What’s ironic is when I set my goal in January for The Year of The Writer I really didn’t know what it meant. I knew it meant change, I knew it meant growth, but I didn’t know what it encompass. The great and scary thing about it is that I don’t know what this new me is going to encounter.

The important thing, I’ve discovered drive again. When I was Melthegreatest I had it in spades. *Come on, I called myself Melthegreatest.* I can look back and see being and getting publishing was a matter of when, not if. Back then I was only a submission away from getting the call. I’m a little ashamed to say getting published knocked the drive right out of me. I had succeeded.

Now what? That question has been plaguing me ever since. Get the next one published just seems so vague. What kind of book? To what publisher? What’s the next milestone?

And then knowing it all comes down to luck. Yes, you have to be prepared when luck comes by.The downside is being prepared for years and never having lady luck on your side. I would like to believe this new Melissa is much more humble. I would like to believe this new Melissa will never give up what she has found to be important.

Yet I know I won’t be the same Melissa Blue next year. There would be something in my path that will make me learn a new lesson. I just hope no matter how I change, I will always then in when not if.

Who were you a year ago? Who do you want to be in a year?

So I’ve had to step back and look at my career. It’s dragging. I will give myself leeway because the first half of the year was CRAZY time. But now the vacation is over. Up until last week I’ve been at a lost to what to do with myself. I gave my writing CPR when I wrote the 18k story. But writing that story gave me a light bulb moment.

I wrote this story with the intent to send it in to a publisher. It’s a themed story. I was able to write this story to submission. Something I have never done before. I kind of like.

Ok. Understatement. I love it. I have to thank Jennifer Leeland for planting the thought in my head to write in one genre. I’ve also decided to aim my writing at a publisher.

Dear baby jesus, I now have a GOAL for my writing career. Yes, it’s scary because I might crash and burn. I may spend the next two years writing toward this publisher and we probably won’t fit. But for me it’s better than writing willy-nilly and then hunting for a publisher who will take the novel, only to find my novel doesn’t fit ANYWHERE.

Again, thanks to Jen, she said the floodgates would open. I didn’t believe her. Yet I’m looking at my notepad and I have five ideas I can work with. I have one that’s knocking and yelling louder than the others. I even have a goals spreadsheet. I’m scary folks when I’m on a mission.

But, it’s never felt so good.

What is your career goal? It doesn’t have to be about writing, but if you are a writer do you have a goal? Are you still willy-nilly? Maybe you can join me. Put the goal out there.

Mine: Kimani Press Romance line.

I hate to say it. I hate to even think something outside of a great story and good writing has any weight when it comes to selling your book–BUT it does. The rejections that suck the most are the ones that point out “I just took on a story just like this.”

I’m sure this is going to sound like me raining on the publishing parade, but TIMING is everything. And the worse thing is that you won’t know if it’s good or bad timing until the outcome. People in this industry say it’s like rolling the dice. I have to agree on some level. Every opinion on what makes a good book vs. a great book is subjective. Really trying to gauge your odds is insanity. So here is the real trick to being sucessful.

PERSISTENCE

Not to be confused with stubborness or hope, which can play a huge part in being sucessful, but it’s not the defining factor. Persistence is one of the top reasons I keep writing. I figure eventually the Powers That Be will get sick of me and publish my books already. Eventually my writing will hit the right agent/editor at the right time. But this advice is coming from someone who believes corny sayings like “The only way to fail is to never try.”

Yeah, you get what you pay for here.

Anyway, the true moral of this post is to write what you love to write. It’s the only thing in this business you can control and that actually makes sense. This isn’t to say ignore the market. ‘Cause seriously if you luck out you might end up writing what is selling like hotcakes. Keep growing as a person. Trust me, it will show in your writing. Lastly the only way to learn to write is to keep writing.

*Going back to writerly cave*

I’ve been thinking about what really makes an author’s career. Funny it was the theme I learned at RWA–Author Branding. I’m not talking platform or promotion. I’m talking about what I will be known for writing i.e. the type of stories I write.

“Romance with snark” is my tagline. I just liked the sound of it when I picked it, but it really does define my stories. You won’t get a picture perfect heroine from me. She won’t be willowly. She won’t be made of sugar. Okay, she’ll be a smartass or have a friend who will be. The hero will take as good as he gets. Yes, you’ll have emotion, but it won’t be sappy by no means. That’s what I write. That’s what I’m promising my readers. That’s my brand.

What does all this mean?

Think of books like people. You meet a person. You get that first impression and that impression is going to make them love or hate you *or reserve judgment*. The next time you meet them they give you the same impression. Now lets say that third meeting they act completely different. You start to wonder if this person was on meds. You are going to be wary of the next meeting. Worse case scenario–you meet this person a fourth time and it’s nothing like the first three meetings. You are going to veer way left every time you see this person coming. They’re not stable.

Now how can this make or break your career?

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it’s the same with your books. Your career will be built on your previous books. It’s why when author changes genre or even their sub-genre they change their name. One example of this is Samantha Graves *hi, Sam*. Under this name she writes romantic suspense. Under her C.J. Barry name she writes futuristics/SF romance.

When you change what you write you might as well write under a different name. You will be changing your fanbase with each book. Some people will stay with you and others will veer way left when they see your book coming.

Okay for those in the back who are shaking their head, unbelieving, let me give you some names:

Nora Roberts
Carly Phillips
Mary Higgins Clark
Jennifer Crusie
Meg Cabot

Think of all the books they have and then think of why you pick these authors. Or, have you ever found yourself saying, “I’m in a {insert whatever author’s name here} mood.”

That’s brand baby.

Have you thought about yours?

Are you completely against this idea?

Hash it out in the comments.

Erica Orloff blog is amazing one. She’s post every day and it’s always something that leaves me with food for thought. Today, it made me think about how grateful I am to be writing again.

I don’t know about you, but it’s a very scary thing to have the stories in your head disappear. In September it’ll be four years since I started writing. A lot has happened since then, but this year has been different. And I have to say I just had an overload. All of sudden I was published. Then I had two books coming out. I still had edits. I also had to promote. *Let’s not forget I’m a mother who goes to school and work* Juggling, juggling, juggling. Then my cousin’s six week old baby died. Her baby’s funeral was the same day my book released. None of it seemed to matter. What was the point of writing happy books when things like this happens?

I can now say honestly, without shame, that I lost my love for writing. It didn’t have a purpose for me anymore. I didn’t enjoy it. Writing became a chore right up there with washing dishes. I avoid washing dishes. I buy plastic forks and spoons and paperplates just so I don’t have to wash dishes. I treated writing the same way and because of that the stories in my head faded. The drive to hunt them down and write them went away. To me that’s what makes the real difference in who finishes a novel and who doesn’t. It’s not that you have a better hold on your story’s plot. Or that you have a character that won’t shut up. It’s the drive, the passion to get it all down. It’s the same drive and passion that makes you keep submitting despite the no’s. The same one that makes you learn your craft and hone it. The same one that makes you revise until your novel sparkles.

So, what made me get that spunk back?

I started to miss the hell out of my happy place. Writing is my happy place. Yeah, I have others, but there is something about creating something outside yourself and seeing it all come together. You sit up taller. You speak with authority. You probably even have a damn sparkle in your eyes. Really, I was tired seeing nothing but the dark side of life. I needed to find the light again.

Plus, not to sound vain, I started to get feedback on my book. It made people laugh. It made them cry. It made someone’s crappy day a little bit better. But let’s cirlce back to “I made someone laugh” for a moment. I don’t know about you, but the sound of laughter is the most beautiful thing for me. It’s such a damn happy sound. I don’t know about you, but the sound of someone crying is the most heartbreaking thing to listen to. Yes, it may be what they need, but your eyes start to prickle and you know if you don’t leave the room soon you’ll be sobbing with them.

And then I had my near death experience. All those somber faces surrounded me. The ones with actual fear in them scared me more. Then I realized if I’m going to die today I’m going to do it laughing. Hand to God I started a one woman comedy show in that hospital. It could have been the morphine, but I felt better.

And the moral of the story is?

Laughter, that right there is how I found my purpose to write again. If only for one moment I can make someone laugh then I’ve done my job as a writer. I can’t do that if I’m not writing. I may not be saving the world one laugh at a time, but dammit it’s enough to get my ass in a chair every day.

What gives you purpose?