The Power Of No

Such a simple word. Such a complicated word.

When was the last time you were told No? An hour ago? Last week? Last month?

On The Voice last week, Pharrell Williams told one of his team "No should be your biggest motivation." His words don't just apply to the music industry. In both your life, and in becoming an author, the word No is constantly volleyed at you left and right.

Sometimes, the word is lower case–no. You can step right over these little pebbles of rejection. Your blind date never called again when you thought something had clicked, or you get a form rejection letter on your very first manuscript from a big publisher.

Then sometimes the first letter of the word is upper case but not in bold letters–No. That's when the job you were so perfect for, the one where you killed on the interview, went to someone else. Or when the agent who thought enough of your work to request a full decided she had someone already on her client list who was similar. What do you do then? You can't just step over these Nos. They're too big. So you decide to go back to school, to get your Master's degree or to take more workshops on craft to better your writing.

The worst, though, is the big NO. Upper case, bold. The man you thought you'd share the rest of your life with tells you he doesn't love you anymore. Or the three book deal with a six-figure advance went to your best writing buddy. In these cases, you have two choices. You can either give up and lay down, letting that huge boulder of a NO flatten you, or you can choose to let it motivate you, spur you on to even greater heights. Your friend got a three-book deal? You'll get a five-book one. Your significant other left you? Put yourself back into the dating pool and find a partner who's even better.

If you let the power of the word no motivate you, you'll become a better person, a better partner, a better writer. You just can't let it flatten you.

Be A Star

Those who know me realize they can't bother me on Monday and Tuesday nights, since that's The Voice time. The similarities between music and writing keep surprising me. The publishing business is as subjective as the music industry. What appeals to one ear will sound like chickens killing each other to another.

My latest manuscript got rejected recently by a publisher. In this instance, the manuscript was rejected because the editor didn't care for the way my characters talked. I realized this was the same thing as a country performer singing in front of a rap artist. It's easy to turn your back on something because it's not your flavor. It's more complicated to dig beneath the surface and find the true talent that is there.

Last season on The Voice, Usher made a statement that 'luck favors the prepared.' I took Usher's words to heart, and have put a publishing plan into place. I've been honing my craft for years now, so I think I'm prepared. In both musical and writing terms, I've trained my voice. I know how a book (or a song) goes together, what to emphasize and when. I'm ready for some luck. I'm prepared.

This season, Pharell, my new favorite Voice judge, made a comment that 'stars don't just sit still–they sparkle.' I have been working really hard on my sparkle this year. I've connected with acquaintances at meetings and turned them into friends. I'm volunteering my services at a local level and I'm giving a portion of my earnings to various charities. I've started up a joint blog site with several of my new friends called History Imagined, where we discuss–you guessed it–history and historical events. I am a guest on several different blog sites. And most recently, I wrote a column for USA Today's Happy Ever After column, and contributed to an article for RWR magazine. Sparkle, sparkle.

I'm doing everything I can to be the star Pharell talks about.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

Are Some People Luckier Than Others?

Most people who are familiar with my habits know better than to call me on Monday nights. That's when The Voice is on. I'm fascinated how someone with no experience gets four chairs to turn while some who have been pounding it out for years can't get one. But then again, until they narrow down the group a bit, I'm not so much interested in the talent that tries to get a chair to turn around as I am the bodies in those chairs. To spend an hour or two staring at Usher, Blake and Adam does a romance writer's heart good.

The other night, though, it wasn't just the body that got to me. Usher was attempting to console one of the contestants who wasn't quite good enough. He said the person needed to continue to practice because "luck favors those who are prepared."

And that got me to thinking about writing--another artistic talent where the road to fame and fortune is equally elusive. Oh, sure, we've all heard stories about the author who writes his or her first book ever, on a whim, and it becomes an instant success, is one of Oprah's book club picks, gets turned into a movie and makes the author a million bucks. But, for most of us, it doesn't happen like that. We take classes, hone our craft, talk to others in the industry, slash the crap out of our work, massage, massage, massage. Then, maybe, if luck is favoring us, we'll win a few contests, maybe even a big one. We'll catch the interest of an editor or an agent. We'll be signed to a contract for a release date that's now reaching into late 2014. Then,  we'll wait another six months for a royalty check.

In the meantime, we're blogging, reading books on how to write, building a fan base, attending conferences, learning, always learning. After all, we want to be prepared when luck favors us.