Peter A. Wright

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How I Found A Publisher

Only after negating the luxury of fear did I surprise myself. I had the opportunity to stand in front of publishers to pitch my novella. That meant I had to talk to them, and I don't talk so well. My mind moves fast when I'm excited, and my mouth can't keep up. I slur. Miss conjunctions.
I spent the drive to AWP honing my elevator speech. "Hi, I'm Peter A. Wright, would you be interested in a novella about a high school shooting told from eight different perspectives?" Short. Sweet. And so to-the-point I couldn't screw it up.

First kiss. First date. First booth. Nerves but with no luxury. It's like leaning in with pursed lips and closed eyes hoping for a connection and then, when you find one, the indescribable flush in your heart takes your whole being for that moment. 

It's ten seconds of their time. Everyone has ten seconds to listen to a short spiel about something they may want to publish. They need writers like we need publishers. The first couple were a little stilted, but by the third or fourth booth, I remembered to smile and infuse energy into my words. I must've hit fifteen/twenty booths; same pitch. I made many great connections, but the big news is Running Wild Press gave me the thumbs up last month! My work will be out in the world toward the end of 2019. No luxury. No fear.

March 24, 2019


Trusting In What You're Doing

It’s not weird how things work out. I’m given a comfortable embrace of change. Sometimes I know what’s happening; other times, I’m clueless and just working the steps.

It’s always right, of course. As long as I don’t question “it” too much or try too hard, things generally work out. Some might call my Life strategy “flying by the seat of my pants.” I’m not positive they’re right, but I do feel like I don’t know what I’m doing some of the time.

Call it trusting in a higher power, or fulfilling my obligations, or just plain fucking luck, but I’ve managed to survive and thrive for the past thirty years with no clue where I’m going or what I’m doing. This, of course, is a fib. I know exactly where I’m going: I am a bestselling author with new books coming out every year. I just have to get there. And I will, because that’s what I believe will happen. It is what I will make happen. I’ll be a conduit for what needs to be said. I’ll put my heart on the page and write with my blood.

December 4, 2019

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