Learning to accept failure without feeling like a failure.

***Be sure to read the offer in this newsletter for a free Ebook!!***

When I set off on my journey as a self-published author a few years ago, I quickly discovered that the road I was traveling on was full of road closures and potholes, or I found myself going the wrong way on a one-way street. Some days I felt like a lone squirrel walking on a busy freeway, sure to be the next road-pizza because nobody even notices me! Then there have been days that felt like I was on a deserted highway going nowhere, but with signs all around that read: Welcome to Tankville! Since you didn’t succeed out there, you’ll feel right at home here!

Though this is not the road trip I dreamed of taking when I started this adventure, I have learned a lot that I may not have otherwise had this journey been perfect from the beginning.

What I’ve learned, other than there will be challenges to face and fears to overcome, is that I’m going to make mistakes. That’s part of the process of being human.

If we abruptly lose our television feed or streaming service, or our Internet or cell phone suddenly quits working, it is most likely due to a ‘Technical Difficulty.’ In layman’s terms – somebody screwed up, made a mistake. It happens.

To those who know me well, I can be a bit of a perfectionist, sometimes to my own detriment. Even after putting my books through the fire with two editors and multiple rewrites, I still had my doubts that they were perfect enough to release to the world. I recall my sister telling me the books were good enough and I need to quit dragging my heels and get them published. “Perfection is the enemy of good,” she quoted Winston Churchill. I respond with, “But the pursuit of perfection creates excellence. If I have the ability to be excellent, why would I settle for anything less?”

She rolled her eyes at me and walked away.

But life changes, and we either learn to adapt with those changes or get eaten up by them. When my youngest sibling and only brother passed away, that was a big wake-up call for me. Life is short. Do it now. We don’t know how many tomorrows we will have.

When I accepted that holding out for perfection was standing in the way of my goals, I finally went forward with publishing the first two books in the Mark of the Faerie series in 2020. I now have four published books out in the world!

Are they perfect? Pretty damn close. But because I am human, and these books have all been written and edited only by humans, (No A.I. here!!!) that does leave a margin for error, no matter how much I have chased the pursuit of excellence.

Book four, Of Lace and Lions, has been released for sale in paperback on Amazon, however, I did have to hold back the Ebook due to some ‘Technical Difficulties.’ As I have already mentioned, someone screwed up. Though I’m not pointing fingers here, (uh…yeah I am, and they are all pointing directly at me!), some last-minute corrections were needed. If all goes as scheduled, the Ebook should be released October 1^st.

So what does my learning to accept failure have to do with a free Ebook for you? Because you have been patiently waiting for the next book in this amazing tale of Isaboe and Connor, this is my offer:

For everyone who leaves a new review on books one, two, or three in the Mark of the Faerie series, either on Amazon or Goodreads, and sends me a link to that review along with your email address, I will gift you an Ebook copy of book four – Of Lace and Lions – when it is released October 1^st!

Reviews are the lifeblood for growing an author’s reader base, so a few simple words from a fan would be a win-win for both of us! It doesn’t have to be fancy or long. Just a few words is all that is requested, and hopefully kind ones, please! 😊

As an entrepreneur, I’ve owned and failed at more than one business, though some have done remarkably well. But in all of these ventures, I have learned something valuable, improved my skills, in both life and as a businesswoman. Living leaves scars. It’s not trying to avoid the wounds and imperfections, whether real or unreal, it is accepting our humanness. We make mistakes, and if we are paying attention, we might even learn something from our failures.

Just research how many times Alexander Graham Bell failed at attempting to create the first working telephone. Though the inventor had more failures than he did successes, he must have learned valuable information from all those failed attempts, and that’s why he never quit trying.

I love to hear from my readers!!! There is nothing more validating to an author than to hear from a fan that they loved the story. As I have mentioned more than once, this amazing tale was given to me to share, and now is your time to share a valuable review, and score a free Ebook in the process!!                           

Thank you, and may the adventure be with you!!