I still think you should e-mail me and I can give you some suggestions about pursuing this.

I have a real problem. I am interested in many things and can write about many things, but I’m a real geek, because I have interests that many people think are strange and cannot accept. I can’t help being like the way I am. For instance, prior to being a mom — or to put it bluntly, before I was even two years old, I was interested in getting very young children to read. In fact, it made it worse when nobody would agree to teach me to read when I was a toddler. My desire to read was extremely intense. So once I became a mom, I remembered how badly I wanted to read when I was really little. So I began to teach my little girl when she was a year old. I was surprised that nobody was interested and was very critical of me. Nor could they remember back at that age. They thought I was wierd. But because I could remember back at that age, I knew just what to do. By the time my little girl was three, she was reading fluently and could pick any book up and read it.

Now, anyone could say, “Wow, what a genious!” about her. But I had learned several skills from this experience, so I applied them to other children who later came to me, with the same results.

Now, nobody believes me. They think I’m wierd. Nor is anyone interested. Although I was a mom like other moms, I wasn’t like the other moms and hid this secret about my kids. It became pretty easy for me to teach a new child to read, but it made me a freak. And it also was something that nobody ever believed. And it was something I could never write about, because people often got extremely upset about it.

Although I was not a child specialist who had oodles of background on child development, I had my own data that nobody had any interests in.

So I guess I can’t write about anything anybody is interested in. I’ve won writing contests, though, so maybe there’s hope.

Now, anyone could say, “Wow, what a genious!” about her. But I had learned several skills from this experience, so I applied them to other children who later came to me, with the same results.

Now, nobody believes me. They think I’m wierd. Nor is anyone interested. Although I was a mom like other moms, I wasn’t like the other moms and hid this secret about my kids. It became pretty easy for me to teach a new child to read, but it made me a freak. And it also was something that nobody ever believed. And it was something I could never write about, because people often got extremely upset about it.

Although I was not a child specialist who had oodles of background on child development, I had my own data that nobody had any interests in.

If you want, visit my blog and drop me a line via my contact form. We can talk over email and come up with some ideas for you.

Does this mean putting in ideas here and there over the Internet?

As writers we need to see this “attention” as normal. We are putting our work out there and others are going to like it and hopefully tell us so. Instead of getting your hopes up thinking this is your big break, see these recommendations for what they are–compliments. Many promises are broken in the writing industry, unfortunately. That’s par for the course.

It sounds like you have a lot of talent but have yet to meet that one agent, editor, or publisher that gets as excited about your work as you are. Someone who won’t be able to sleep until your work is in print.

As a writer myself, waiting for this type of situation isn’t my style. I like to think that I’ve taken the bull by the horns by controlling my own destiny. I don’t want to waste my life waiting–I want to live my life to the fullest each day. This means writing in other capacities that I can control. For me, it’s writing on the internet. I love it and new doors are opened to me every day.

Sorry this is so long, but your plight hit a chord with me. Yes, you love to write but there are many other forms of writing than the typical publishing route. Try a different venue, while you continue to submit your work to publishers. The important thing is to feel successful now, not only when you get picked up by an agent. Now is your time.

I hope this helps!

-MJ

It happens over and over again, year after year. My work always resonates with important people in the field. I can’t stand this pattern of my hope getting so high — then bang, nothing — anymore. I can’t take it.

It would be better if I didn’t get attention in the first place. Then my hopes wouldn’t get so high, and fall to rock bottom wouldn’t be so great. If I never had the possibility that I would have made it , I wouldn’t face such deep disappointment so many times.