Fascinating Authors

To Dream the Impossible Dream

Andy Williams sang a popular song: The Impossible Dream. It speaks of dreams that seem impossible to attain. Perhaps the rejection slips keep coming through the mail. I know that this has been true of me. Yes, I have a contract on my book, and yes, it has been published, but I am also aware of what I feel is a thin line between the published and the unpublished.

It has kind of amazed me that because I have published a book I am now somewhat of an expert about getting published. Believe you me, I don’t feel like an expert, and don’t know that I know anything more than any other author seeking publication.

Does dreaming that your book gets published seem like a fight with agents and publishers, a fight with that foe that seemingly cannot be beaten? Remember, often times the difference between a published author, and an unpublished author is perseverance. Perhaps you’ve heard that before and wonder if that is true. I’ve heard stories of (now) famous authors who have submitted and submitted and submitted without any luck. J.K. Rowling was that way. She submitted many, many times before someone picked her book up. Now all those that turned her down are kicking themselves! I’ve heard that Stephen King faced an uphill battle with his horror stories. Even John Grisham had a difficult time getting that first book published.

Ah, but I’m not like them, you may be thinking. Really? Have you submitted 10 times, 20 times or more? Until you have, you don’t really know, now do you, whether you’re actually just like them!

Do you feel sorrow that seems to be unbearable when you receive that rejection slip? I know of a lady who has published over 70 – yes 70! – books, and still receives rejection letters. She has different publishers that she works with. Some will publish her books in a certain genre, and reject others, which she gets published by another publisher.

See this is the thing: whether you are currently published or unpublished, publication doesn’t mean an automatic acceptance of subsequent works. It takes just as much hard work as getting your first baby published.

One thing that is important to bear in mind: That sometimes, to have that first (or second, or third) publication under your belt may mean that you have persevere longer than you thought possible. It means you write, you edit, you write some more, submit your baby for critique with a group (or individual) of writing buddies, edit some more, make up a slam dunk query letter, a killer synopsis and venture out into the world of publishing that is daunting even to the brave.

Go ahead–dare to dream that seemingly impossible dream. Let Martin Luther King Jr.’s words resound in your soul: “I have a dream…”