Listen and learn

Before the snow piled down on my corner of Virginia, I visited with my friends at the Virginia Romance Writers for their holiday party. As usual, I had a lovely time and picked up some sage advice from the speaker, Jessica Ruddick. She spoke about her journey and how the measure for success continues to move, a belief to which I also subscribe.

I also made a new friend. A USA Today bestseller, Margaret Locke has published five romances, one of which, The Demon Duke, was nominated for the prestigious RITA. You can see her website here, and order her books here. I enjoyed chatting and laughing with Margaret, and am very much looking forward to seeing her at the next meeting. In fact, I enjoyed her company so much, I know exactly what I’ll be reading next.

I've said this before but going out of my comfort zone this year by attending the face to face VRW meetings has been the best decision I've made. By meeting new people on the same road as myself, I can listen to their experiences and perspectives. If you ask my husband, he'll tell you I'm not a patient person. Rather than forge ahead, I'm trying, emphasis on trying, to take my time and inform my decisions. This is not to say I won't make mistakes. I'm sure I will. If I can avoid simple mistakes through listening to the advice of others, I'll take it. Frankly, I'll take all the help I can get.

At the recent meeting, many authors discussed and debated the pros and cons of traditional and indie publishing, a topic throughout which I sat rapt with attention. I listened as the members talked about how much the industry has changed, and their experiences throughout that change. I've been focusing a lot of my energy on the Golden Heart contest, but throughout this meeting I started to ask myself why I was so focused on winning and what would be next win, lose, or draw, a question I've been avoiding. After giving this some thought, I've concluded that I'm still guilty of looking for some magic carpet to come and sweep me up towards success. I'm quite sure that waiting on the sidelines with a book clutched to my chest and a thumb out will do nothing, so that leaves me with no choice but to face reality and get to work. I'll still enter the Golden Heart, and I'd be lying if I said the results didn't matter to me. They do. But the only thing I can control is myself, and if I want to get anywhere, I'd better learn how to drive.

Onward,

Kathryn