A Writer’s Journey – In the beginning…

Whenever I have a book signing, invariably, someone will walk up to my table and say, “I’ve thought about writing a book, but I wouldn’t know where to start.”

I guess it’s instinctive, I mean, everyone enjoys telling a story. Even the cave men told stories with the visual pictures they carved onto the stone walls. Then the troubadours, balladeers and minstrels shared oral stories about the cultures, myths and legends of their time. Eventually authors, poets and artists put pen and brush to paper and canvas.

Think back on your childhood. How often did your parents tell you stories about your grandparents, aunts and uncles, the shenanigans of their crazy relatives? Or, in my mother’s case, the mysterious death of a favorite uncle. That murder, by the way, still hasn’t been solved.

How often have you heard gossip, and noticed that each version is a little more embellished?

For a writer, there is nothing more satisfying than putting stories, thoughts, ideas on paper.

So, to address that reader’s concern, I decided maybe I would share a writer’s journey. Offer a guide on how to write your own book, create your book from start to finish, maybe even write a novel in a month!

And throw in some of my personal experiences along the way. After all, I’m still on the journey.

Why do I want to do this?

Why am I driven to write the next bestseller? For many, it’s rewarding to see your name on the cover of a book. I know I anxiously awaited the arrival of my first galley proof and remember helping the delivery girl unload the packages in the garage. Then, opening one of the boxes,  holding the book in my hands and staring at the cover, brushing my fingers over my name.

Remember what I said about storytelling? Almost everyone is a storyteller. There are the professional storytellers I had perform in my library and then there are the parents who create stories out of the blue for their children. Like my oldest son does for my granddaughter. “Daddy,” she said one night, “you tell good stories.” I can imagine how his heart swelled. It most definitely warmed mine when he called me later that night to share. Of course, I encouraged him to start writing them down!

People love to gossip. Some go out of their way to get the scoop, then embellish it a little. Do you know a hunter or fisherman? Have you noticed they always talk about that monster buck or ninety-pound fish that got away. Listened to the tale of the chase.

Some people, me included, want to leave a legacy for their family. It might be to create a fiction or fantasy story, share their knowledge, educate people in a non-fiction book, or just document the story of their family in a family history. I have and continue to do all of the above.

Others might want to quit their 9-5-day job and be the next Nora Roberts, Stephen King or Robert Parker.

Me? I’ve always enjoyed writing, educating people, offering resources for answers. (In Human Design, I’m a Projector, meaning I have the information, guidance tools, but must wait to be asked, invited to help.)

I really got started in my writing career when my two oldest children took their afternoon naps. A friend introduced me to the Harlequin and Silhouette category romances, and I can remember sitting on my plaid sofa, reading the books cover to cover. There were stacks of books on the end table. The more I read, I discovered the formula. Just like the Hallmark movies, two people would meet under tense, rocky conditions, come to know and understand each another, or learn to work together and quickly develop feelings for each other only to suffer through a black period before a quick resolution and a happy ever after ending.

This is true with most fiction, not just romances. Usually three-quarters through a story, things change, the characters suffer a major setback, need to bounce back, bring the world back in line.

The more books I read, the more I thought “I can do this.” I kept a notebook next to the stacks of books and began adding my ideas when they occurred to me.

Writing requires determination and persistence. And success isn’t always a given.

Writing that bestseller isn’t easy. It takes a lot of dedication, commitment, perseverance. Many of the most successful authors had a difficult time getting published.

Fear is everyone’s biggest obstacle. Stepping outside the comfort zone. No one likes to be turned away. Perseverance is the biggest key. Many successful authors faced multiple rejections before they were finally accepted in the publishing industry.

Margaret Mitchell (“Gone with the Wind”) and Harper Lee (“To Kill a Mockingbird”) faced numerous rejections before their books won the Pulitzer Prize.

Madeleine L’Engle (“A Wrinkle in Time”), Jack London (“The Call of the Wild” and “Wild Fang”), Richard Adams (“Watership Down”), Frank Herbert (“Dune”) and Kathryn Stockett (“The Help”), faced many rejections before their books were considered for publication.

Even after Agatha Christie finally got her first book published, she faced many rejections for subsequent works.

It took J.K. Rowling five years to write “Harry Potter”, a year to find a publisher while filing multiple rejection letters away.

Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel) was a successful illustrator and cartoonist before he started writing children’s books. Despite his success, he received as many as forty rejections for “And to think I saw it on Mulberry Street” and was on his way home to burn the manuscript when he happened to run into a classmate that worked for Vanguard Press. I read many of his books to the Crafty Kids in my storytelling programs during my career as a librarian.

Stephen King wrote short stories as a youngster and weekly articles for his school newspaper when in college. After graduation, he worked in the laundry industry before securing a teacher position. He continued to write but it took two years and over thirty rejections before “Carrie” was accepted by Doubleday & Co.

John Grisham is a lawyer and politician who decided to write a legal thriller. His first, “A Time to Kill” received many good reviews but never achieved success. It wasn’t until four years later that he was catapulted into fame with “The Firm.” As you know, both books were later made into blockbuster films.

Kathryn Stockett (“The Help”) received over sixty rejection letters before she found an agent who not only helped her to find a publisher but helped to get it made into a movie.

Many authors overcame challenges and adversities.

Louisa May Alcott (“Little Women”) was the second oldest of four daughters in a financially stressed family. She worked as a teacher and seamstress and began writing at an early age to support her family.

Helen Keller (“The Story of My Life”) was deaf and blind but learned to communicate with Anne Sullivan and became an author, political activist and lecturer.

F. Scott Fitzgerald (“The Great Gatsby”) struggled with alcoholism and financial difficulties. His writing was posthumously appreciated years after he died a failure.

Maya Angelou overcame a traumatic childhood and homelessness as a child. She wrote essays and journals to cope with those tumultuous years which later became her award-winning autobiography, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.”

Toni Morrison (“Beloved”) faced racism and discrimination, Sylvia Plath (“The Bell Jar”) faced mental health struggles and Jeannette Walls (“The Glass Castle”) a dysfunctional family upbringing but all three went on to become successful authors and journalists. Even a Pulitzer Prize winner.

All these authors have stated it was perseverance and their belief in themselves that lead to their success.

When I started writing, I was competing with Nora Roberts who was facing her own cold shoulders. Her first six manuscripts were refused by Harlequin, the leading romance publisher at the time in England. Two years later, Silhouette Books was started in the U.S., and they accepted “Irish Thoroughbred.” She went on to write twenty-three novels between 1982 and 1984. She has since become one of the most prolific writers of over two hundred bestselling novels with over 500 million copies of her books in print.

I also persevered, continued to write, file the rejection letters away. I remember commenting to my husband that I might frame all the letters and use them for inspiration to which he replied, “you don’t have enough wall space.” He was trying to be funny, but it broke my heart.

Lack of support, three active children, creating a library system and never-ending community events forced me to put my writing aside. It wasn’t until I retired from the library in 2013 that I pulled my manuscripts out, dusted them off and updated them.

Amazon and Indie publishing were making headway in the publishing arena, and I decided to give it a try. It didn’t cost me anything, just my time and effort. I have since written and published ten contemporary romances and two biographies, started creating new ones.

It has been a long road, but I am finally doing something I enjoy. I’m still building up my tribe of readers but at least my books will always be available. I say that because at one point in my life, I worked a second job in a Waldenbooks store for two years. I learned what publishing houses do and remember ripping the front covers off the category romances and paperbacks that didn’t sell. Such a waste! Now, as an Indie publisher, I can always print on demand.

Closing

So, a writer’s journey can be a long one filled with struggles, disappointments, heartbreak. But when you are passionate about something and you persevere, stick with it, and do what you must do, success will eventually brighten your horizon. It might be small, but you have the satisfaction of accomplishing something. Fulfilling a goal.

Are you excited?

Interested?

Ready to take the next step in a Writer’s Journey? Stay tuned for Where do I start.

I would love to hear your thoughts. If you’d like to get a head start, please email me at kay@kaydbrooksauthor.com and we can schedule a chat.