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Cruising
The road to the publication of my first novel, Lily in Bloom literally began undercover. Like hordes of future writers balancing flashlights beneath the blankets, I devoured Nancy Drew mysteries as fast as Carolyn Keene could write them, cruising past my bedtime and into the night. It wasn’t long before the tantalizing notion of writing my own stories made its way into my sleep-deprived psyche.
I never stopped reading, but must admit that in the beginning of my stabs at writing were half-hearted at best. There were plenty of good excuses for this. I lacked the time. And the talent. And the muse of inspiration had it in for me which resulted in chronic writer’s block. Then finally, the muse looked my way. Inspiration dawned. Well, actually it was realization that dawned. I understood that blaming the muse was getting me nowhere. I would never have hours of leisure time to wile away writing. And the talent part? Well, so what if I wasn’t going to be the next great southern author. I still loved to write, right?
And so I wrote. First came a bunch of short stories that I fired off to lofty literary magazines. It was amazing how fast the form rejections came rolling in. I went back to cursing the muse for a while, then lowered my sights and took some continuing education courses on fiction writing. I subscribed to Byline Magazine and started entering their contests. I wrote a novel – well, a novella really – then another, longer one.
And one day it happened. In the fall of 2004, I won cash prizes in two Byline contests. The fact that it was approximately a tenth of what I had spent entering the contests and that the judges probably felt sorry for me – they had seen my name so many times – could not dampen the parade of emotions marching through my heart.
That same fall, two separate anthologies accepted my stories for publication. I was on my way. But sadly, it was to a dead end. After my little burst of success, I couldn’t give away a story. What happened? Was I just spinning my wheels? Or worse, totally out of gas? Was I killing myself with overused metaphors?
It was time for a detour (okay, that’s the last one – I promise). I saw a request for stories from Chicken Soup for the Soul. Over the next year or so I sold six stories to them and even went on TV a few times to promote the book. My credits and experience grew.
I served on literary committees. I stopped sending my stuff to literary journals and really researched the market. I spent hours refining my query letter, putting in every credit and volunteer hour. I finished my novel, titled it Lily’s Garden and began sending it off with a very polished synopsis, if I say so myself. Things began to inch forward again.
My rejections were more personal. Now that I had my new and improved query letter and synopsis, I could feel an increase in respect coming from between the lines. Then I got a few requests for partial or even full manuscripts. A New York agent from a big agency called me. Actually called me on the phone. Twice. She loved the book, but it was too short. Would I be willing to make some revisions? I was and I did. But not realizing how close I was to the big Kahuna, I let my weariness or fear of success or something get the best of me. I didn’t really like the “padding” I had done to my story, BUT I SENT IT BACK ANYWAY! I had blown it. But the agent asked me to consider her with any future projects and gently suggested that Lily in Bloom might be a better title.
I told myself it wasn’t a total loss, and went back to submitting the newly titled Lily in Bloom – and getting rejected. After losing my one shot with some major agents and publishers, I took the padding out of Lily and started over. I got good responses again. Two small publishers requested a full manuscript. One asked for some small revisions, which I worked very hard on. The publisher, Black Lyon Publishing, offered me a contract. Lily in Bloom is scheduled to come out May 1st of this year.
Taking Lily through the twists and turns of revisions and rejections was tough. But it was doable because I really loved the story. The characters became my good friends. Good friends languishing and bored cooped up in my desk drawer. I had to get them out of there! In other words, I cared enough about my story to stick with it.
If you’ve ever picked up a writer’s magazine, you’ve heard the morals of my personal story of publication before. But the reason that everyone keeps harping on them is because they’re so true.
First of all, if there is a muse, she is you, the writer. Don’t wait around on a magical bolt of inspiration. If you can’t inspire yourself, read what you love, write whatever comes to mind and prime the pump.
There is no such thing as writer’s block. It’s simply another name for a lack of self-discipline. Or a refusal to make that detour when those darlings you have written just don’t work. Or something else that can be overcome by you, the inspired muse.
In every profession there are geniuses who make it look easy. But even they got where they are with hard work. And lots of practice. And you don’t have to be Tiger Woods to enjoy golf, right?
Anyone who has a life (and therefore something to write about) doesn’t have the time to write or paint or practice golf putts or whatever. They have to make the time.
Rejection is a fact of life, but it eventually leads to acceptance if you learn from it.
If you even think you might like to be a writer, don’t let self-doubt or time constraints cause you to wait until middle-age to start really working at it. I sure wish I hadn’t. On the other hand, if you’re older and just getting started, tell yourself “better late than never” and get going.
Write what you know. Write what you love. Create characters that you find interesting and then see where they will take you. To me, this is the most fun about writing. Well, second after getting published.
Read everything!
Black Lyon Publishing turned out to be a great spot for me. Lily in Bloom is now a real book, and I am a published author. Looking back, it’s been a great learning experience and an interesting journey. I still don’t know exactly where I am headed, but I’ve decided that sometimes you just have to put her on cruise control and go where your characters take you.
What Do You Think?
Writers:
Now that I’ve made the bold statement that “writer’s block” – that incurable sounding author’s malady – doesn’t exist but is a term for many fixable situations, I’d love to hear some other opinions on the subject. What do you think?
Readers:
Who kept you reading under the covers? Who keeps you up turning the pages now? Is it a good idea to read in just one genre? Or is it better to give your brain a literary work-out with some variety? What do you think?
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