I believe that everyone who is contemplating making a living as a writer should read “Nonfiction, an Introduction,” a short essay in This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage. Ann Patchett describes being allowed to write one of ten ideas that she would present to her magazine editors, and then, for every ten that she wrote, maybe one would be published – but only after ten revisions. Bear in mind that Patchett has published six novels and three works of nonfiction. She has won awards and climbed bestseller lists. I love her work – which is frank, funny, and graceful.
Patchett, Ann. This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage. Harper Perennial, 2013, p. 3.