Last month was my anniversary, not of marriage, but of becoming published for the first time and my second book being published in the same week, a year later. All these social media notifications reminded me how far I have come in four years; I've had 1 novelette and 5 novels published. Today, I was thinking this post should walk other authors through this whirlwind of publishing, but more importantly what it took to get there--a lifetime of (sometimes inadvertent) preparation.
2-3 years old--was an early reader
4 years old--could write, starting a lifetime of nonstop writing
6 years old--won a county school poetry award and had a reading in front of hundreds of people (terrifying moment for someone with selective mutism)
7 years old--wrote my first story
12 years old--wrote first (sort of) novel, started writing screenplays because I stunk at narrative voice but could carry a decent story, dialogue, action, characters, etc.
14+years old--finally shared my writing with friends who acted them out or served as beta readers, spurned me on constantly demanding more
18-22 years old--got an English BA and a dramatic arts BA, both helping me become a better writer. Theater/acting especially helped me find a narrative voice in my writing.
25 years old--finished my first novel after a decade of false starts, almost finishes, and shelved fulls, titled Quiver.
26-28 years old--got an MA in English Literature, managed to write another book featuring Welsh Faeries, title not settled yet, so Welsh Fae Book for now.
28 years old--got a job in academia where I teach grammar and writing--a constant refresher on concepts and grading sharpened my editing abilities.
29-31 years old--queried Quiver
- 75+ rejections or ignores
- @15 partials
- 5 full requests
- 2 R&Rs (revise and resubmit)--I chose not to resubmit
- 1 request for representation that fell through
37 years old--after writing several books and having no time to query (motherhood and career advancement taking front stage), I finally started querying again
--submitted to a novelette contest on a whim with little effort and won a slot. I WAS PUBLISHED! Kissed Anthology
--submitted my third (written) book, Fyr, to the same publisher, but was denied because they did not rep high fantasy
--learned about pitch contests on Twitter, the day of one called Pitch2Pub (overtaken by PitMad later). I created pitches for 3 books. I got many likes but only one was a publisher, my novellete publisher wanted my second (written) book, Apidae. I went for it.
--Why not enter PitMad when it came up? I entered 3 books (Quiver, Fyr, and Welsh Fae Book still didn't have homes). I got likes from publishers on all 3! One was a hybrid publisher or a vanity press: I wasn't interested in paying any money, so didn't bother to check the legitimacy of the company. The other 2 were new small presses or independent publishers. 1 of them had a bad reputation already, the other was registered on sites that legitimatized it. With all these books piling up (at this point, 14 finished rough drafts), I took a gamble that worked out.
--Apidae, my second (written) novel was published
38 years old--Fyr was published, leading to acceptance of The Celestial Spheres trilogy with my second publisher.
-- queried my second publisher with Quiver. They accepted.
39 years old--published 1st written book, Quiver, leading to a 5-book series with my second publisher
--Published sequel to Fyr, called Draca.
40 years old--published end of the trilogy, called Bladesung. This was my 5th book in 4 years
--my publisher slotted my Welsh Far Book, planned as a 5-book series far in the future
-- due to the pandemic, we decided to back off, which has opened up my deadline and I'm writing a ton of spin-offs, editing my Welsh Fae Book, and writing short stories, and some other smaller pen name projects. I have 12 WIPs now!
I'm still 40 for a few months, but I plan to relax my writing and simply prepare for a trial omnibus release for my trilogy this winter, and my 6th book's release in early 2021. After that, I hope to have a year off until another release, but we shall see.
As you can see, it has been a journey of a lifetime. I feel that I am talented, educated, and have a lot of experience. Of course, these all helped, but still, there was the factor of luck, chance, and being in the right place at the right time. The keys into the door of publisher for me, personally, was learning about pitch contests, and finding an up-and-coming independent publisher, after I scored that smaller title to have a decent resume for queries. Most of all, I persevered and never stopped writing since I was 4 (grad school semesters, during pregnancy complications, and grading crunches were my only breaks). A LOT of learning the craft, a hefty dose of perseverance, and a dash of luck is how I got published.