The Isabelle story is maybe over two-thirds done, and I sent it to some friends and family for feedback. Hopefully, they’ll get back to me. So far, only my brother and Alex have really been reading it (that I know of). That’s out of eight people, including my parents.

You’d think that your own parents would give you feedback on your first publishable piece. But no. That’s too much to ask for. They’ve already given all of their health, happiness, and money, so I guess a little feedback is just over the top.

(Kidding, mom. Kidding, dad. You’ll just say you like it and tell me how smart I am, which isn’t exactly constructive feedback, but it does feed my ego. Then at Christmas you’ll tell Aunt Neicy that “Beth writes beautifully!” and completely ignore poor Jon and his thought-provoking religious scribbles, as is tradition.)

In other news, I need encouragement because Tiger broke the laptop. Yes, now I have to write on my PC, where I have to fight every temptation to play the Sims 2 while I work. Or, rather, instead of working. Because it really is impossible to multitask with the Sims 2 — except, of course, during those horrendously long loading sequences because my lots are too big and my ram is too small. Then I can work on the paper copy, which I printed out on the printer that my parents got me for my birthday.

So. -1 old laptop. +1 new printer. Seems like a fair trade. Maybe.

I also used birthday money to buy the 2007 Writer’s Market, which, as you know, is completely necessary for any writer who wants to get published anywhere. I’m going to try and publish a story that got me second place in my college’s creative writing contest last year. I was beat out by a guy writing about people dying of AIDS in Africa and how nobody cares. So second place wasn’t half shabby.

Two more pages on the Isabelle book. I’m well into the last third of the story. If I keep this up, I’ll be almost done by Christmas.

In other news, I’m editing my dad’s memoirs for Christmas so that will slow me down a little, and my brother got me the 2007 Guide to Literary Agents for my 23rd birthday, which happens to be today. I got the book last week and already have all the agents I like highlighted.

In other news, I hear it’s hard to get an agent in general and even harder if you’ve never been published. Lucky for me, some of the young-adult-novel agents in the book handle 80% unpublished clients, and I have enough confidence in my work that I’m keeping hope.

I hate it when people say “It’s really, really hard” without any encouragement at all, as if they actually want to say “Don’t try. Just give up.”

Just because something is hard doesn’t mean it’s impossible. I have faith in my work and my God, and if I fail it’s because He has something better planned for me later. Because my work is good enough for publication, even as a nobody non-author.

Always strive to be better. Never give up. Trust God.

The goal is worth it.