Fiction Friday: Persistence Pays Off

Last Friday we talked about being determined in our writing. Well I am going to continue that theme this week by sharing a snippet from this interview with Danielle Steel that was featured on Goodreads. I have to admit this interview made me grow in respect for her-- I had sort of dismissed her as not a serious writer and that was presumptuous of me. Someone who is as successful as she is must have something going on! I especially loved her comments about ghostwriters.

Anyway, this is the part that I wanted to share with you. It inspired me to keep at it. I hope it does you as well!

Then I thought I'll do this again [write another novel after the success of her first], but then I wrote five others that nobody ever wanted. I have no idea what made me pursue this. I think just stubbornness. I had no thought of becoming famous, and I had made practically no money on the one I sold. But I just always had another story that I wanted to tell, and while those ones were not selling I just kept writing more. And finally the seventh one sold again. I had five unpublished in between my first and the next published book.

I always use it as an example for young writers because persistence is the most important thing. Had I given up anytime between number one and number seven, I would never have had the career I have today. I really think it's important to keep at it and keep with it. And people are very unkind about unpublished authors. You know, the minute you say you're a writer, they say, "Have you been published?" and if you haven't, they think that doesn't make you a writer. But you're a writer if you're writing. And it may take longer than you want to get published. But keep at it. I think persistence wins the prize in almost anything.