Yeah, About That Luck Thing

I was in Canada when this blog of Kristen Lamb’s came out. And I thought about it during my visit, the plane ride back, and dealing with rearranging dogs to get back to my regular life. When it Comes to Success, Is It Hard Work or Luck?.

See, I do get the luck thing. I understand about winning Best in Show when there’s been a judge change and you have NO idea what this new person is going to like. That’s luck, right?  Well, sort of. But before your dog is seen by that judge, you’ve made it through the breed and the group competitions.  With, of course a trained, conditioned dog. Luck? Or the payoff for generations of careful breeding, and hours of exercise, grooming, training…and did I mention training? Because the very best structured and conditioned and groomed dog will go nowhere in the show ring if they can’t carry themselves with pride.

And you’re wondering why the heck is Mona talking about showing dogs when she started out with one of Kristen Lamb’s We Are Not Alone blogs for writers?  Because in both endeavors, luck favors the prepared.  At my first RT Convention, I’m standing in the breakfast line.  Woman next to me, wearing an agent badge, asks what I write and her eyes glaze over when I explain “It’s a book about a woman with an Irish Setter who writes for a magazine and lives in a motor home and…” I had the luck of meeting an interested agent when I was definitely not prepared.

Since then I’ve practiced pitching whenever and wherever I can. I’m published because when I heard about a start up boutique press (luck) I had a fairly well polished book ready to submit (prepared). When a great promo opportunity came up on a local television show (luck) I was able to explain about  my writing and my books without flailing my arms around or gushing (prepared).

I credit a lot of being prepared to Kristen Lamb’s no holds barred blogs, and to Marketing for Romance Writers never ending support for writers who are ready to make their own luck. And it’s not too late to be a part of this year’s Summer Camp, where you’ll learn about building your platform, preparing your pitch, and in general rocking the writing world. It’s free, it’s fun. Hope to see you there.