P is for Persistence

There are a lot of fantastic writers who will never be published. A lot of wonderful stories that will never be available to read.


Because the writer gives up, doesn’t persist. One negative comment, a few rejections, a bad review, and the writer is finished.

Even the writers who get one book published may fail to get another published. That one book is it. No more writing, no more submitting, or even self-publishing.

It could be said that if a writer isn’t willing to persist, to keep honing the craft and sending things out or publishing his stories in one way or another, she wasn’t really serious about writing. And maybe that’s true for many of the writers who give writing a half-hearted try, but in a lot of cases, self-doubts are the culprits. A fear of failure.

I’ve read that writing is 5% talent and 95% persistence, and I believe that’s not far from the truth. Consider how many best sellers have been criticized for the writing. Or how many stories on basically the same theme (erotica) never make it big, and then along comes a block buster (50 Shades of Grey). Often it’s not the quality of the writing or the theme of the story that makes a book a best seller. It’s the timing, the being at the right place at the right time.

To be published: Write a good book and be persistent.

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2 Responses to P is for Persistence

  1. ann bennett says:

    The right place and time is true for 50 shades. I read the first chapter on Amazon and decided not to buy. It read like the uptillion of notes children have passed in my classroom. Well, the subject matter was much different but it had the same tension of interest built in.

    • Maris Soule says:

      I borrowed a copy, but halfway through I started skimming. I understand the next two in the series were better, but she lost me with the first. As you said, it evidently was the right time for that book. For her, persistence paid off.