My Journey to Publication - Part 6

Gee, did I drop the ball on this one. My last post was on June 29, 2010. Whoops!

To refresh your memories, it was 2006. I had participated in my first Muse Online Writers Conference and secured my first paid writing gig. There was all this talk about National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) at the conference, and I figured it would be a great way to get my career moving in the right direction.

I performed whatever research I could, and geared up to get writing on November 1st. There are a lot of reasons I didn't win NaNoWriMo that year, but the main one is the same reason I don't plan to participate this year--I don't enjoy writing that way. If you ask me, NaNoWriMo is similar to blogging: either you love it or you don't. I love blogging. I don't love NaNoWriMo.

I truly needed more time to perform research for the novel I wanted to write. In addition, I just didn't write that fast. Thousands of words a day were not what I produced. Now that I've switched to the children's market, I find myself more productive.

In 2006, however, I still felt I would be writing for adults. And while I haven't given up on projects for people above the age of 16, I'm enjoying writing for kids. I was at my daughter's school a few weeks ago giving a writing workshop. Her teacher mentioned how I could easily have been a teacher. When I was younger that's actually one of the careers I wanted to work toward. Life changed and my goals changed with it.

So, I muddled along with NaNoWriMo. My online friends said they would be glad when it was over because my whole personality changed with the pressure of trying to write in a way that was unnatural to me. I managed close to 7,000 words before I said something like, "Forget it. This ain't for me." I was concerned, because at that point I felt if I couldn't manage NaNoWriMo, there was no way I would ever become a published author.

That was proved wrong, however. My first published book would be four years into the future, but not winning NaNoWriMo wasn't the reason it took so long.


Read Part 5 here!

My Journey to Publication - Part 5

When we last left this journey, I had partaken in my first Muse Online Writers Conference and secured a position as a regular contributor for Writer2Writer.

Writer2Writer, an online magazine for professionals and freelancers who want to generate income from their writing, now comes out twice a month; but back then it was a monthly issue. Cheryl Wright is the editor of this magazine. She was also a presenter at the first Muse conference. That's how she heard about me.

Participants of the Muse Online Writers Conference belong to a Yahoo Group, which allows the members to support each other. One discussion that came up at the Group was if writing for free was a good way to get clips. I responded by sharing how I had been writing time management and organization articles geared toward writers for Destiny3Fiction, a free online magazine. I felt the exposure was good, and I had only committed to six free articles, so it wasn't like I was going to work for free forever.

Cheryl Wright seized that opportunity to contact me about the articles for use at Writer2Writer. Destiny3Fiction has just stopped being produced, so there were no rights issues. Most importantly, this would mean--for the first time--I would get paid to write. Very exciting!

We swapped a few emails, she liked the writing samples I sent her, and we agreed I would write a column every other month. My first column appeared in December 2006. I still contribute to this great online magazine. If you're interested in learning how to generate income from your writing, it would be a good place to check out.

I also mentioned in my last installment that I participated in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) for the first time in 2006. That will be the topic of my next story.

Read Part 4 here!

My Journey to Publication - Part 4

Since I credit the Muse Online Writers Conference (MOWC) and the connections I made, and continue to make, there as a big part of why I am looking forward to The Little Shepherd Boy coming out this fall, you would think I would remember how I heard about the darn thing in the first place. But, no. My brain refuses to recall that data.

I believe 2006 was the first year of the MOWC, and it was called the Muse Free Online Writers Conference then. The important words for me at that time were "online" and "free". With two young children and no steady income from my writing, I couldn't afford or even consider traveling to a writer's conference. This was the perfect solution. I didn't need to leave home and I didn't have to spend a dime. Who says miracles don't happen anymore?

Now, I'll be honest, I wasn't sure how much great stuff I could expect from a totally online, totally free writers conference. Not that I had anything to compare it to, but they don't say, "you get what you pay for," for nothing. I was, however, impressed, with the long list of available workshops. I signed up for as many as I thought I could handle and crossed my fingers that nothing in my life would mess up me being able to attend.

Once the conference got going, I realized I had taken too many workshops. Some had assignments or writing exercises, some didn't. The most important thing, however, is that I walked away feeling inspired, I had spent a week practicing my craft, and I had the information in my hands to keep me on the road toward honing my craft. Since the conference was held in October, a couple of weeks before National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) was due to kick off, the inspiration definitely carried over and I would attempt NaNoWriMo for the first time.

Another exciting thing that happened as a result of the 2006 MOWC is my securing a position as a regular contributor to Writer2Writer, an online magazine focused on teaching writers how to generate cash from their writing.

But, that, my friends, is a story for another post.


Read Part 3 here!

My Journey to Publication - Part 3

Seems last time we were talking about this, we stopped at December 2005, when I graduated from Long Ridge Writers Group.

As much as I was thrilled to be done with the course, the task of daily writing is much harder to keep up when you're not working on deadline. My monthly articles for Destiny 3 Fiction were something to look forward to, but they didn't exactly take 27 days out of the month to perfect.

Lack of a regular schedule led to all sorts of nasty things: procrastination, Internet surfing, and plain ole goofing off. Gasp! Me? Can you believe it?

Then an even worse thing for productivity happened--my gig at Destiny 3 Fiction ended when the editor pulled the plug on the online mag. Sigh, so much for those clips.

I hung out sometimes at the Long Ridge Forum, a resource for their students. My relationship with the editor of Destiny 3 Fiction led me to an online writers forum, StoryCrafters, where I am still a member. Not as much going on there these days, but would love to perk up the place.

Then the next greatest thing for my writing career happened--I heard about the Muse Online Writers Conference.



Read Part 2 here!

My Journey to Publication - Part 2

So, where did we leave off on our little journey? Oh, yeah, I talked about my drama filled moment when I decided to embark upon a writing career. I was real bold, telling my journal instead of people. But, I digress...

The next thing I did was spend money. I am female, after all. Okay, well, not really too female because I actually hate shopping; but Amazon has made it so easy to shop without having to deal with driving and crowds, that I can handle shopping from time to time--though the UPS man must hate me by Christmas. I swear I should at least include him on my Christmas card list.

Anyway, I ordered some books on the craft--many of which I haven't read yet. Gasp! Well, there really is a reason for that. I ended up enrolling in Long Ridge Writing Group's Breaking into Print program.

I can't say my husband was too supportive of me spending hundreds of dollars on an unknown commodity; but he supported my desire to become published and stay home with our children, which by this time numbered three. While the school couldn't guarantee I would be published by the the time I graduated from the program, the number of students who were published by their graduation date led me to believe this was a good choice.

It was!

My instructor, Karen O'Connor, provided invaluable insight into my writing and the market. She also provided Tip Sheets that I still refer to from time to time. The course included a workbook and two writing craft books (I actually read those). While the Breaking into Print program allows you to focus on articles or short stories, I decided to focus on articles. Nonfiction had been my preferred genre for years, and I figured that's where I would be spending most of my time.

I sent out submissions while I worked through the program. After several months of rejections, the quickest of which came from Good Housekeeping only a week after I submitted it (ouch!), a friend I met through Long Ridge asked me to write a series of six articles on time management and organization geared toward writers.

My first article appeared at Destiny3Fiction, an online magazine, in November 2005. A month later I graduated from Long Ridge.

I was on my way!


Read Part 1 here!

My Journey to Publication - Part 1

Now that things are moving along with my children's book, I thought it might be interesting to discuss a little bit of my journey to publication. I'm about six years late in starting this endeavor, but I promise not to bore you with too many details.

We'll do this in parts, so that it doesn't become a book in and of itself. My intention is to end it with the day Little Shepherd Boy is released from Guardian Angel Publishing, but we'll play that part by ear.

I have been an avid reader all my life. With my youngest daughter, who has been trying to read since she was old enough to pick up a book, I can get a glimpse of what I might have been like back then. For some reason I've blocked out most of my childhood (just kidding, it's only wishful thinking).

Pretty much I was that annoying student who loved learning and looked forward to writing book reports. Yes, the other kids hated me.

Prior to the death of my mother, I began writing short stories. Once she passed away, I used my writing as a type of therapy to help me deal with losing her and being forced to live with a father I barely knew. Dad worked and for several years went to school while I was growing up, so he wasn't around too much.

Life got busy for me. The four years of high school--though they seemed like torture at the time--passed quickly, and soon I graduated. Three months later I became pregnant with my son. My writing was put on hold for many years while I raised my son and worked several jobs to make ends meet--which they usually didn't. I tried to complete my degree through correspondence school, but I had so little time that I really couldn't make it work.

Oh darn, I just realized I'm giving you too many details. You're probably snoring by now. Okay, let's speed things up.

I began my first full-length manuscript around 1997. My sister and I collaborated on it. Amazingly, my sister has always been even busier than me; though I never thought that was possible.

Parenting and working took up most of my time, and I was still trying to edit as I go back then, so needless to say (so why am I saying it then?) this manuscript didn't go far very fast. In fact, I would abandon it for several years, until I married and became a stay-at-home mom in 2004.

Here is what I wrote in my journal on February 3, 2004, the day I officially decided to pursue my writing dreams:

"I have made a decision today. A decision that I have struggled with, thought about, and stewed over forever. That decision, this choice, will either make me truly happy or it will kill me. Today I will begin my writing career."

Aren't I so dramatic. :)

It hasn't killed me yet, and I'm happy, so I guess I know how this might pan out. That's enough for today, kiddies. Hope you enjoy the ride!