The Author Ladder: Triumphs, Rejections, and the Real Climb to Publication

On my journey up the Author Ladder, I'm often asked about triumphs and mistakes, swings and misses.

The Author Ladder? 

Image by Pheladii of Pixabay

Yup. From the idea that pushes against the sides of your skull until you finally let it escape to the page, to the lofty heights of best-seller lists and movie deals, every accomplishment, no matter how small, is another rung upward. 

The trouble with that ladder is the very top can feel impossibly far away, shrouded in mist. Sometimes the rungs are so close together you hardly feel your progress. Other times the upward stretch feels too far, too hard to reach.

And then there are those slippery rungs that crash you back to earth.

So, when I'm asked about triumphs, I hesitate. Inside, I feel like I'm on a kitchen step stool and having a hard time managing even that. 

Then I take stock of my journey. I realize I am farther along than I thought and having a lot of fun along the way. I feel the progress in the questions people ask me, the outreach I get, the way others see what I sometimes can't see in myself.

I've been the invited moderator of literary festivals and conferences. I've interviewed NYT best-selling authors for fundraisers and major events. My books have received glowing reviews--maybe not from People Magazine or Publishers Weekly, but from respected publications that target a large segment of my readers. My stories appear in Anthony Award-winning anthologies, and my novels have won industry respect.

A recent guest appearance on a popular author blog has been getting a lot of attention, too. And I'm always thrilled when an emerging writer, someone with an idea buzzing in their head, asks me to take a look at their first chapters. 

I have a new novel on submission with publishers now. The rejections make gripping those rungs just a little harder, but they also let me know I'm on the right track.