Cheers to the First-time Sellers

It's that time agian, when Romance Writers Report comes out and I check to see who's made a first-time sale and how long it took them...

Oh goody, we have some real people this month!

Only one claims she's been "seriously pursuing publication" for 18 months, which is a blink in the book world. I mean, it takes that long for some people to query an agent, get a request for a partial, get a request for a full, and sign a contract. And she sold her first book in that same amount of time?

Only one who sold her first manuscript (Really? The very first one you ever wrote? Come on...that first one is usually written just so it can be buried in the bottom drawer or perhaps hold open a door at some point).

We have one who's been writing for 2 years, one for 5 years, and one for 7 years. OK, I'll give the latter two some props for perseverance.

Ah! My favorite of the bunch: a women who's been writing for 10 years and reports that her first sale "was one of 15 full-length manuscripts she completed before selling."

15?! Wow. Just imagine how much you could learn from creating that many plotlines, that many characters, that many love scenes, and that many black moments. Makes my 4 seem almost paltry.

Cheers to the first-time sellers!