When Things Go Awry

Earlier in the week I lamented the fact that I was having a horrible few days.

The current book I’m working on will be my fourth release in as many months. This I do not mind but since I have been selling on spec, it can make for a hard couple of months as far as writing goes. Then I found out that I hadn’t finaled in a contest I really had hope for. Sigh. Rejected again.

What is it about contests that make or break an author’s day? Don’t get me wrong. I know how lucky I am. I know I write well but sometimes you want complete strangers telling you the same thing and when they don’t, your emotions can go awry. Then when things weren’t going right on my latest book and my publisher accidentally forgot me in a promotion, I let the moment get the best of me.

Maybe I was in the wrong profession, maybe I should be doing something else. It was enough that I finally pulled out A.J. Llwellyn’s blog from last week to get the name of her guest speaker who had a wonderful article on how we cause our own self-doubts. Rhona Berens had some wonderful suggestions on what to do and what not to do. I read it with pleasure as I realized, it was just a moment in time and one bad day did not make a whole career.

Then yesterday, I get the newsletter of one of my favorite authors and I could put it all in perspective. She talked about the horrible review she had just received regarding her Wolf Tales 9. When you read it, it will make you cringe. Very little positive in that article regarding her ongoing stor. She goes on to say while she’s disappointed with the review, she thinks it’s her best Wolf Tales ever. How’s that for positive reinforcement?  First, believe in yourself!

Even the great ones have bad days and I realize I’m not alone in this boat. Venting to other writers and critique partners always helps. And I have to thank from the bottom of my heart C.R., Diane, Elizabeth, Erin, Ginger, Johanna,both Rebeccas and Sherry. You all mean the world to me and I know I am very blessed to be working with each and every one of you.

Now for some wonderful and interesting news. I hope all of you have heard about Carina Press (http://www.carinapress.com/)  by now. This is Harlequin’s foray into the ePublishing world. And today I found about their leap into the self-publishing world as well with their Harlequin Horizons (http://www.harlequinhorizons.com/). This is definitely interesting times.

And now for this week’s winner of an eBook...Tamsyn...come on down! You’ve won a copy of The View From Santa’s Sleigh! Next week, I’ll give away a copy of my new book, The Haunting of Maggie Grey...great cover...huh?

Thanks everyone for participating! See you all next week!


Lynn