by Ane Mulligan  @AneMulligan

In preparation to publish your writing, you need to care for your skin. What, you ask? Skin care? What does that have to do with publishing or my writing for that matter?

Everything, little scribe. It’s all about Rhino Skin.

Layer by layer, a writer must develop a pliable, thick rhino skin; one that doesn’t crack or bleed when subjected to critique and rejection. It’s a process that takes time and a considerable amount of effort. But it’s paramount to publishing and selling books.

Step One: Deep cleanse that rhino skin

A common benefit of deep cleansing is the removal of excess word debris, bad habit bacteria, Pollyanna pollutants, love-it litter, and unrealistic compliments. Most of these come from family members, who think you’re brilliant. They’d think that even if you wrote “it was a dark and stormy night.”

Deep Cleansing helps manage PH (publishing house) levels of rhino skin; enabling stellar writing and retention. It also helps maintain proper sized ego. An oversized ego is death to a writing career.

Regular cleansing from a critique partner helps maintain purpose in your writing, so you won’t get side-tracked by the latest trend. It is absolutely essential to keeping your writing radiant and fresh.

It takes building a relationship with another writer or two to form a great critique partnership. I’ve been with mine for eighteen plus years. In that time, we’ve developed thick rhino skin by regular cleansing. We are a formidable group. They push me, prod me and make me kick cabinets. I trust them completely.

Step Two: Tone that rhino skin

Regular toning and submission of your work shrinks pores of inflated ego and restores your skin’s Publishing House balance. A toned rhino skin adds a layer of protection, so rejection no longer reduces you into a whimpering pile of goo. You can look at it philosophically. After all, not all publishers are looking for unicorn detective thrillers.

Regular Critique Partners (CP) toning helps tighten gaps in your rhino skin, thus reducing the penetration of both unreliable kudos and barbed criticism. CP Intervention Toning can even remove particularly harsh barbs from a contest judge. CP Toning can also help you take a realistic view at a judge’s remarks and see value in them.

Step 3: Moisturize your rhino skin

To keep your protective rhino skin pliable takes time and work. Without the oil of learning, it can crack and allow bad habit bacteria to seep in. If you apply that oil every day, and it will soak deep into your writing and adds a healthy glow to both your work and your rhino skin.

Your rhino skin is one of your greatest assets as a writer. Protect it with these habits and it will last for a lifetime.

Ane Mulligan has been a voracious reader ever since her mom instilled within her a love of reading at age three, escaping into worlds otherwise unknown. But when Ane saw PETER PAN on stage, she was struck with a fever from which she never recovered—stage fever. And so, by night, she’s CEO of a community theatre company and by day, a bestselling, award-winning novelist. She lives in Sugar Hill, GA, with her artist husband and a rascally Rottweiler. Find Ane on her website, Amazon Author page, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and The Write Conversation.