Writing Thankfully

On this Thanksgiving (this is Thanksgiving weekend, by the way, but all the turkeys already know that), I’d like to say how thankful I am for my dislike of self-promotion.

I’ve spent a lot of time the last few years writing press releases, signing books, and basically bragging about how I’m such a good writer that you should spend your time and money on me. It’s not in my nature … but then, neither is working, and I have to do that, too.

But think of it this way: My first book came out in 2011, less than five years ago. Now I have seven out, with my name in two others.

The first time I queried a publisher for a book length project was when I was eighteen—35 years ago. Please don’t do the math. (And that would have been about five years after my first “finished” novel.) So it took me over thirty years to get a novel published, but in the five years since I’ve had four works of fiction and three of nonfiction released.

That’s something to be thankful for (among many other things), and I am thankful. I may be struggling to make more sales, but I’m published—and a lot of writers don't make it that far. To show how thankful I am … I’m going to work hard to get more published. Toward that end, I’ve caught up by sending out eight queries and manuscripts to publishers in the last three days. An unpublished book or short story should never rest on a writer’s desk (or hard drive) for long.