Artists, Armchairs & Authors Seminar

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I went to a seminar tonight where five Canadian authors spoke about their newest books. I went last year and saw five other authors. I am generally very shy but for some reason out of my group of writing friends, I was the only one who had the guts to go up to these people when they were autographing their books and ask them questions. What I always ask authors is how many drafts it takes them to write their books. It is comforting to know that it takes published authors years and many drafts to write their stories. The first author I asked said she wrote her book in pieces so she couldn't really tell me. Another author I started to ask "How long..." and he said, "You don't want to know." I said, "Yes we do. We're writers." He has five books published and had been writing since high school. He said about 3-5 drafts of his novels. He was a young guy (by that I mean 30-40). Another author we approached and asked her if she would come and speak to our writing group. I said, "We want to be where you are now." She was very flattered and said she would gladly come talk with our group so we can pick her brain. Her books are short stories, one where the stories are connected, but she said it still took her a few years to put together. And as I heard from one author tonight, and other others in the past, the main thing is PERSERVERENCE! Don't give up, writers. Keep at it! And go to events like this if you have the opportunity. You won't regret it.