Into the Fire

Is it?

A pipe dream is a fantastic hope or plan that is generally regarded as being nearly impossible to achieve. Wikipedia

A plan, desire, or idea that will not likely work; a near impossibility. Wiktionary

I started my first novel in the summer of 1993, and, no, that’s not a first line from a memoir, a movie, or a book. I know: thank goodness. No, it’s the truth. Eight and a half years later, I finished that first novel. Naïve and hopeful, I started my journey in the world of publishing.

Seven novels later with two self-published, I’m older and somewhat wiser to the ways of that publishing world but certainly no authority on any of it. At times it has occurred to me that it’s a pipe dream to seek publishing for my work. Athough frustrating in the trenches, I’m far enough along now to know peace.

The common pet peeves of wannabe authors resound when they read those published novels which they evaluate as inferior. How? Why? Who agreed to publish this piece of . . . fill in the blank. C’mon now: most of us have been there. Aahhh, the subjective world of publishing.

Generally it takes a lot to discourage the young and/or the determined. Those who pursue the goal of being published learn quickly but usually manage to commit at least a few faux pas in the process of writing/querying/submissions etiquette.

One interesting phenomenon I’ve noticed in some newly published authors is the sense that somehow, even after all the efforts and disappointments they’ve experienced, everything’s going to be downhill from that first contract: like a smooth downhill slope on a perfect snowy mountainside. The enthusiasm thumps boundless through the internet, and the hope soars in every post and solicitation. The pipe dream is now smokin’, baby!

Unfortunately, either a few novels later or a couple, publishers pull back, the economy wreaks havoc on either marketing or sales, and the once ecstatic authors face rejection of what they thought would continue to interest their peeps in publishing. The lack of dollars spent by consumers on their books nails down their demise.

Every time I walk into Borders I marvel at the amount of published books. How can anyone feel confident standing in the midst of so many books? We all know not every one of those books is a bestseller or even deserves to be printed on the paper in that binding. That’s a fact. But if all of those books made it into print, how could there possibly be room for mine? Even within a good-size Christian bookstore, the amount of authors competing for shelf space is huge. And on Amazon.com another novel is so impersonal without a direct connection to drive readers to it.

Once again the enormity of published books—even if the economy slows down the number of books projected for publication by major publishers, general market or CBA—challenges the mindsets of writers.

Sometimes it really does seem like a pipe dream . . .

Father, my hope is in you. What you want for me is what I want to want for me. Help me to do just that. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.