Balancing Act

This publishing thing is a tricky business. It really is a balancing act.

Which, yes, I knew before this round began, but every now and then I'm still surprised.

Authors are told very quickly (especially in the RWA but I'm sure it happens in other organizations too) that they shouldn't be one-trick ponies. Don't settle for one book. Keep writing, keep doing something new. Find critique groups, revise, rethink, and most importantly, submit.

Which is all well and good unless you go a little overboard. Remind me to write up that story sometime. Nothing bad came of it but a lesson in why I shouldn't underestimate myself. Still, a lesson learned.

So, in order to keep our names out there, we write many things, we submit many places and we sit and we wait and we chew our nails and pull our hair.

And sometimes, we have to take a step back and really take a look at what's good for the career. We all know (or should, anyway!) that writers and publishers see the business in different ways. Neither one is bad, it's just a matter of perspective. The end result--saleable, successful books--is the same, but the process and speed by which it's achieved differs quite a bit.

And we have to make choices. And we hope and pray that we made the right one.

(Note: This has nothing to do with any place that I currently have a contract. Just to be clear.)