Breaking into the Business: Patience, Perseverance, and Putting in the Time

Have you ever sat at the pool or beach and watched children play? The adventurers jump right in and splash around. The builders play in the sand, meticulously constructing a castle. It gets demolished by a wave, but they start again. The cautious ones dip a toe in first and gradually work up to their waist. And the observers may never enter the water out of fear or the preference to sit back and soak in the rays.

Breaking into the business of publishing your written work can be the same way. We’re all unique as evidenced in our stories, methodologies, and approach to publishing. Are we bold explorers? Detailed engineers? Tentative investigators? Or do we sit back and wait?

We acquire many traits as we journey on the road to becoming a published author… thicker skin, the knack to function on minimal sleep when needed (parenting can do that, too!), coffee/tea/chocolate addictions, Facebook and internet procrastinating, the ability to write a scene in your mind while driving and carrying on a conversation with your child…the list goes on.

We also acquire the ability to swim and not sink.

This leads me to three essential skills every author should master: Patience, Perseverance, and Putting in the Time.

Patience

You will not publish overnight. You are not born a master. It takes time to become good at writing, like any other skill. Michael Phelps was not born with a gold medal in his hand. He worked at it. Never stop learning.

“We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.”
—Ernest Hemingway

It will take time. Yes, there are some quick success stories out there, but most authors have put a lot of time into their writing before it pays off.  I have logged almost two decades of time. Certainly not everyone’s road to publishing will take this long. Also, patience doesn’t end with the first “yes, we want to publish your book!” Patience in the process is a must. It takes a while. Be patient with yourself and the publishing world. It will happen if you keep at it!

Perseverance

The greatest have failed over and over again. Rejection is an essential part of the journey. It means you’re putting your neck out there. It means you get positive and negative critiques on your writing. It means you’re honing your skills. Stephen King used to hang his rejections on a nail on the wall as a reminder. What if J.K.Rowling had given up after the first or tenth rejection or because life’s hardships and unpredictability got to be too much? There would be no Harry Potter.

“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.”

– J.K. Rowling

I wrote three full-length novels before my fourth one made it past the ax. Four was my lucky number.  What made that one different? I took the advice I learned from my rejections and critiques from the former three and applied it to the newest book. I crept out of my comfort zone and tried something different. I didn’t let doubts curtail my hopes.  

All the bestsellers have their rejection stories: Dr. Seuss, Agatha Christie, Margaret Mitchell, C.S. Lewis, to name just a few. So many. Imagine if they had given up?

Negative critiques from my beta readers on my first draft of my novels didn’t discourage me (certainly I may wallow a little in my coffee and eat a few too many donuts). One time a contest judge asked if English was my second language. Yup, true story. Ultimately it’s up to you as writer to take it all in, file it appropriately, and use it to improve your writing. Open minds are a prerequisite for this job.

“I don’t care if a reader hates one of my stories, just as long as he finishes the book.”
—Roald Dahl

Don’t stop. Turn it to good. How can you apply what you’ve learned with that rejection, negative review, or setback?

Putting in the Time

Writing is not just writing and creating. I spend many hours researching, learning the craft, editing, networking, and studying my field (agents, publishers, trends, etc.). Soon, promoting will be added to that long list of tasks. When we begin the journey, we are eager to just write – to get it all down! But then come the edits, writer’s blocks, more research, more reading. So when you’ve gotten over the honeymoon period of writing, what’s next? Gather all the writing how-to resources you can (books, websites, conferences, mentors, writing groups, associations). Read up on submission. Study your market and agents/publishers. Read your genre. Make your submissions shine. Revise again and again. Nobody submits a first draft. 

“Write. Rewrite. When not writing or rewriting, read. I know of no shortcuts.”
—Larry L. King

Distractions abound. Howling cats, dirty dishes piled in the sink, demanding children, the limitlessness of the internet, finally cleaning out that junk drawer…oh wait, you want dinner, kids? Life obligations. We all have them. Distractions can be the biggest killer of our momentum. Keep at it. Carve out the time. Write in the nooks and crannies. Set aside a quiet space and time to write. Create while driving, in the shower, or on a nature walk. Had a great dream? Write it down. Carry an old-fashioned notebook around. Or type it on your phone. Email yourself.

"I don’t need an alarm clock. My ideas wake me.”
—Ray Bradbury

Write what you know and love. It’s really a simple strategy. Write your dreams. It’s as simple as that. Draw from your own life or experience, or create a new world. I love Scotland and happy endings, so my first books were medieval romances. I have a son with autism who loves volcanoes, so my next book has both in it. I love to travel and enjoy the outdoors, so I’ve been writing magazine articles about some of those adventures. My aunt told me an interesting story that I turned into a short story (and it may become a novella).

“Every secret of a writer’s soul, every experience of his life, every quality of his mind, is written large in his works.”
—Virginia Woolf

Always have something in the queue. Diversify your approaches. In a slump with your novel? Search out some magazines. Write a short story. Enter contests. Join writers groups. Having cheerleaders (who will give you brutal honest feedback – no sugarcoating allowed!) by your side is a must.

You’ve got this!

You may be wondering – do I self-publish? Seek out an agent? Big press versus small press? It all depends on you, your story/genre, and your preference on how much guidance or independence you want. I didn’t want to self-publish. Okay, so I am stubborn! I tried agents for years. Years. Four books. Probably over a hundred rejections between them all (however, with each book, I got more requests to read partials or full manuscripts from agents or publishers – evidence that I was growing as a writer). I tried a few big house publishers. Ultimately, I decided to try a small press. I queried two of them. One loved it. That was my golden ticket. I have been extremely happy in the publication process with the small press. I’m still only 6 months into the process, but I highly recommend a small press that is driven to support its authors. Remember, what worked for me may not work for you.

It doesn’t matter how you approach the ocean...the world of publication. Do a belly flop. Step slowly, one toe at a time. Tread water for a little while. You know your heart and your writing. Set goals. Be patient. Persevere. Put in the time and eventually you will be swimming like an Olympian.  

“Long patience and application saturated with your heart’s blood—you will either write or you will not—and the only way to find out whether you will or not is to try.”
—Jim Tully

See you in the New Year! Keep on keeping on.

One of my favorite beaches - Abel Tasman, New Zealand. 

Goodness in Guatemala: “Ut’z Ipetik”

“Ut’z Ipetik”

(“all is good” in the Quiche language of Guatemala)

Recently I returned from a service trip to Guatemala through an organization called Salud Y Paz (which translates to “Health & Peace”), and I can’t not share about my experience there. Although this is my professional website, I am a believer that our lives mold our writing journey – the ups and downs, the places we visit, the people we meet, and the emotions that dance or rage.

Being in Guatemala is like a trip down the coffee aisle at the grocery store or to a coffee shop. It arouses all your senses (Hey! I just wrote about that…Smashing Pumpkins) and presents itself on many levels:

The sweet, nutty aroma; the bitter or rich dark roast; the visually stimulating colors of bags, cans, or cups; the sounds of grinding beans, dripping coffee-makers, or frothing of steamers; the smooth feel of beans or the coarse gritty grounds…

I could have chosen any analogy but coffee stood out (and not just because Guatemalan coffee is superb!) because I can taste, see, smell, touch, and hear it…much like I could experience all my senses while in Guatemala. There is no one way to experience this unique country, just like there is no one way to experience coffee (or tea) – to each their own. I asked each of the nine team members to use one or two words to describe their experience. We all chose a spectrum of descriptors:

 memorable * vibrancy * motion * painful * smiles* opening

heartwarming * humbling * happy *  friends * amazing

Although our team all shared in the physical journey, we each experienced our own personal journey. We took home diverse moments of goodness and pain. I will boldly go out on a limb and say that we all felt, saw, tasted, smelled, and heard hope’s presence in our team and in Guatemala.

Our trip took us from the speckled autumn of New England to the mountainous, rural, green highlands of central Guatemala (specifically Camanchaj, a Mayan village nestled in the Quiche state). Here resides a medical clinic and preschool (for ages 5-7) created by Salud Y Paz for the purpose of fostering health and education of the mind, body, and spirit. Our primary project involved painting classrooms and furniture, painting and tiling/repairing the kitchen, digging a driveway, and other construction work. Our Guatemalan hosts worked beside us and we shared in a week of friendship-building. We shared joyful moments with the children. We joined in fellowship with the staff.

We experienced Guatemala.

…the culture, the life, the landscape, and the heart of a gracious people filled with hope and goodness. It may be hard to say that what we saw was goodness, while we also saw poverty, pain, and hunger but goodness and hope were there. And we were only part of the picture. We didn’t bring the hope and goodness with us…it was already there. It was visible in people proud of their heritage, in their dignity to take responsibility for their family’s well-being, in families instilling hard-working values in their children…in smiling faces happy to see another sunrise.

I know what you may be thinking – travelling to a far off country is not in your stars. That’s okay. It doesn’t take a big trip to another country to do and see goodness and hope. We can look around in our community to find goodness and hope everywhere – food pantries, advocacy groups, service projects, after school programs, the needs of an elderly neighbor, community events, etc. (the list is endless). Perhaps my experience will encourage you to take your own journey into fostering goodness and hope, wherever it may be.

We took home not just the big picture but the beautiful, emotional, memorable details of this journey. I certainly came back "stirred up" with a new perspective. Every life experience is an opportunity – for personal growth, for sharing with others, for obtaining different perspective, and for education. 

Writing about it is just a side effect.

 

Next month: Breaking into the Business…Perseverance, Patience, and Putting in the Time.

Ut'z Ipetik: Finding Goodness in Guatemala

Smashing Pumpkins: Sensing your Surroundings

It’s October and we all know what that means. Pumpkins! Pumpkins are everywhere…pies, scented candles, lattes, elaborate house decorations, soups, and every baked good we can imagine! Smells, tastes, and sights of pumpkins (and autumn) abound! So what do pumpkins have to do with sensing your surroundings? Let me carve out an example:

Pumpkin seeds lay scattered across my front porch. The trail of seeds meanders across the front yard to the crime scene where a small orange pumpkin met its match with another pumpkin. A squirrel scurries up and snatches two seeds before I open the front door and shoo it away. I tiptoe around the stringy mess on my porch. More yellow innards hang from a browned phlox in my front flowerbed. I pick up the now smashed pumpkin, its exposed flesh smelling of squash. Stringy slime falls to the ground in a heap. Two giggles emerge from behind the house and I mumble under my breath. As I look for the culprits with a mounting ire, dark red maple leaves blow past me. At least these pumpkins made it two days this time.

Okay, so that scene didn’t send your nostrils tingling with the sweet aroma of cinnamon and nutmeg (the kind of smells I prefer to associate with pumpkins!), but it did set the scene, right? I got to talk about pumpkins and used my children as the antagonists, so that made me happy (as I sip my pumpkin chai latte and my children snore away in their beds). Imagery and scenery do more than just “paint a pretty picture” though, right? They set the mood and advance the plot, connect you with a character, and evoke images and arouse all the senses to bring the reader into the book’s world.

Have you ever read a book that pulled you into a new world, a book whose imagery captivated you? There are many reasons we get lost in the pages (or in the poetic voice of a narrator of an audio book, which is my preference lately with a busy driving schedule). We love the protagonists, regardless of their flaws, and cheer for their happiness. I know I do (it’s why I like romance so much)! We despise the antagonists and hope for their demise (or redemption). Unique dialogue, themes, and plot lines pull us in. But the setting really sketches the book before us. I am a nature girl, so I love books with vivid settings, ones you can smell, feel, hear, taste, and see. Fiction or non-fiction, it does not matter. Even if your book takes place in a bubble or black void, surroundings set the scene. Readers want to get lost in a different place, as fleeting as it may be. I just recently finished reading The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman, a story rich with glowing scenery. The scenery was charismatic…and at points luring me in more than the plot line. She hits the mark with imagery and sense of place and she does it in a way that is not just “painting a pretty picture of landscapes”.  

As I approach each scene, in addition to my checklist of what and how something needs to happen (and my GMC chart of goals, motivation, conflict – more of that to come in another blog post), I make sure that setting the scene is a key part. Whether it takes place on a ship traveling across the ocean, in a 900 square-foot office in a tall skyscraper, on a mystical red planet, in a 6 x 6 damp dark prison cell, or on a camping trip in the backwoods of West Virginia, setting is important.

It is not always the physical description that captures us.  It’s how you show it. Setting affects characters differently and their unique point of view is one way to set the scene. In my pumpkin scene above, the point of the view is the mother, who is probably exhausted by her creative, energetic, messy children. But what if that scene was written from the viewpoint of the children? Or from the viewpoint of the reclusive, crabby old neighbor? Or from Grandma’s view, who just pulled into the driveway from a long drive to come visit with her favorite grandchildren? Same scene, different viewpoints.

Not all imagery is about pretty flower meadows or vast prairie landscapes. Feeling stuck on writing imagery and scenery? Below are my suggestions.

1.      Try simple, but specific descriptions. Be as detailed as you want, but fewer words can get the point across just fine.

2.      Invoke the senses: sight, smell, taste, feel, sound.

3.      Change up the POV – which character do you want to experience it?

4.      No need for up front information dumps; thread the imagery throughout the story. Scenery crops up everywhere in your story – from stretches of narrative to dialogue to intense action scenes.

5.      Remember that imagery sets the mood.

6.      Scenery is part of the plot, not just a backdrop; it actually works to enhance the plot.

7.      Use that metaphor if you find it fits; just don’t overdo it. Personification is also great!

8.      Have fun with it. It’s your creation! If you love the word resplendent (yes, that’s my favorite word), then go ahead and use it to describe that resplendent meadow of lilac and pink lupine as the morning sun reflects off the dew.

So there you have it. Go ahead…set a scene! And if you do feel the need to actually smash a pumpkin to appreciate the full experience, please just don’t do it in my front yard!

The time has come!

18 years…

3 non-published novels (practice, I daresay?)…

Too many hours (thousands?) logged in…

But, I did it.

I love Dr. Seuss. It only seems fitting that I quote him in my first blog post. But it won’t be his coveted “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” …rather it is one of his lesser-known books: “Marvin K. Mooney, Will You Please Go Now!” The time has come, and the time is now! This book, a favorite of my children when they were younger, is not the usual “you will go big places” book. Or is it? 

It’s a story about a kid that needs to go to bed (or at least leave the room). He needs to get going! I love the trademark Seussical rhythm in it and the hidden message I take from it…will you please go now? Get on with it! Go for it. Just go. No excuses. I don’t care how you get there. In fact, the time had come, so he [Marvin] went. Perhaps he needed a fire lit under his bottom to get moving. Be it by foot, cow, skates, Zumble-Zay, Bumble-Boat, or by a Ga-Zoom…he finally went, and he went with a smile. That’s how I feel about my writing journey. If you dream to write and publish, it doesn’t matter how you get there. Just go. And go now. Do what it takes to get there and it may not be the way you expected, or it could be the simplest of ways (Marvin went on foot).

I’ve been writing on and off for over 18 years. With three practice novels under my belt (each one improved over the previous), number four was the magic number for me. Not that I didn’t try with the others, but perhaps my writing has matured or it just wasn’t my time yet. While venturing through college and graduate school, a career, marriage, and having children…I have spent much of those years also honing my craft, attending writing conferences and groups, filling my bookshelf with writing and grammar books, researching my fictional worlds, sending queries and manuscripts off to agents and publishers…and never giving up. 

As a part-time working mom, full-time advocate for my children, and as a woman who takes on way too many tasks, how do I find time to write? If you love it, you can do it and make time for it. Like the mom who gets up at 4 a.m. so she can run daily to prepare for a big race before she has to go off to work, I carve out time in my day for writing. I definitely have days that I can spend focused, uninterrupted hours on the computer writing (and editing and researching and promoting). However, sometimes I can’t. I write at my dining room table, at the kitchen island, on the couch, at my desk…but I also write in the car, in the shower, and at the gym. In those later cases, if my time is short, I stop at the first moment (disclaimer: always wait until your car is parked at your destination!) and I jot down my ideas. I send an email to myself for later. You don’t want to lose that fleeting moment of ah-ha. You’ll be kicking yourself later. I’ve even toted some manuscript-in-progress pages on my hike up Mt. Washington so I had some reading material (with red pen in hand) while we camped in the Lakes of the Clouds hut at the top. Talk about an inspiring view! No showers and no technology, but I had my deck of cards, a notebook, and some pages to edit. If I know I’ll have some down time, I bring my work (or a book or research material) with me. Nooks and crannies are your friend as a writer. And when I am not writing, I am reading. Books on CD are my constant car companion.

My little story aside, what can you expect to read in this blog? It won’t be your straightforward author’s blog, although I will do plenty of sharing about writing and my works in progress. Plus, I'll chat about some of my favorite topics (be it Scotland, the romance genre, volcanoes [stay tuned on that one!], time travel, or autism). Just call me a Renaissance woman. It’s also not a mommy blog, but my children do inspire me, and this is a great platform to also share about certain challenges they face. The beautiful world around us arouses my daydreaming and serves well as my muse – I love to travel, hike, and take whatever mother nature (and human nature) has to offer, so you will certainly be reading about that. I welcome you to my blog! My hope is that I can share my experiences and expertise with you, so that you can get out the door as well (or just get out of bed). We can all be like Marvin and get on our way.

I never stop creating. Inspiration is everywhere. So don’t stop! Get on your way. Today could be your day.

One of my many bookshelves.