The journey to publishing is not for the faint of heart. Authors spend years studying and honing their writing techniques and countless. hours keeping up with the latest publishing trends. Besides the hard work that many put in, I also believe there is a bit of luck involved.

Getting rejection letter – after rejection letter – after rejection letter – can begin to wear you down and make you feel unsuccessful in your journey. But if you chose to give up; you’ll never know how close you are to your goal.

A few weeks ago, I began to feel depressed about all the rejection letters. The ideas began to slow and I wondered if this is really what I wanted to do with my time. But, just when I least expected it, I had a bit of luck! This week I came home to find a letter from the Abilene Writers Guild in Texas.

Several months earlier I had submitted four stories to their annual contest. Since I was feeling pretty depressed, I didn’t have any high hopes of winning and, frankly, wasn’t sure I wanted to read their critiques. But, much to my surprise, I opened the letter and found two ribbons. I immediately burst into happy tears! Finally! My heart soared and I felt a surge of adrenaline that has allowed me to keep pushing for my dream!

And as I continue to dig for the cavern of diamonds, it was nice to find a small jewel along the way!