Factoid of the Writing Life

Hate to burst your shiny little soap bubble, but just because you manage to get published -- once, twice, or even three times -- that doesn't mean it's a shoo-in for you to land another contract. Having a book or two out on the market does NOT guarantee you'll be ahead of the writerly pack and cross the ol' contract finish line ahead of everyone else. In fact, sometimes it's a hindrance. Why?

Sales numbers.

Sometimes acquisitions editors look at numbers before taking a peek at your stellar writing skills, and if those numbers don't send the needle off the screen on the best seller radar, that's a handicap.

And that's a fact.