Friends? Only back in elementary and high school. At sixteen
my social life drastically changed when I had my first daughter. Suddenly, my
friends and I didn't have much in common anymore.
Soon after was the death of my social life.
And now, as a writer ( a lonely job) I long for that pat on the back once in
a while. That "Good job" or "Congrats!" (Hell, I even crave
a decent adult conversation with someone other than my husband from time to
time.) "I'm proud of you" and "Keep up the good work" are
rarely passed around in my huge family. Growing up I barely heard those words
unless it was from my Language Arts teacher. Eventually, I learned to accept
it.
I read about the sister and wife of my favorite Sci-Fi
author, Hugh Howey, and how they are his support system. They help him with book
readings and events, critiquing his works in progress and who knows what else. I long for
such a system. If only I had that kind of support with my first published book.
Indeed, my writing journey has been a lonely one. I had to
teach myself about publishing the hard way, through trial and error. Oh, I have
my share of regrets.
My earliest dream? To see my name on the cover of a book. I
started writing short horror stories in elementary school, but my first novel
was completed in 2005. Three's a Crowd: The Beginning, an MMF erotic romance.
The results? An embarrassment. The whole experience was a nightmare that I only
realize NOW.
I'd been HAD by a vanity press. They charged me hundreds of
dollars that I borrowed from one of my sisters and enthusiastically paid them to
publish what I now dub "an utter piece of crap." I was completely oblivious to my own writing errors and desperate
to have my book in print that I never questioned why a "publisher"
would publish something so severely unedited. (Literally my first draft!) Until later when I figured out it wasn't my best work.
I put out a revised and extended version in 2008, (and continued the story after the book as an online serial for free here: www.threesacrowd3.com) after
writing two other novels and publishing them all through the same vanity press.
Thousands of dollars lost! Finally, in 2011, I was humiliated enough to have Three's
a Crowd: The Beginning discontinued. I mean, I'm trying to make a name for
myself and build a decent platform. And although my dream was to have my name
on a book cover, I no longer wanted my name on THAT book cover.
Where was my support system and why weren't they looking out
for me? I realized I was alone in that endeavor. Still am.
Now, I highly despise vanity presses learned so much.
It took years of making mistakes and learning from them, but now I understand the publishing business
and how it works.
Some of what I've had to learn the hard way:
·
Research publishers before submitting
·
Research everything before making a commitment including
topics and the facts for my stories
·
Respect feedback from editors and readers
·
Take criticism like an adult
·
Keep improving my writing skills with every book I write
·
Continue to read, write and learn about story writing
and book publishing
·
Do not expect perfection but work towards it
anyway
·
Keep reading, writing and learning
·
Do not expect to have a team of family and friends behind me,
pushing me and urging me on. To only depend on myself, and the people who choose to stand behind me, to get ahead and succeed.
Overtime, my up-and-down experience with writing and
publishing has showed me that even without a support system I can make my
dreams come true. I currently have 14 books for sale with my name on them. I
may be a lonely writer but I appreciate the rewards even more knowing I've made
it so far by myself.
