What does fertilizer have to do with publishing? Everything. 

As a lifelong athlete I am a big fan of quotes. Before big games, I read inspirational quotes to get in the right mindset. Now I use quotes to inspire the kids I coach. This is one of my favorites. 

<a href="http://rachelstoneswrites.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/failure-fertilizer-quote1.jpg"><img src="http://rachelstoneswrites.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/failure-fertilizer-quote1.jpg" alt="failure-fertilizer-quote" width="300" height="80" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-86" /></a>

This quote always gets a chuckle, but it's true. Losing makes you hungry for a win and hunger is a great motivator. You identify your weaknesses, work your tail off, study the competition, and go after it again. 

I read a fantastic post about Kate Messner's <a href="http://scbwiconference.blogspot.com/2014/02/kate-messner-spectacular-power-of.html">presentation</a> at the 2014 SCBWI conference in New York. She said, "Never underestimate the power of failure." I couldn't agree more. 

There is a lot of fertilizer in this business. That's a whole lot of potential power!  