I had a great Fourth of July, and so did my manuscript. We had family over to celebrate. When my sister-in-law asked how my writing is going, her friend’s twelve year-old daughter, Molly, whom I’d met for the first time that day, overheard. Molly was taken up with the idea of getting to read a book before it is in print. She asked, “Well if it’s not in a book yet, where is it? Can I read it?” She was so cute I went ahead and printed off the first chapter for her. She read it and came back asking for the second. After the third she asked. “Is this book going to be long enough to make a movie?” When she finished the fourth chapter she said, “If I go play with the kids would you print the rest of the book for me to take with me? If not I won’t play, I’ll finish reading it now. I really want to know what happens.” I agreed to give her a copy to take home.
When I gave it to her later, she spouted out several theories about the villain and about what she thinks is going to happen next. This was my first experience witnessing a reader become emotionally involved with my fictional characters. It felt fantastic and was meaningful to have a non-relative, (family members are too biased) in the target age group read the manuscript and enjoy it so much. Yay! It makes me feel more confident about sending it out to agents. This was a big win!
Winners take time to relish their work, knowing that scaling the mountain is what makes the view from the top so exhilarating. Denis Waitley
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