Being a writer takes a lot of perseverance. You have to persevere in your writing or you will never finish a manuscript. You have to be willing to slog through that terrible first draft editing it, revising it, massaging it to make it better. Then you'll have to do it again. And maybe again once more to ensure your manuscript is as perfect as it's possible to get.
Now that you have a completed, "perfect" manuscript, it's time to send out those query letters to various agents and editors, unless you plan on self publishing. (I put perfect in quotes, because we all know there's no such thing as perfect. There is always room for improvement.) You have to find a way to keep your spirits up, not to feel defeated with each rejection letter that comes into your inbox. Believe me, that takes a lot of perseverance.
Whenever I'm feeling like I'm hitting my head against a brick wall, I look out my living room window. There's a tree in my front yard that reminds me to persevere, that anything is possible if you just try hard enough. The city I live in has come through the last couple of years and removed any branches on trees they deem dangerous or are too close to overhead wires or block street lamps. My poor tree has had all of it's lower limbs chopped off, much to my dismay. The lowest branches are now almost level with my second story window. Except for one.
Late last summer a tiny branch sprouted out of the side of the tree about four feet off the ground. It was a puny little thing and probably couldn't even be considered a branch. This summer it's grown a little bigger, it has a few leaves and is strong enough to support the weight of a couple of birds that have started to perch on it. Next summer, I imagine it will be even bigger and stronger. Perseverance. It's amazing what it can help you accomplish.
