Golden Eggs

TAYLOR’S TIPS for a more productive you…

Dear Friend,

Have you laid a Golden Egg? Have you produced the most delectable story of all time, shimmering on 300+ pages of manuscript, edited and fine-tuned to perfection?

Congratulations! That’s hard work and worthy of a pat on the back. But it doesn’t do any good sitting there in all its glory. It’s time to sell it.

So you take your egg and you approach an agent, or editor, or publishing house. And they tell you this: “We like your egg, but we want it scrambled. Add some mushrooms, diced onions, a little green pepper, and a few chopped tomatoes and when you have the omelet we need, bring it back and we’ll talk about it.”

You’re not sure about scrambling it, so you try another editor and he says this: “We like your egg, but we want it fried with salt and pepper. Do that and bring it back for another look-see.”

So you try the fried egg approach, but it doesn’t look right to you. So you try another editor and she says: “We like our eggs coddled. Do that and bring it back to us.”

You don’t even know what a coddled egg is, but you look it up, study the recipe, and try your hardest to make the egg fit their mold. No dice. Still another publishing house tells you the public isn’t buying straight golden eggs right now. They want egg salad. They tell you what to put in it: mustard, mayo, pepper, and salt. You do all that and they come back to you with: too much salt, or not enough salt, or the consistency isn’t right. The yolk is too yellow, they need it more orange. The egg is too old. They want fresh, younger. Ahhhhh…..your poor Golden Egg!

Then you attend a conference and you see all the different eggs available for sale. All colors of the rainbow.

And you wonder how in the world your Golden Egg has a chance. This was not what you expected. You thought your Golden Egg was special.

But here’s the deal. The agents/editors/publishers actually do know what type of eggs the people are buying. And if you trust their vision, and work with them, your Golden Egg could be peeled, sliced, deviled, scrambled, chopped, or fried, and successfully sold to the masses. It’s the people in the business who will take your Golden Egg and make it sellable. But only if you have the courage and flexibility to work with them.

Don’t give up on  your dream of publication. You must always believe in yourself and in your egg, for it is only the strong who survive in the world of publishing.

So lay some more Golden Eggs. Keep trying to sell each one and never give up. And remember, you may be one egg in a world of many, but you are unique and one of a kind in God’s eyes. Keep the faith.

Happy writing and blessings on your work. 

What’s Happening…

Check out these great conferences coming up:

Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference April 15-19. This is the place Where Writers Come to Grow. Network and build your skills in this fabulous conference setting of majestic redwoods in the mountains just outside San Jose. http://mounthermon.org/adult/professionals/writers-conference 

OC Christian Writers Conference – April 29 and 30 at Mariners Church in Southern California. Get ready for a great event that will knock your socks off. There are writing contests, mentor workshops, a meet-and-greet with faculty, 27 classes, and editors, award-winning authors, and literary agents to interact with. www.occwf.org

Follow your dreams…

B.J.

DOG BLOG: www.bjtaylorblog.wordpress.com 

Facebook: listed on FB as B.j.Taylor
Twitter: www.twitter.com/bjtaylortweets

Author of :
“The Complete Guide to Writers Groups That Work”
Available on Amazon.com or http://www.buybooksontheweb.com/product.aspx?ISBN=0-7414-4099-7

Website: www.bjtayloronline.com

P.S. To those of my wonderful friends who are on my Taylor’s Tips Newsletter List, I apologize that you are seeing this twice, but I like to post it here, on my blog, as well. Thank you for understanding. And have a GREAT day!