AAARRRRGGGGHHHHHH…. I had a massive post (that was obviously intelligent and deeply insightful) about advice I wish I’d been given when I first started out. And then the internet ate it. Son of a …

Let me sum up…

Publishing takes a long time. And if there was anything I wish a ghostly old dude could have shown up and told me, it was this: “Patience, grasshopper.”

I may be mixing my metaphors, but forgive me – rage against the machine has befuddled me.

In short, getting an agent and an editor and a book published can be a long, long process (shorter now, particularly if you go other routes). But instead of waiting around and pacing the floor like a nervous father-to-be, write another damn book. Take your mind off the first one and get working on the next.

Your brain will appreciate it, your agent will appreciate it, and hey, hopefully your editor will appreciate it.

Even if no one else does, your mother will probably appreciate it.

So go write another book. Yes, then another one.

p.s. A side rant from my previous post was about typos in self-publishing. In summary – just because you can get a book out there quicker doesn’t mean you should skip key steps, like editing.