We Hear What We Want to Hear.

I'm writing a book. Did you know? I can't imagine you don't. I tell everyone - friends, family, colleagues, the cashier at the grocery store . . . . .

As I write, I meet other writers. I hear about the dozens of query letters sent to agents and publishers, followed by rejection letter after rejection letter. I hear how writers "rework" their manuscripts, again and again. I hear the most common mistake writers make is to "over write."

Some of these I choose to ignore - like the rejection rate. After all, you need to do what you love and you need to have faith in yourself. I look at it like the lottery - "you gotta play to win". (and somebody does win) But it really is amazing how we allow ourselves to only hear what we want to hear. It's a gift really, and a curse. We listen, but then we pick and choose what we think really applies to us.

I learned a valuable lesson last week. I over write! I knew it was common for new writers, but certainly that did not apply to me!

Many months ago, I posted a quote on my computer which I found in a writer's magazine. It reads, "Seventy percent of a first draft is garbage and 30 percent is gold, but you have to write 100 percent to get that 30." Imagine, my pleasure when I completed my first chapter and only ended up with 25% on the cutting room floor, instead of 70. I was so far ahead of the game - I was patting myself on the back as I trotted to the head of the class. Wrong!

An intense manuscript rewrite last week (following comments from an editor) had me sorting through a lot of garbage. I mean a lot of garbage. Because, guess what? I over write!

My revised book proposal is off in the hands of an agent now, so we'll see if I've cleaned enough garbage out of my pot of gold. If not, I'll simply buy a bigger shovel and go at it again.