I suppose if there is one author characteristic shared by anyone who has ever written a book it is the hope buried deep within the author’s soul that her book will break through.

I am not sure what break through would look like, but it would have something to do with a lot of people reading, enjoying and buying her book.

As the good book says, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

So it is with the writing life.

The odds are steep, piled high against the prospect of ever achieving that feat of recognition.

But who is to say that it is unattainable?

Someone has to break through, right?

I am thinking about this because a few days ago I ran across an author whose work has made the initial cut in Amazon’s Breakthrough Novel of 2014 contest.  I went to his book and downloaded the excerpt on my Kindle.  The excerpt is only fifteen pages or so, so I read it and posted a short review of it.  It is a small thing to do for someone pursuing his dream. Click here or on the cover above to go to Thomas Scott’s entry.

The submission deadline for this year’s contest is passed, but I thought you might want to get an overview of it.  Here is the general outline of the contest as provided by Amazon.

What is the Contest timeline and process?

Registrations and submissions for Entry into the Contest will be accepted from February 16, 2014, through March 2, 2014, or until 10,000 eligible entries have been accepted. Amazon-selected editors will choose up to 2,000 top Entries (by reviewing pitch statements for Valid Entries) which will be announced at www.amazon.com/abna on or about March 18, 2014. Amazon-selected editors and Amazon Vine Reviewers will then read 3,000-word to 5,000-word Excerpts from each of the remaining 2,000 Entries to narrow the field to up to 500 Quarter-Finalists, who will be announced on www.amazon.com/abna on or about April 14, 2014. Publishers Weekly editors will then read the Quarter-Finalists’ full Manuscripts to rate and review them based on the following Judging Criteria: originality of idea, plot, prose/writing style, character development, and overall strength of submission. On or about June 13, 2014, the Publishers Weekly reviews of the Quarter-Finalists’ Manuscripts will be posted within each entrant’s CreateSpace account; and then the top 25 Semi-Finalists will be announced at www.amazon.com/abna. Publishers Weekly reviews of the Semi-Finalists’ Manuscripts may be posted on http://www.publishersweekly.com. A panel of qualified judges selected by Amazon Publishing editors will then read each Semi-Finalist’s Manuscript and accompanying review and, using the Judging Criteria, will select one Finalist in each category to be announced on or about July 8, 2014. Amazon customers will then select the Grand Prize Winner who will be announced on or about July 21, 2014. Please see the Contest Rules for more details.

I wish all the contestants in each genre the best of luck.

Several of them will break through because of the contest.

Which is living proof that the universal yearning of authors to find an audience for their work does in fact occasionally come to pass.

Right now I feel like my breakthrough may be broken.

But so what?  Tomorrow is another day.

And then there is the day after tomorrow, and the day after that.

The evidence of things not seen.