Trust the journey

Trust the journey the saying goes, but what if the journey is long as all get out? I lived by this mantra when I started writing a children’s book. I had journals that read “Trust the Journey”. I had bracelets, nick knacks, anything with that saying on it to keep me motivated. The more I lived it with it, the more I began to believe it. A few years back, I began to shop my first book series around to children’s book agents to no avail. Crickets. The one agency I did hear back from was a rejection, but I must say, I was super excited because it meant someone took the time to read it and personally let me know it was not what they were looking for. In a weird way, I felt accomplished. Two years ago I attended my first writers conference and learned a lot about what publishers, agents and those in the children’s lit world are looking for. I highly recommend that you attend at least one writers conference/workshop in order to “read the room” so to speak. After attending the conference, I took some time to re-evaluate, tweak and think up new ways to tell stories, characters to use and so on. Like I said, it has been a long journey. One that I am still on. One that I continue to trust in. So, when you feel the journey is long, keep going. When you feel like no one is reading, keep writing, and like Peter Pan says, “- All you need is faith, trust and a little bit of pixie dust!” So while we journey down this road together, let’s remember to always (as Jon Bon Jovi sings about) Keep the faith!