“Never, never, never, never give up.”
– Winston Churchill

“Never give up, never surrender.”
Galaxy Quest

In the twelve years I struggled to make my first publishing sale I never thought much about my own perseverance. I simply love writing too much. Building worlds, inventing characters, devising plots, creating conflict, conjuring romance… it all brings such a thrill I get this little burst of excitement in my chest every time I return to my manuscript in progress.

I guess what got me to thinking about my own perseverance was a critique partner’s claim that if she didn’t sell her latest WIP– the third manuscript she’d received a revision letter for– she was going to call it quits. That just seemed so sad to me. Give up my imaginary friends? Never!

Every rejection letter I received I was able to tuck away and forget about. Sure, each one brought a dismal cloud that seemed to rain only on me, but they never daunted me. They never translated into “I can’t do this.” I just moved on.

Strange, considering my nature.

I was never a very perseverant child. Sure, my teachers said I was exceptionally bright, but I never had much see-throughitive-ness. I was easily frustrated and quickly bored. My parents developed a habit of making things easier for me when it appeared I wasn’t going to finish something, and that only enabled my ease in giving up.

But I never quit writing. Never stopped reaching for that elusive contract. I’ve heard other writers call themselves gluttons for punishment. Sadists. “Why do we do this again?” With all the roadblocks in this slow moving industry, why bother? It certainly isn’t a get-rich-quick trade.

I consider myself extremely lucky the niche where I finally found my perseverance is so darned much fun. My first book came out this spring from Loose-Id. Every step along the way has been a thrill. Each little milestone – my first revisions, (and second and third, and line edits…:) my first cover, my first ISBN – have all been like a little party thrown just for me.

These twelve years have taught me the key to perseverance: find that thing you love to do. That prize you have to have. That goal you have to reach. Trust me, the success feels good. The way I feel right now makes every day of those twelve years totally worth it.