This post was co-published at talanhorne.com.
On my publication journey, I've found it useful to have many irons in the fire.
Oh, those poor cows.
In other words, I can build bridges with a lot of different people...for the moment.
And that can be useful if progress halts in one potential direction. It's not so much a hedge against failure as it is a buffer to protect me from bad days when I can't see any way forward. And I've got to admit: it feels nice to have several people interested in your book at the same time.
Recent photograph of the actual book publishing market.
But a certain amount of discretion is called for. Writing books may be an art, but publishing them is largely a business. And in business, it's often best to not tell people what you're doing until you've done it. That way, you can always answer their questions with examples of your success.
It might not be a lot of fun to play the waiting game, but, like I said, I've begun to be happy while doing it. I find myself unafraid of whatever might happen and more eager than ever to greet whatever is ahead of me.
This is exactly the feeling I want to have when I arrive.
