15 Mistakes I Made On the Road to Publication

Back by popular demand: The 15 Mistakes I Made On the Road to Publication

1. I thought I needed an agent. 
2. I thought I had to go through traditional publishing and print channels.
3. I didn’t think it would take five years. 
4. I thought Harlequin ruled the world.
5. I underestimated how generous, supportive and welcoming writers were. I am amazed everyday.
6. I should have gone to RWA Nationals the year I started writing. I should have joined TARA from the get-go.
7. I should have kept reading. I started writing at night instead of reading. And I was afraid of indadvertedly plagiarizing another author’s work. The writing is wired into you; reading other books, especially in your genre, can only make you a better writer and keep your creative juices flowing. 
8. I should always write the last chapter first. I should have known this from the beginning since I find myself reading the last few pages of a book midway through chapter two. It’s deliciously torturous knowing the ending, without knowing how that ending came to be. 
9. I should have brought The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglist before I wrote my first book instead of when I was editing my second. 
10. I should have shouted that I was writing from the rooftops instead of keeping it to myself.  
11. I should have known the last rejection hurts just as much as the first one. 
12. I should have gotten an iPhone two years ago. 
13. I should have joined a critique group.
14. I should have known that writing the book was the easy part. 
15. I knew how bad I wanted it, so I should have known I could do it.

 But the one thing I did right? I never gave up! And here I am!