Patience + Perseverance + Passion = Publication
In this age of quick fixes and instant gratification, an important virtue and spiritual skill is being lost. PATIENCE. If there is no immediate reward, there is little interest. The ego, which thrives on instant gratification, silences the spirit, which knows that anything worthwhile, anything of real value – like love, healing, enlightenment, character building, raising children, etc. – requires patience.
And so it is with writing. It’s a journey. A journey that requires not only patience, but perseverance, and passion. The three Ps of writing, I like to call them. My own personal “formula” for success:
Patience + Perseverance + Passion = Publication
I wanted to be a nurse when I grew up. But I soon discovered that I couldn’t stand the sight of blood. Or needles. So I decided to become a jockey instead. I was crazy about horses and loved to ride. But by age nine, I had grown too tall to be a jockey. So I decided to be a teacher. Teachers can be tall. And lucky for me, writers can be tall, too!
Throughout my life, writing has been a source of joy and empowerment for me. My first grade teacher asked me to read one of my stories to the PTA. It was about a little girl named Sally who painted herself and her dog with red lipstick. My teacher’s recognition of my humble attempts fueled my confidence and nurtured the seed that I’d been born with. In my 9th grade autobiography I wrote: “My greatest interests lie in writing, and helping others live a better life.” In college, my creative writing professor, award-winning playwright, Mark Medoff, wrote on one of my manuscripts: “A nicely conceived bonbon. Should you ever decide to devote the time to it, I think you could make a writer. You have a very fine natural voice.” I sometimes wonder if these teachers have any idea how much their encouragement helped to shape my future.
After I had children, the thread of destiny slowly began to weave itself into a tapestry. Disappointed by many of the books I read to my kids, I decided that this might be an arena in which I could, possibly, make a contribution. So I began to write. My muse was excited to be back on that “giant imaginary playground” I’d enjoyed so much as a child. But being a mom of two very young girls by day and a teacher at night left little time to pursue my passion. Especially after I became a single mom! I had moments of absolute desperation, and often felt that I might be crushed by the weight of the responsibility I had. I even fantasized about robbing a bank to deliberately land me in prison – just for some uninterrupted writing time – so I could have half a chance to fulfill my destiny. And provide my children with the life they deserved.
After collecting over 135 rejection slips on various manuscripts, I finally received the news that I’d been dreaming of for so many years. My first book, Louella Mae, She’s Run Away! was accepted in 1994. I have sold 18 books since then, and have many, many more in various stages of development.
I can honestly say that I have given my heart and soul (and then some!) to this career. Not for fame. Nor fortune. Nor any other ego-based pursuit. My spirit thrives on the fact that I am able to contribute positively to children’s lives through my books and author presentations. The rewards, most visible from an inner, soul perspective, have been worth the effort. But without patience, I could never have hoped to prevail.
My latest picture book, Wild About Us!, illustrated by Janet Stevens, just released in April. Through comparisons with his zoo animal friends, Warty Warthog delivers a powerful message about the inherent beauty in each and every one of us. My next book, Crybaby, illustrated by Eugene Yelchin, comes out in August. It’s a comical, cumulative tale that celebrates family, and reminds us all that it really does take a village to raise a child!
My final bit of advice? Never give up! EVER! Trust that your deep desire to write is rooted in the world’s need to hear your voice. Honor that. Be courageous enough to be true to your calling. With patience, perseverance, and passion, you, too, WILL prevail! I wish you all the luck in the world!
Disclaimer: To avoid influencing impressionable minds in any unintentional way, perhaps it’s best not to share my “bank robber” anecdote with youngsters. I wouldn’t want them to misinterpret the fantasy vs. reality aspect of my experience.
KAREN BEAUMONT is known for her lively and celebratory picture books, including I Like Myself! and the New York Times best-seller I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More!, both illustrated by David Catrow, as well as No Sleep for the Sheep!, illustrated by Jackie Urbanovic. She lives in Northern California. For more information, visit www.karenbeaumont.com. Click here to learn more about Wild About Us.
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION:
- This giveaway is for a copy of Wild About Us. Many thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for donating a copy for one reader.
- For a chance to win this copy of Wild About Us, please leave a comment about this post by Wednesday, June 10th at 11:59 p.m. EDT. I’ll use a random number generator to pick the winners, whose names I will announce at the bottom of this post, by Friday, June 12th.
- Please be sure to leave a valid e-mail address when you post your comment, so I can contact you to obtain your mailing address if you win. From there, my contact at HMH will ship your book out to you. (NOTE: Your e-mail address will not be published online if you leave it in the e-mail field only.)
- If you are the winner of the book, I will email you with the subject line of TWO WRITING TEACHERS – WILD ABOUT US. Please respond to my e-mail with your mailing address within five days of receipt. Unfortunately, a new winner will be chosen if a response isn’t received within five days of the giveaway announcement.
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TWO WRITING TEACHERS 
Never ever give up, great post and love the look of the book. Can’t wait to check it out.
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Love it! A great message communicated with humour and fun!!
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Can’t wait to check out this book.
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Such encouraging words … especially the 135 rejection slips part! Thank you for sharing your story.
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I loved this post! I am heading into a summer where my intention is to write more and this was just what I needed to hear. Thank you.
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i think I will share this with my Young Writer’s Camp later this month! — And I’d love to share the book, too!
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Love your formula. I enjoying working with formulas that achieve a goal and help students understand that life is an equation.
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What a wonderful idea for a book. Can’t wait to read it.
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Long ago I learned somehow that many people strive to accomplish things, but it’s the people who “stick to it” that realize their goals. And here you are, confirming once again, that patience, perseverance and passion did pay off. The quiet values don’t get enough of the spotlight in this crazy world we now live in…so hip hip hooray for those who practice them!
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Wow- this is so inspirational. I love your three Ps. I recently heard Kate DiCamillo speak, and she, like you, got a whole lot of rejection letters before that first yes. Thanks for sharing your insight and advice.
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It’s the 135 rejection slips that show your perseverance. What a great message to share with students!
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What a great formula: Patience+Perseverance+Passion=Publication. You endured triple-digit rejection. I cratered way quicker, but now… I’ve had a long-winded textbook project for some time–Developmental English. At least I got it copyrighted and illustrated. Some chapters were published as articles. I used my book when I taught and kept working on it. Now I’m looking for them on my flashdrive–tedious. Still have two hard copies. #WeNeedDiverseBooks inspired me this weekend.
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I have been living the 3Ps for 25 years. It has resulted on 26 books for kids, and more coming. Thanks for sharing.
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I Like Myself! is a consistent go-to in my classroom year after year. I appreciate the story behind the author. Thank you for sharing!
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Love the refelction on how impactful words from teachers can be.
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As I am just about to launch a private summer Writers” Workshop for 8-11 year olds, your motto its timely. Passion is never an issue for me, and I am making it a priority to inspire and nurture my young writers. Peseverance could be my middle name. Patience, translated into “not trying to do too much all at once” is a trait in progress. I am going to adopt your 3 P’s as my window into self-assessment for both myself and my students. Thank you!
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” Trust that your deep desire to write is rooted in the world’s need to hear your voice.” What a great line and yes to the three P’s. So hard but so important to remember. Thanks for sharing.
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Simple wonderful and inspirational for people like me trying persistently to became aa author one of this moments…thank you for inspire me with such simple, natural, powerful voice.
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Excited to read about your journey thank you for sharing.
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Great post! I want to be a writer when I grow up too!
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Passion, Perseverance, and Patience I think we forget how much we need to have a ever changing combination of these qualities to produce work over the long haul. Thank you for the post
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I always love reading about authors and their stories- both the written ones and the life stories. I think you’re right that patience has become a lost virtue for many of us, children and adults alike. Some things truly are worth waiting for.
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I love Ain’t Gonna Paint No More. I can’t wait to share how this book started as a story written by the author as a first grader. Love these author spotlights! Thanks for choosing such great authors!
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I know that Passion, Perseverance, and Patience are your watchwords for writing but these words really hit home for me today. They are a great reminder to me to keep dong what I’m doing and it’ll all work out!
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Thank you for this post, it actually emphasized to me my power, as a teacher, to inspire young writers.
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This is the quote I will be printing out and taping to my computer, ” Trust that your deep desire to write is rooted in the world’s need to hear your voice.” This is hard to believe. But I find that the truer I am to myself, the better the writing, and the more connections others make. Thanks for your encouragement.
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135 rejection slips! Now that’s perseverance! And inspirational!
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I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More was one of my favorite books to read to my kindergarten class and now I love reading it to my children! These author spotlights are such a gift! I am going to print them and make a book of them. Also thinking I could use QR codes and put a QR code from the Author Spoglight on the books that belong to the author. Kids could learn more about the author using a QR code reader!
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What a neat idea. Love your QR code idea.
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Patience, perserverance, and passion= pick me! Pick me! Pick me! I know many third graders who would love to read and read and read. Please pick us. Thank you for sharing!
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Congratulations on you Patience, Perseverance, and Passion which led to your publication. You are right, we often forget these virtues. Thank you for sharing your story!
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