Today I’m going to talk about something that has bothered me for awhile…every since I seriously started thinking about publishing my books. Maybe I should rephrase that…every since I started thinking about TRYING to get published because that is another story in and of itself.
When I first started writing I generally just thought that certain people enjoyed writing and were talented at it and others were not. Some people were gifted at weaving a story and pulling people into it and others were not. How wrong I was!
Over the past couple of years I’ve learned a lot about the WORK of writing. Everything that goes into it. Sure, I knew you would have grammar to contend with, proper sentence structure. That didn’t bother me since I had done fairly well with that in school. I had learned how to write a ‘proper’ paragraph, ‘proper’ short story.
But all that I have learned in the past couple of years has been a whole different ball game. I really don’t like the way it is played at times either! Just to be pretty blunt. I think in some ways it throws out the writer’s gifts of weaving a story and pulling the reader in. Frankly, some of the great, classic authors would have never been published today because they did not follow all the rules. I find that very sad!
Yes, I know a publishing house, especially a big one has to be sure a book will sell and that they will make money on it. Unfortunately that last part is the biggest deal. It goes back to the age-old story…money and success is THE most important thing, not what is behind it, not the values or lack thereof.
So, for all those out there that are pulling out their hair, doing rewrites, polishing, starting over and generally jumping through hoops to meet all the ‘rules’…don’t forget why you started to write in the first place. If God has given you this talent, don’t just write to get published or for the big publishing houses. If you have a story to tell, someone at some point will want to hear it. Just as you may keep a classic suit or dress because the fads will change, I think it’s the same with writing. That was a huge surprise to me. Some of the books I love the most don’t follow all the ‘rules’. And yes, some of those have even been best-sellers!
Dedicated to those that are still ‘plugging away’! 
