Cintia asked Michelle Styles:

I'm an aspiring writer, but I'm dealing with two things: I get discouraged every single day because 96% of manuscripts are rejected, and I haven't had an idea for years, literally. There's too many people wanting to be writers, and knowing there's so much competition just kills me a little every day. When I get motivated, immediatly something appears about the industry that kills it. Any tips on how to deal with this?

Michelle Styles First of all, you have to write because an idea grabs hold and won't let go. It is all about desire, dedication, discipline, determination and persistence. It is about what you do AFTER you have had a response which is important.
And until you submit a ms, you have no idea if the manuscript will be rejected or not. After you have written the first draft, do your research -- see which agents/publishing houses publish the sort of ms you have written, target those. Remember you can only write like you and therefore have a monopoly on your voice. Learn the basics of your genre -- for example, learn what the spine of your story is, what core story do you tend to tell. Concentrate on controlling the only thing you can control -- your writing and make it the best possible.

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