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.

Melinda Skye

Skye became the black sheep of her university’s literature department when she announced that what she really wanted to do for her senior thesis, instead of writing a thought-provoking essay on the deeper meanings of James Joyce, was to write a romance novel. They gave in, however, and the rest is history. As a result, Skye learned more than she ever thought possible about the inner workings of the publishing industry and off and on, given her schedule, pursued publication of both her senior thesis and other novels she’s written along the way.

Skye has many names and almost as many personalities to go with them. As Melinda Skye, she writes Romantic Suspense, Urban Fantasy, and Young Adult. As Skye Forbes, she may (or may not) have saved the world a few times over. In her real life, under another different name, Skye is a lawyer. And yes, if you ask nicely, she might help keep you out of jail. Or put you in it. It depends on her mood.
Skye lives in California, with her husband, brand new daughter, and menagerie of animals.

http://www.melindaskye.com/