To Bolster a Spirit

The group met last night, and I contributed more during this meeting, I felt, than the last. There was only one submission, and I read the submission twice and defended my comments well. I feel okay about that meeting. I must still read my Gardner book.

One member of the group is a published author and a book doctor. I really wish I could sit her down and talk with her about the fiction publishing world and what makes a successful book doctor, but I hesitate. I don't want to give any ground and lose credibility in the group. I am a book editor, but my company is a historical vanity publisher with a specific niche market and my publishing world is nothing like the publishing world I will need to know before I start "shopping" my book to agents.

I profess to want to teach college English, but wouldn't it be so cool to be a fiction editor? By all accounts, I would probably have to take an entry level position, and it would take a lot of time to learn the industry and find my footing. Looking at the promotions listed on Publisher's Weekly, it does take several years, and I'm sure that's for a reason. Unfortunately, most fiction editors are also based in urban New York.

I really want meeting with the group to continue to be a positive experience, not a stressful one. I think it would help to submit next time. I LOVE love love getting feedback and even relish when major changes are proposed. Anything to bring my writing to its full potential. Just talking about it with people gets the creative juices flowing and feeds my motivation. Currently I am revising from the start, and I am going to force myself to wrap that up and getting writing enough for a submission. That will bolster my writer's spirit!