10 Reasons to be Persistent and Patient

~from The Writer's Book of Checklists by Scott Edelstein

"These reasons apply to writing a particular piece, to waiting for editors and agents to respond to your work, and to building a writing career.

1. You have to be persistent and patient. It's a necessary part of being a writer.
2. Being patient and persistent works. The people who make it as writers are those who have practiced patience and persistence for years.
3. It's saner, more comfortable, and less stressful than being impatient and giving up.
4. Decisions, pieces of writing, and careers all need time to grow, mature and ripen.
5. Editors, agents, and other publishing people are often overwhelmingly busy, and thus slow to respond to writers.
6. Quick success is extremely rare, both in writing and in all other fields. Most writers succeed only as the result of much effort, time and perseverance.
7. Patience and persistence will do more to get you through the inevitable ups and downs of being a writer than anything else.
8. The less energy you spend anticipating and worrying, the more you'll have to put into your writing and into building your writing career.
9. If anyone tells you that you have no talent, that you're wasting your time, or that you'll never make it as a writer, you'll be able to simply smile and continue writing.
10. No one else can be persistent and patient for you."