And this, my friends, is a testament to what it means to dive headfirst into the publishing industry, swim with the sharks, drown a little bit and then be proverbially resuscitated by the literary desire gods that keep us writers going through the deep blue sea of rejection jellyfishes and nasty octopus reviews of spite.
I bite my thumb at all of you, PUAA! (Just kidding! 
)
Testament, you ask? What am I getting at, you ask? Does swiss cheese go well with ham, you ask?
Well, when I mention ‘testament’, I say it to ease the pain of those writers out there trying to live the dream, trying to nab that one agent, land that awesome book deal. The constant struggle, the toils of a new manuscript, and another and another! The endless pain! Dear, God, the pain!
Okay, enough pain. Time for the pleasure. Time for the joy. Time for the celebration. And acknowledgment of an industry that isn’t so…well…harsh. Instead of harsh, the word should be, simply put, HONEST. How about another word? HARD.
And with a good industry to be in, some of the best rewards come out of HARD and HONEST work.
And that’s really how the book industry should be viewed. It’s tough, it takes time. But, MAN, it’s worth it.
Case in point, Nathan Bransford, our lovable literary agent of plentiful blog posts about the industry, and just about the only agent I know of that says, “WHEN IN DOUBT, QUERY ME”. Phenomenal words, Nathan.
I point Nathan out for one special reason: we must celebrate, because the man has done what he himself considers a great achievement; he has written a book, after numerous rejections nabbed an agent, and, behold! (drum roll), he has also been given a book deal.
All I have to say is….
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Seriously, come on, let’s cheer! Come on, yeah, he’s an agent. He seems to be that bane we all sometimes whine at. But think about it….
He knows books. He’s known books for seven years. His bed is probably made…from books! He probably wears books for shoes on his feet! He lives books!
And, to his confession, he himself has started those wishful projects and has had them crash and burn. But he knows the industry, he’s worked hard in the industry. Naturally, he deserves that shot. After rejection here, rejection there, to hear that wonderful chime of Alleluia! Alleluia! is a beautiful thing. A beautiful thing.
This is not my point, though. My point is this:
The legendary Nathan Bransford himself had to toil over the troubles of writing the passionate novel. Think about it. That should tell you something about the industry.
Writing is a process. All of us go through it. I firmly believe that all those who embark on the writing journey don’t make it to publication not because they’re not good enough. They don’t make it, because either life gets in the way or they simply give up. If you have a passion for words, you have the potential to write literal works of art. No ifs, ands or buts about it.
Practice your craft. And never give up. Trust me. You’ll make it. Ask Nathan. He’ll tell you 
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