Being in a holding pattern is a lonely, scary place to be. You reach out to people for a simple opinion, hoping for a little encouragement, a little truth, and in the end the experience is akin to The Emperor’sNew Clothes.
Norman Ollestad told me to never give up. Sage advice. But does it really have to be this difficult? I write something and I’m supposed to send it out unedited (edited to the best of my ability is the same as unedited – unless, of course, I’m really that good)? I don’t know for sure, and I’m soon going to find out, but it seems like a waste to point and shoot blindly, without really aiming. And that’s why I had asked several people to read my manuscript prior to me sending it out, so I don’t end up wasting too much time and getting discouraged along the way.
I can understand people who say, “I don’t really have the time”, but only one person actually said that. The other fifteen or so said they’d be more than happy to read it and get back to me soon. And when I didn’t hear from any of them and I asked them, suddenly it was “I haven’t actually read any of it.” I can only ask them so many times. Which leads me to wonder – is my book that bad? I have no way of knowing, and that sucks.