So long, farewell - it's been a great three years!!

Tip of the Day: Although the Author2Author blog will be dark for the next two weeks so the holidays can be fully enjoyed, make sure you come back and visit on January 3rd, where the blog will have some exciting new changes and a fun giveaway to kick the new year off right!


It's been THREE years since Tina, Emily, Kate and Deena invited me to be a part of this blog. Can you believe it? At that time, I was looking forward to my debut novel, I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME releasing in January.

Since then, I've published three more novels, with two more coming out next year. I've quit my day job and, for the time being, am making a go at being a full-time author. I don't know how long it will last, but I'm enjoying it while I can.

It's been wonderful sharing the last three years with my friends here at Author2Author and all of YOU! In some ways, it feels like just yesterday when I was looking forward to my debut novel releasing and in other ways, it feels like a lifetime ago. Some things I've learned these past few years:

• The waiting never stops. There is ALWAYS waiting - waiting for revisions, waiting to see the cover, waiting for the advance check, waiting to hear on a new project, waiting, waiting, waiting. If you can do one thing, figure out how to deal with the endless amount of waiting there is in this business. 

•  There will always be people who have it better than you. Don't waste time and energy comparing yourself to others, wishing someone else's story could be your story. Trust that you are on the right path for YOU, and that things happen for a reason. It's hard to imagine, but we often become grateful for the disappointments we experience today, even if it's because they make us stronger.

• Have people you can talk to privately about your frustrations. This is a hard business. Brutal at times. Have friends you can e-mail or call when you want to scream or cry, because most of the time, it's not a good idea to do it on-line for the world to see. And remember to have a life outside of your writing life too. That way, I think it's easier to swallow the disappointment because you have other happy things going on in your life to focus on. As Sara Zarr so eloquently said one time in an interview with Cynthia Leitich Smith, "A book is a wonderful, miraculous thing. But in some sense, it's also just a book."

• When it comes to social networking, do what you love and what you have time for. I don't think you should do so much that you sacrifice other things, like writing time or family time. After all, there's no real proof that shows social networking makes any significant difference in sales. Do it because you enjoy it and anything beyond that is icing on the cupcake. If it starts to feel like it's too much, it's perfectly okay to step back, evaluate priorities, and make changes as necessary.

And on that note, I want to let you know I have done exactly that, and as a result, this is my last blog post here at Author2Author. With a blog of my own, an agent who asks me to participate from time to time on her blog, and The Contemps blog that I am heavily involved with, I have to figure out how to free up some time because writing books must remain my number one priority. So it is with some sadness that I'm stepping down from the Author2Author blog. 

But before I go, I want to say thank you to Kate, Emily, Deena and Tina for letting me be a part of this blog for the past three years. It's been a WONDERFUL experience, and I'm so glad to have gotten to know you not just as writers, but as people. I consider each of you my friends, and you better stay in touch!!!

As for you, dear blog readers, I'm sure I'll see you around the web. It is a small internet world, after all. Keep reading. Keep writing. Keep believing!!

Signing off and wishing you the happiest of holidays,

Lisa, Miss Crafting a Career