Sometimes I think about what I used to imagine life would be like when I got published.  I thought…I’ll write.  *G*  That was the only thing I thought about.  Didn’t think much about other stuff.

I wasn’t necessarily looking for riches… (which is good, because I’d still be looking).

I wasn’t looking for instant fame (which is good, because I’d still be looking, and really, as much as I hate pictures, and as much I like my privacy, me and fame aren’t meant to be together anyway).

I didn’t put a lot of thought into an agent-had only queried a couple before I signed with EC, and with them, I didn’t need one.  I didn’t end up signing with an agent until after I’d been contacted by Berkley.

I wasn’t thinking about the other stuff that went with writing…things like the edits, the galleys, cover art, promotion, the paperwork, the legaleze, the expenses (and man, are there are expenses), the taxes (and man, are there expenses), I didn’t think about reviews-good or bad.  I didn’t think about any of other tedious, but necessary crap.

I just thought about writing.

And that’s still my focus.  Which is how I handle the other stuff.

I also wasn’t thinking there would be rainbows awaiting me.  Which is also good…because I would have been really, really disappointed.

Something I see a lot?  Disappointment.

Be warned… I’m a pretty blunt, straightforward person, and I’m going to deliver some blunt, straightforward talk.

I see a lot of disapointment sometimes…and a lot of it happens with those who have just broken into the industry or are trying to break into the industry.

What causes that disappointment?

Usually?  Disillusionment.

Let’s talk about the pot of gold… it can be riches, or it can be a pot of warm fuzzies, or just an easy street where you just write…whatever.  But let’s talk about it.

That pot of gold people think is waiting once they land an agent, or sign a contract?  It doesn’t exist.  What’s waiting for you is more hard work, more stress.  It’s hard on a different scale, yes.  The stress is different, yes.  Things are different…and please don’t take this to mean that it’s not worth it-if you’ve got stories in your head and you are determined to do that, then by all means, go for it.

But make sure you have your eyes open.

Guys…don’t set anybody up on a pedestal.  Really.  Don’t.  It’s almost asking for disappointment.  Setting yourself to be disillusioned.  Writers, agents, editors, publishers-they are people, just like anybody else, and that means… they are going to screw up, or they will make a mistake, or they will do something that you just don’t agree with.  If you keep in mind that these people are people, if you don’t let yourself put them on some pedestal, you’re much less likely to get so disappointed later on.

Once you get inside that industry, you realize there is an awful of stuff going on that you never saw from outside, and a lot of it is just silliness, foolishness, stupidity or arrogance.

There are sadly those who rejoice in being catty.  There are sadly those who just love to hand out those backhanded compliments that feel more like insults than anything else.  There are those who act like a friend…to your face, and then a few minutes, a few weeks, a few months later, you realize they weren’t really a friend at all.  There are those who think nobody compares to their brilliance.  Sometimes, it’s almost like high school all over again.

Basically, there are people like you see everywhere else in life.  There are the not so great people… But don’t get depressed, because there are the absolutely wonderful people.

You can also make fantastic friends.   You can and will make friends who don’t just share your love of reading, they also understand what it’s like to have stories inside your head, and that’s no small thing.  They understand that excitement of a new idea, and they understand how stressed you get when you’ve got a book out with an agent or editor, and you are just waiting…and waiting.  They understand the frustration of release day nerves, and they know how down you get when you didn’t hit the lists…again.

For all the negatives, there are positives-it is a balance.   For all the stress, for all the non-fun stuff, there is something to counter it.  For all the disappointing aspects I’ve dealt with, there have been pluses.  For all the hours and hours I spend dealing with crap like piracy, I also have hours where I can smile over the comments from the wonderful readers I’ve got.  For all the hard work and headaches I get when messes with promo, it’s rewarded when I see people buzzing about a book.

For all the negative people I’ve encountered….I’ve met double the positive.

Some of my closest…shoot, most of my closest friends are people I’ve met since I’ve gotten involved in the biz.  You will meet some amazing people.  You will make memories that will make you smile years later…and you might even help give those memories to some other people, and that’s a pretty cool thing.

This is not a business for the faint-hearted.  It’s just not.  It is hard work, and it doesn’t end with just writing the story.  It doesn’t end with one story, and it doesn’t get easier after you sell.

One thing that might make it easier, though, is if you go into with your eyes wide open.  Sometimes the writing community can be just that-a warm, welcoming, wonderful community.  But don’t think that nothing but warm fuzzies await you.  The people on the other side of the publishing line are just that…they are people.  And they will mess up.  They will do something that disappointments, upsets, saddens…but there are also going to be people who will be there to talk to, who listen to you yell, and scream, and sigh…

Maybe there is a rainbow, after all.  But it’s in the friends you make.

• Look for those friends, because they are amazing.
• Don’t put people on a pedestal, because you will be disappointed.