I'm an aspiring writer, but I'm dealing... â€� Anthea Sharp Q&A

Cintia asked Anthea Sharp:

I'm an aspiring writer, but I'm dealing with two things: I get discouraged every single day because 96% of manuscripts are rejected, and I haven't had an idea for years, literally. There's too many people wanting to be writers, and knowing there's so much competition just kills me a little every day. When I get motivated, immediatly something appears about the industry that kills it. Any tips on how to deal with this?

Anthea Sharp Hi Cintia! It's hard, but you have to block out everything but your story. Write with the door closed - in other words, protect your mental space. Don't let fears about selling, or the competition, or what's going on with publishing into your head. Just write the book.

There's no point in worrying about ANY of that until *after* you have a completed book. So block all that stuff out. Write a story that you would love to read. Once it's done, then you can fret about all the other stuff, but it's all moot until you actually have a finished manuscript.

Then, there are LOTS of ways forward, I promise. Nobody can write *your* story the way you can. You are unique as a writer. Listen to the quiet voice inside you that wants to tell a story, and do that.

When you've got a completed book, email me. I'm happy to give you some ideas of what to do at that point. Good luck! You can do this~

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