What are your tips on keeping hopeful? I feel I am in the muddy middle of the learning curve. I’ve had pitch requests, an agent ask to see more of my work, published authors who’ve become colleagues offer to give me feedback – all good. However, So many of my friends that began this journey with me are now published or have agents.( I known not o compare.) Lately I feel frustrated. I have begun to focus on smaller retreats/craft intensives to hone my skills. What else should I be doing? I participate in online and SCBWI conferences, read professionally and in the genres I write. My critique group meets online weekly.I have a fair SM presence: blog with 7 other writers, have created a web site, and am active in giving back content on FB and Twitter. I have even taken mss and changed the audience – PB to CB. What would you suggest? I did only send out 25 queries in 2017 – maybe that’s it. TY.
You are doing your best from what I can tell. But definitely query more. It took me over 120 queries before landing an agent. Also remember to write just for the fun of it. I think that’s what kept my hope alive—my love for stories and sentences and just playing around with words. Good luck!
What are your tips on keeping hopeful? I feel I am in the muddy middle of the learning curve. I’ve had pitch requests, an agent ask to see more of my work, published authors who’ve become colleagues offer to give me feedback – all good. However, So many of my friends that began this journey with me are now published or have agents.( I known not o compare.) Lately I feel frustrated. I have begun to focus on smaller retreats/craft intensives to hone my skills. What else should I be doing? I participate in online and SCBWI conferences, read professionally and in the genres I write. My critique group meets online weekly.I have a fair SM presence: blog with 7 other writers, have created a web site, and am active in giving back content on FB and Twitter. I have even taken mss and changed the audience – PB to CB. What would you suggest? I did only send out 25 queries in 2017 – maybe that’s it. TY.
You are doing your best from what I can tell. But definitely query more. It took me over 120 queries before landing an agent. Also remember to write just for the fun of it. I think that’s what kept my hope alive—my love for stories and sentences and just playing around with words. Good luck!
Thank you, Tanaz. Patience, craft, more queries, and more FUN. I like that prescription. TY for responding.