I have a goal to get a book published by Scholastic and have it printed in one of the flyers they create for students. I always loved buying from these selections as a kid!
I'm actually completing rewrites of my Ancient Elements series, The Bronze Dagger, The Alabaster Jar, and The Silver Coin. I've learned much about writing craft since those books came out, and I want to polish them better, then hopefully have audio books made of them. I already have the revisions for The Bronze Dagger made, and up in audio format.
I always enjoyed writing as a creative outlet when I was young, but didn't think of it as a career or full-time profession since I always wanted to be.a teacher as a career. Now, I've been able to do both!
I believe they are critical, especially when writing MG and YA books. I'm going to slightly change the titles and covers for my Ancient Elements series of books once I finish the rewrites. I already changed the title and made revisions and have a new cover for a previous book titled, "Rising Hope." It's coming out September 2022 as "Underground Scouts." I love the new cover!
The most difficult part is to continue writing when I don't feel inspired. Also, I have occasional health problems, and when they arise, it frustrates me that I usually can't focus enough to write during those times.
To me, literary success is polishing a manuscript to the best of my ability, seeing it in print, and getting feedback that it has personally touched someone, made them think, or caused them tos ee things differently.
I was inspired to write because I've always had a hard time sleeping at night, so, even at the age of 5 or 6, I'd make up stories in my head to help pass the time between going to bed and falling asleep. Then, as I got into my teens, the stories in my head begged me to commit them to paper so I could remember them and share them with others.