When I scheduled this date I had all kinds of ideas for my blog. In the last week a phenomenon by the name of Susan Boyle hit the airwaves and I decided to go with the flow. If you haven’t seen the video yet here’s a link: Susan Boyle

Newscasts have showcased her.  Articles and blogs have mentioned her. The YouTube video clip has received more than 28000000 viewings already and is jumping regularly. Two years ago Paul Potts had a similar reaction when he sang - his video didn’t have the same number of hits and took longer to build but he still became famous through Britain’s Got Talent and his clips are getting new views because of Susan. He’s now singing opera to a world-wide audience.

The big issue for some is the fact that they were ‘ordinary people’ with an extraordinary talent. For me the bigger issue is that they had a dream and they followed it. They kept going - both took singing lessons performed in church choirs - and now here they are world famous and able to live their dreams in new ways.

As writers we face a similar uphill battle to get published. Toni McGee Causey wrote an excellent blog about “How Do You Know When It’s Time to Quit?” The topic was one we discussed at a recent conference and Toni talks about a funny witty writer named Christie Craig and her determination to get published no matter how many rejections she received.

Paul Potts Susan Boyle Christie Craig - they all had a dream. They also took action. Paul and Susan auditioned for “Britain’s Got Talent.” Christie sent out her ideas. They didn’t just dream - they worked to make their dreams a reality.

I teach a writing course for our high school Continuing Ed program each semester. A six-week “Introduction to Publication” course with the targeted audience those who have always wanted to write but didn’t know what to do. I started the course because I met friends of friends or had friends who wanted to know how to get published. The course would give the basics and provide some structure. We tend to be more serious about something if we pay for it and there is a nominal fee to students for the course.

In the three semesters that I’ve offered the course not one of the people who talked to me about writing has shown up. Instead my students have been community members who found the course while flipping through the catalog that arrives in the Sunday paper. Several were looking for another course when my title caught their eyes. They’d thought about writing had an idea or someone suggested they should look into publishing something they’ve written.