How to Avoid Losing Faith

The best part about being a cozy writer is the creativity that flows across the keyboard: painting scenes in the readers’ minds, bringing imaginary characters to life, plotting out the mystery, and weaving together the threads leading to a big reveal.
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The worst part about being a writer is not getting published…or is it? A friend once asked if I cry when I receive a publisher’s rejection. Ah...no. Facing that is never a good feeling, but instead of crying I reflect upon my work and then begin rewriting.

I was shocked by how much better my book became during the first rewrite. Face it—writing a full-length novel takes time. During those many, many months, we (hopefully) continue to grow by reading articles, delving into how-to manuals, listening to stern lectures, and following online suggestions to hone our skills. Year to year, I have learned an amazing amount which in turn has dramatically improved that first novel, The Stars Prevail. Trundling it out to another publisher, I’ve taken my big pink eraser to the second novel in the Barrington Bay series, The Tide Turns. Once again, the story improves with each edit. The characters are more colorful, the pacing tighter, the dialogue snappier.
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Instead of losing faith in my abilities as a writer, publisher rejection has fanned my passion to become better and made me even more determined to succeed. It’s weird. It’s wonderful.