One of the very first writer blogs I read, when discovering blogland, was Terri Tiffany's Inspirational Writer's Blog.
Terri's sincere, easy-to-read style appealed to me greatly. I felt an immediate bond, as if I were reading something written by a sister or dear friend.
When Terri agreed to do a guest post for Writing Straight from the Heart, I was absolutely thrilled.
Asked to write a few sentences to introduce herself, she wrote that she "counseled adults, owned a Christian bookstore, and now resides in Florida where she drives her husband of thirty-two years crazy reading him her stories during Jeopardy. Her work appears in magazines, Sunday school take-home papers, and anthologies such as Chicken Soup for the Soul, Hearts at Home, Cross and Quill, Guide , and Standard. She is working on her fourth novel. "
Many thanks to Terri for joining us today. As one writer to another, it is great to be in the company of a kindred spirit!
Please check out her blog. You will come away inspired. http://terri-treasures.blogspot.com/
So here is her column which I titled,
Never Give Up: The Value of Perseverance
By Terri Tiffany
After her recent rejection from a publisher, a fellow-writer emailed me and asked, “Remind me again. Why we do we do this?” A day later, I read an article about a ninety-two-year-old woman in England who was offered her first book deal.
She didn’t give up.
Nor do we. If we believe we have a great story to tell.
In honor of my blog anniversary, I broke down and ordered all four years of my posts. Call it motivation. Call it a great sale. But mostly I wanted to hold it in my hands and read my ups and downs again so I can fully appreciate what I’ve put into learning this craft called writing.
Have I paid enough dues already? Should I have a book published sitting on a Barnes and Nobles shelf? Should my rejections slow down and the agents I’ve queried be calling me with fantastic offers of representation?
Umm.
Am I really the best judge of all that?
I don’t think so but what I can judge are my efforts. Have I uncovered and done every possible thing to help me achieve my writing goals?
This month I’ve signed up for an online writers’ course. This week I formed a Beta group of readers and I’ve asked them to read my book and give me honest opinions. Next month—who knows? But I can guarantee you this: I’ll be doing something and it won’t be called quitting.
I’m not ninety-two years old yet and I don’t want to wait that long for my dream to come true. So I believe in pushing myself however I can now.
What about you? What will you do next in your journey?
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