Now the Real Work Begins

With the 2015 Pikes Peak Writers Conference behind us, we're all heading back to our regularly scheduled lives. For some, that involves full-time work of various sorts. For others, it involves full-time family care. And for those rare few, it involves full-time writing. And we all return to that blank page energized and ready to allow the words to flow, mingled with the craft techniques we learned during conference.

Many of my fellow attendees also received requests from agents and editors who joined us this year. What an exciting time! Oh, yes, it can be scary to send out your work. This is your baby on the line. But the possibilities are thrilling for a writer. Rejection will result in thicker skin, harder work, and future hope. As hard as that can be at the time, it's necessary for a writer to experience. And on the other end of the scale, acceptance will result in representation or possibly publication. The dream of us all!

I received a referral. A couple, actually. I submitted an older manuscript of mine for review via query to an agent in attendance. It was (mostly) ready, and the story is solid. Before I send it out, though, I do want to give it one final polish...even though I've gone through it a hundred times. (And that's no exaggeration!) I'm hopeful and freaked out all at the same time. It's a strange feeling that most writers understand.

I do wish the best to all those who received requests this year. Wouldn't it be something if we all came to Pikes Peak Writers 2016 with success stories? In the midst of querying and submitting, though, don't forget your heart's passion...and that's the writing itself. It's all too easy to get lost in sending stuff out...or for those of us who are self-published, to get stuck in the marketing aspect. Make your writing the focus, and those other things will come into play as they should.

Now...go get 'em!