading time. That was something that never occurred to me before I started this project. Writing now absorbs most of my days and wakes me up at night. My DVR is filling up with unwatched Jeopardy episodes. My husband has started to hide out down in the basement. He comes back up a few times a day to stand watching me, or to offer mail or coffee. He always comes up when his nose tells him I've cooked. I'm determined not to let that job escape me, or the laundry. He might run away from home.

So now I'm finding out that the work doesn't end when I finish telling the story. I need to figure out if I want an agent. If I do, I have to find one willing to have me. (Willing?) Then I need to make sure the agent works hard for me. Don't they need to do that to make money from my book? Maybe I need to start over and get a different agent. I haven't even picked one out yet, and already I know I've got the wrong one.

There are a multitude of web sites to help you deal with the publishing process. Almost nobody's going to want to publish that first novel, they all agree, but there are miracle stories everywhere, so hang in there. Be persistent. Don't let that growing pile of rejection letters get you down. Just grow a thicker skin, and above all, be patient, because once you have the agent and the publisher, it'll only be a couple of years before your book is on the shelf at your local book store.

I knew I didn't want this particular education. I think I'll just shut up and write.