GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Until you actually go through the process of trying to secure an agent and get published, the majority of newbie authors have great expectations.  Walking by a bookseller and seeing your work displayed through the window is the stuff dreams are made of.  What's that? New York Times Bestsellers' List!

Count me dreaming!

Ah, but they're not called dreams for nothing.  The truth has a way of slapping you back into reality.



Terry McMillan's latest novel

Overnight sensations are rare.  Rest assured a number of successful authors spent countless months in rejection land.  In September, Terry McMillan stopped by upon the launch of her latest novel,
Getting To Happy.  The book is the long overdue and awaited sequel to Waiting To Exhale.  After achieving blockbuster gold with Exhale, most would put a rush order on a followup.  Strike while the literary fire is white hot.  McMillian waited more than 15 years!  She wrote several books in-between but none achieved the same legendary status.

So why the delay?  McMillian told me she never gave most of the characters in Exhale too much thought after it was released.  The countless chatter, interviews and "when are you going to write a sequel" questions distanced her even more.  Finally though, Savannah, Gloria, Bernadine, and Robin won out.  Characters who's advancement in life had to be told.

I hadn't seen Terry in a couple of years so it was nice to catch up.  When I remarked to her that I had written a novel and how frustrating it was to secure an agent, she asked how long I had been looking.  When I told her since the end of July, she crossed her eyes and threw out a well placed "Child please."

I don't recall the name, but she mentioned a guy who'd won a Pulitzer Prize that couldn't land an agent for a couple of years before it finally happened.  The message was clear.  Keep plugging away and if it's something you want bad enough and you're talented enough, a breakthrough will eventually come.

So, I'm looking forward to exhaling myself one day.