Never Give Up
Never give up is an old adage for aspiring writers, but it’s a fact that persistence pays off. A quote by Richard Bach taped to my computer monitor reads: A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.
However, tenacity is not enough for a writer to succeed. In order for budding writers to advance their careers, they also must learn from every obstacle fate throws in their path.
In July Fiery Seas Publishing will print my debut novel, THE JINX. Like most other writers, I have kept a scorecard of all the peaks and valleys of every piece of work I ever submitted to anyone. THE JINX has been rejected ninety nine times.
That doesn’t mean there are ninety-nine idiots out there. It means that book may not have been ready for prime time when I began submitting it.
Rejections are impersonal and prevalent for valid reasons. First, competition in the market place is fierce, simply by the countless number of writers striving to become published.
It’s no exaggeration that literary agents and publishers receive hundreds of queries every day, three hundred sixty five days a year. Before submissions became almost totally electronic, stacks of queries lined agencies’ walls and reached to their ceilings.
There are good rejections and bad rejections. Bad ones include form letters or not even hearing from the agency you submitted to. Kind of like Jimmy Buffett’s old song, “If the Phone Doesn’t Ring, It’s Me”.
Agents and editors don’t reject work because they’re mean people. They are hard-working professionals whose decisions determine if they can feed their families or they go penniless and hungry.
As hurtful and disappointing as rejections are, the good ones are gold to a determined writer. Good rejections offer favorable comments and advice on how to improve the work.
The wise writer will seize upon any advice offered by a publishing-industry professional and utilize it to refine their work. And always acknowledge your thanks to an agent or editor who spent her valuable time reaching out to you. The publishing industry is a small world, and your reputation – as easy or hard to work with – will follow you like a shadow.
My publisher only accepted THE JINX after the third book of the Memphis M.O. series caught her eye at Killer Nashville Literary Conference. Then she wanted to see all the books, and she signed me to a three-book contract.
Successful writers work every day to grow and polish their body of work. And they pursue many avenues available to expand their knowledge of the craft, including belonging to writers’ organizations, exploring online writers’ resources and attending literary conferences.
Everyone needs an editor. Reach out to other writers to procure critique partners, attend literary conferences to seek feedback on your work from professionals and slog diligently at your keyboard daily. That gives you the opportunity to put out your best work and to create your own luck.
The Jinx by Ernest Lancaster
Series: Memphis M.O.
Suspense
July 2018
Disaster strikes and innocents die as police sniper Rick Munro is plagued by a first-call jinx. As his career takes off, he must overcome his rookie mistakes, and keep his team members safe.
When Munro returns to TACT as a newly promoted lieutenant, the jinx torments him still. He must contend with team members’ rival agendas around every turn. Munro finds himself in a battle he can’t escape as corruption and death unfold around him.
About the Author:
Ernest Lancaster retired from the Memphis Police Department as a captain after serving as a cop for thirty-three years.
In the early seventies Lancaster spent two years walking a night beat in downtown Memphis, when The Peabody and Beale Street lay boarded up and crumbling and the center city became a dystopian ghost town after dark. He patrolled in ward cars, trooped for three days through a sea of pilgrims to Elvis’s funeral, edited the Memphis Police Association’s newspaper and acted as the association’s vice-president. For twenty-six years he held positions on the TACT Squad.
Lancaster now resides with his wife and Yorkie in the Smoky Mountains, where they love to hike and camp.
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