I’m not a perfectionist, though I do try hard to get it as right as possible, and do it the first time around. With that said I’m about to send out my third offering to all the various AAR accredited agents. Three down, and four to go. In the old days the writer would write out the first three chapters, and send that out as a submission to agents; then write the book if an agent was interested. Now agents want writers to send their submissions, but only on finished novels. No partials allowed.

That means I have to really turn up the heat and let my creative pot boil over. No problem. I have so many ideas, it’s spooky. Actually, that many ideas can become distracting. I still write them all down, because I never know when I might need them. And pushing out two to three novels a year means I’ll need them. Brainstorming, alone, looking for creative magic, now that’s hard. I love the pressure. I live for the pressure.

Have I surfed enough, discovering new and exciting sites, compelling me to share? No. I don’t have time for that. My local newspaper decided the book section was unimportant, so I have to spend time looking up what’s hot and why, searching for possible trends. How my plans and my ideas fit within these lists and possible trends. Everything says book sales are declining, yet book sales tend to stay at a certain level, even during the worst of times. History proves that book sales stay steady, or even improve over the long haul, especially during the worst of times. People want to escape, and escaping into a good book is a good thing.

I have to ride out the next few years, just like you have to ride out the next few years, and all of us have to hope for the best, while planning for the worst. Just do what I do. Never give up.