To become published, go read Madeline Hunter's call story at Dear Author. She talks about how she got published, and everything she said is just so true! Well, for me, anyway. When she described the "slam-dunk wonders," I honestly think my mouth dropped open. I assumed that most people were like me, who wrote and wrote and wrote before they finally got The Call.

A couple of things she says especially sticks with me:

Tenacity is everything. Um, YES! Granted, I didn't gather a lot of rejections, but that's because I was terrified to submit anything. I would write a book, figure it sucked, go back to the drawing board, and write another without ever having submitted the finished manuscript. So I have a ton of manuscripts under my belt, but only a handful of rejections.

Getting the Call is One of the Most Exciting Days of Your Life. It is! And the thing is, you can feel the same excitement with each new sale, especially if each sale is some sort of landmark. I was BEYOND thrilled when I got The Call from Red Sage. Finally, I was going to have a story in a book! Then The Call for the Sydney Croft sale came (from Stephanie, while I was in Germany visiting a friend,) and that call was just as thrilling as the first one. More, really, because instead of a novella, now I'd have a novel on the shelves. Then, months later, The Call for my paranormal demon books came, and once more, I was on the ceiling. This time, I was excited because these would be novels written under my own name. So don't think the excitement ends with just that first call…making a sale is never a calming experience. *g*

After the Call, Everything Changes. Heh. Prepare for no sleep. The unexplained long absences of your muse. Stomach upset from nerves. Jealousy. And the most freaking fun you've ever had.

Just keep at it. Keep writing. Though there are apparently more people who sold a first manuscript than I would have thought, there are a lot of us out there who wrote for FOREVER before they sold!