Concordia Link Article on ICN

A writer's life is not an easy one. It's blood, sweat and tears, staying passionate and dedicated; revising and revising until the product is finished. It is the heartache of the dreaded rejection letter, while trying to get published. It is also a life of isolation from peers in the artistic community, a community that can offer encouragement, constructive criticism and put you in the public eye. With all these constant obstacles and more preoccupying a writer's mind, how can one work and stay connected to an encouraging community of fellow writers and artists?

The road to becoming a published writer is long and challenging. Writing your book is the easy part. Publishing it, on the other hand, is not so easy. Not only do you have to research publishing houses, but you also have to experience rejection until your book is accepted. And of course, one must also endure the torment of wondering if anyone will ever accept it.

Anyone who has tried to get published, or researched the logistics of it, comprehends the immense and frequent hurdles: the time-consuming (and costly) sending of manuscripts (and many large houses will only work through literary agents), the soul-destroying letters of refusal, and the barriers of the many literary prizes only open to published writers. And once your precious book has been accepted, how much editorial control is left to the author?