Janice J. Richardson's Blog

Fading Expectations is the journey of two mothers of special needs children.
Happily ever after doesn't exist for everyone, but the heady moment vows are spoken it feels as if it will. As the years pass, as life gets in the way, it fades for most.
The main character's journey is based on real-life news stories, observations, and personal experiences. Writing this story evoked strong emotions, lived experience trickled into the story from time to time. And yes, there is a disclaimer. Some readers will see the ending negatively. Others may see it redemptively.
It's the job of an author to give the reader the gift of a memorable tale, to gift them a story that will leave them wondering what they would do in the situation. Think back over your 'reading' years and ask yourself - what books slammed you emotionally, made you think, cry, laugh, or changed your worldview? Let me know in the comments. I'll go first - one that profoundly impacted me, haunts me is' A Thousand Splendid Suns' by Khaled Hosseini.

By the time I was in the middle of writing my sixth book, I had debated long and hard about querying a traditional publisher. Was it the money that motivated me? In the end, many authors don’t sell enough to cover their advance. Was it the opportunity to reach new readers? More readers? That was undoubtedly a contributing factor. My long-suffering editor, who has worked with me for years, was as open to the idea as me. It was worth a try. There was nothing to lose, I told myself. This journey should be a learning experience.
Having long followed sites such that compare the differences between self and traditional publishing, one comes to realize there is no right or wrong. Just like most life decisions, its a choice. Door 1 or Door 2.
Supercharging my research on how to be traditionally published, I read dozens and dozens of articles, blog posts and listened happily to YouTube authors and influencers in the field. Long pleasant hours of researching, reading, listening and learning.
Success for the querying author initially means having an agent ask for a submission. But first, you have to get their attention. That’s where the query letter comes in and trust me, it takes a great deal of work to polish it to an acceptable level. Hours and hours of work, at least for me. Eventually, somewhat satisfied with the result, I sent it to a literary agent who assists newbies for a reasonable fee. It was a worthwhile and productive investment. My editor also had a hand in tweaking it. All told, it took me well over a hundred hours to prepare for that first query. (Don’t let that discourage you, not everyone overthinks it like me).
The synopsis (separate from the query letter) was my nemesis. I wasn’t getting it. Thankfully, my long-suffering editor stepped in and fixed my mess.
Because I am a techno-dud, she also prepared potential requests or ones that might be asked for with the query letter. Requests such as ‘first ten pages,’ first fifteen pages’ ‘first 1000 words’ ‘first fifty pages.’ You get the drift. I didn’t, it was easy for me to mess that up. I can’t thank my editor enough for her help.
It kept me busy for a number of months, and when I was ready, I queried my dream agent and a couple of other agencies. (I forgot to mention – QueryTracker is not an option. It’s a must. It is worth the $25 US you pay for the advanced version. Once you play with and explore it, it is easy to use and offers a wealth of tools for tracking your query against other authors querying the same agent, picking the right agent, etc.)
First lesson. Don’t query your dream agent. If you must, then don’t pin your hopes on that query. Dream agents are not any different than their counterparts. Any reputable agency has a stable of agents who are experts. Like all newbies, I did have a dream agent. I just didn’t tell anyone. She rejected me within three months, about a week before she left the agency. Alex Donne, a traditionally published unicorn authors, has volumes of YouTube videos about querying. Watch her ‘Dream Agents are a Bad Idea’ video. She has plenty of other videos related to writing, understanding publishing, her journey. There are other authors who blog/vlog regularly who are worth reading/watching as well.
Second lesson. You are not competing with dozens of authors, you are competing with hundreds of them. One agent recently posted her inbox figures – just 20 shy of 5,000 queries to be addressed. Plenty of traditionally published authors faced those numbers and were successful. Watch and learn. If you are noticed and have followed their advice, there might be potential for a submission request. Check out YouTube videos that outline the odds. If you are spooked by the stats, then don’t watch. Just focus on your querying.
By the time I reached ten submissions, I was settling into a routine of tailoring the query, make sure I’d adhered to the agencies guidelines, was respectful and had a fitting/witty/engaging/intelligent opening sentence, I made sure I had spelled the agent’s name correctly, researched the agency thoroughly, double and triple checked to ensure the letter and submission was typo free, that the agent really did ask for women’s fiction genres in his/her bio/request guidelines. (Truth – sometimes I overdid my checking, reading and rereading the query. Dozens of times might be more accurate.)
My final task, once I hit send, was to log it in QueryTracker and sit back and wait. And wait. And wait. Sometimes it took weeks. The majority took months. That, by the way, can be a good sign. By checking the agent’s timeline, I could tell where I was in the cue of authors who used QueryTracker. If there was a lot of red underneath my name and I hadn’t heard from the agent, it was a good sign I might be in the running, the query may have piqued the agents interest. That, or the agent didn’t respond and had moved past my query. Not all agents respond. That’s normal too.
Third lesson. Take the rejection for what it is and be grateful the agent took the time to let you know it wasn’t a good fit. Not hearing from an agent you liked is worse. Many rejections are form letters.
Fourth lesson. Watch for a pattern. What is the agent telling you? By the time I was reaching thirty queries, there was a theme, a theme of two responding agents. They liked the premise, but not the writing.
Fifth lesson. Know when to fold. I took the advice of authors I watched or read who were successful in their queries. Thirty or so queries was enough. It was time to pull out and think about what to do. Revamp the book? Self-publish? Push on? Admit defeat?
Sixth lesson. Writer Beware. Not doing your due diligence and homework about agents and agencies can cost you. Victoria Strauss is the brains behind Writer Beware, an important read for any author. There are other sites, of course, but hers has been a guiding light for this author.
With six queries outstanding, I now choose to self-publish once the last rejection is confirmed. The financial return is higher, it’s what I know and the instant the second I hit the upload button, it’s published. (Actually, my editor hits it for me. It takes her 1/1000 of the time it takes me to do the uploads.)
The title of my book is Fading Expectations. That title choice is just a coincidence. The ‘year of querying’ wasn’t a waste, it was a journey. The research is fun. Learning is fun. Rejection, not so much. But you get used to it. If you are of a certain age, like me, you roll with it. Life journeys aren’t linear or smooth or endlessly happy or sad.
Agencies and agents want authors for the long haul. At my age, the long haul is coming to a halt. Young, bright writers are the future. They understand the quickly changing landscape of publishing and are easily adaptable. YA (young adult fiction) might be fading, as trends go, but MG (middle-grade fiction) isn’t. Adult fiction is strong. Sci-fi is making a comeback. OA (older adult) may not be trendy, but it’s a busy sector. The technology changes quickly and it is hard to keep up. One thing doesn’t change, you choose your path, which, in publishing, has a future either way.
It was quite a ride and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

Writers tend to set goals. Some writers move the goalposts forward, then forward again.

My philosophy has been not to set firm goals. I prefer to put my nose into my computer and work until it's done. No pressure.

But that's a lie I have told myself during the pandemic. These days there is pressure, subliminal and sinister, pushing its way into my consciousness.

My latest WIP (work in progress) has been fun to write. It is light and fluffy. So three and a half months ago I set a goal, one that felt realistic and practical. 500 words a day isn't much, I told myself. I can do that.

Nope. Today, I should be done, or close to finished at what could have been 52,000 words. It falls short at 37,500. That is because I read the news and I grieve. Writing doesn't matter, it takes a back seat to reflection and introspection.

Which brings me to my point. Goal setting and reaching for goals is good. A goal is a dream with a deadline (Napolean Hill). That's what we have been taught. Reach for the stars! Work hard and you can achieve anything!

These are challenging times. The history of pandemics can testify to that. Cut yourself some slack. Bruce Lee said it well - a goal is not always meant to be reached, it is something to aim at.

So as I read through my latest manuscript, I see drivel and dribble, words that are meant to entertain, not instruct, a story to get lost in, fun, fluffy, light and about 14,000 words short of a goal that should never have been set.

The news draws me back once more and like many of us, I reflect.

So please, stay safe, There is an end to everything, including the pandemic. It has it's own timeline too.

Let's explore why. Readers choose their favourite genres, so do writers. Sometimes, a book practically writes itself. The plot flows, there are no obstacles, no writer's block. Writing, during those times, is fun and exciting.

Sometimes, it's not fun and definitely not exciting.

So what makes a writer press on? A little self-reflection may be in order. After writing and publishing five books, I thought I was finished. Perhaps we all feel that way, we graduate and celebrate the end of school. Course, that doesn't happen to everyone. Like mythical sirens, continuing education courses draw some back into the classroom.

People marry and divorce, vowing never to love again. But they do. Some marry and divorce over and over again.

Some determine to lose weight and stay fit. Been there, done that. Epic fail.

Some people can't have just one cat. Gamers play half the night. Shoppers can't stay away from the mall.

As I work on book six, I reflected on why I kept going after deciding book 5 was the end. It's a simple answer although the process of recognizing it wasn't. I write to educate, and in doing so, entertain readers. It has to be both ways, entertain/educate. One without the other would not work for this writer. As a reader, authors whose books do both draw me like a moth to a flame.

There is no right or wrong as to why a reader chooses a certain genre or has a favourite author. Same holds true for writers. Go to 'Ask the Author' section and ask your favourite writer what motivates them to write. Chances are, the two of you have a lot more in common than just a book genre.

A very tall man with a commanding presence was standing in the kitchen of The Bird House, the Pelee Island haven run by the bird observatory. He towered over me. Intimidated but curious, I introduced myself. He reciprocated. "Sean Dooley", he announced. If I had been a 'birder', I would have known immediately who he was. As we chatted, he mentioned he was on Pelee Island for one day only, he would be catching the ferry back to the mainland (Ontario, Canada), to fly to another bird watching gig. Actually, bird watching isn't technically a 'gig', that's my word, but it might as well be for a fan of bird watchers, domestic or international. Sean was the first international bird watcher I had met and I was in awe. Springsong is the weekend the island hosts birders and tourists. On the ferry over, the conversation usually centres around birds, as birders flock to the Springsong Birdwatching contest. An internationally recognized bird watcher? My day was complete. Not everyone can do sports, or spend a day tromping and tiptoeing through brush, woods, marsh and/or water stalking a bird. Their weapon? A camera. It takes incredible stamina, and that rules me out. While I chose funeral service as my profession with no regrets, deep down, I admired and wanted to be an ornithologist.
As Sean and I chatted, he mentioned his book, The Big Twitch. I meekly mentioned that I too was an author. Somehow, cozy mysteries didn't seem to be his style, nor did a memoir so I let it slide. I asked him to write down the title and he pleasantly obliged. There was also an author retreat on the island that weekend, although I didn't meet or see any of the authors. I did meet Patricia Harman, author of The Reluctant Midwife, who was at the PIBO fundraiser. The weather had prevented the small plane from taking her back to Ohio after her weekend on the island with friends. I enjoyed visiting with her too as she explained how she came to write about midwifery.
The Big Twitch went on my TBR list for future reference. Pelee Island doesn't have wi-fi unless you are with a major carrier, it has a few seasonal restaurants and hotels. One can't order an ebook easily, nor can an author sign an ebook. It is a quiet retreat, accessible only by ferry in season. The Pelee Island Bird Observatory (PIBO) has a resident ornithologist who I also met that weekend. Bird watchers are their own breed (flock?) Enthusiastic, knowledgeable, nerdy. My kind of people. I met one of their finest and am looking forward to escaping into The Big Twitch: One Man, One Continent, a Race Against Time - a True Story About Birdwatching |26246582]

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