Artist Arthur's Blog - Posts Tagged "writing"
The Writing Life: The Beginning
I receive a number of emails from aspiring writers asking how I started writing and how I became published. I thought it would be a good idea to start a series of blogs that would cover the long road to being published and how to stay there. So I’m titling the blog series, The Writing Life and will make a serious attempt to post bi-weekly on this subject.
The Beginning
I’ve always loved to read so early in my teen years my mother would purchase the Sweet Valley High series by Francine Pascal to keep me occupied. I think I was about fourteen when I saw my mother reading a Danielle Steele book. Now, while I thoroughly enjoyed following Elizabeth and Jessica through their high school years, I had a suspicion that what my mother was reading was much more exciting. I’ve always been a very candid individual and usually tend to just say what I want, so I asked my mother if I could read her book. I was completely shocked when she said yes. The book was Star, by Danielle Steele and I loved every single page. I remember lying on my bed for an entire Sunday reading non-stop and when I finally finished all I could think about was what I would have had Crystal Wyatt do differently or how I could imagine the scenes taking an alternate direction. From that point on when I read a book whether it was a young adult or adult book I would always think of how I would have written the characters. A useless fact about me is that No Greater Love by Danielle Steele is one of my favorite books ever.
My sophomore year in high school I was still reading whatever I could check out from the library that was age-appropriate and every book my mother kept in her bedroom. By that time I’d already begun writing little plays or story outlines on notebook paper and smiling to myself for a job well done because I didn’t have the guts to show it to anyone. My writing was a well-kept secret at that point until I heard on the intercom at school that they were having a writing contest and the topic was “My Favorite Teacher”. Now, it’s highly unlikely that a high school student has a favorite teacher, but at the moment I did. She was my U.S. History teacher and I absolutely loved her class. I didn’t talk much because high school was just not a happy time for me. Still, I jumped on the opportunity to write about the teacher and the class I enjoyed. And guess what? I won the contest! Now, my prize was nothing to write home about—lunch in the teacher’s lounge with my favorite teacher. We had grilled cheese and flat Sprite. LOL But that was the first time I began to think that maybe what I was writing was interesting.
I continued to write plays and stories and finally built up enough nerve to show them to a co-worker and my fiancé (who is now my hubby after 18 years of wedded bliss). They both really enjoyed them and asked when I would be finished so they could find out what happened. The years that followed were full of finding my professional career, getting married and having my first two children. By this time I was a Nora Roberts fanatic and read on my lunch hours and every minute I was at home that the kids or hubby weren’t demanding my attention. I didn’t begin writing another story until 1996. There was no computer in my house at that time so I would arrive at work an hour early and write then. My first completed story was a romance I titled “And Then There Was You”. As soon as I finished that story, I had an idea for another one and began writing that. In 1997, my daughter began having some health issues and I resigned from my job as a legal secretary to stay home and care for her. While I was home I bought a computer and finished my third story and began thinking about publishing seriously at that point. I think because I had more time on my hands I could really consider letting others read my work—others besides my husband because he was still the only one who knew about my writing.
I had no idea what becoming published entailed and no one to ask. The first thing I did was search the internet for everything about publishing. I began submitting my story to agents and editors and receiving one rejection letter after another. I really wasn’t discouraged by the letters because every now and then someone would say: “good story idea”, “engaging writing” or something along those lines. I figured I was still on to something and kept plugging away. In 2002, after I’d had my third child and was back to working full time in a law firm I received a call around ten on a Friday night. I wasn’t home but I listened to the message as soon as I came in. It was from a publisher who wanted to buy my book—“And Then There Was You” became Object of His Desire my first published adult romance! Excitement followed, of course. And then, the real work began.
Next Installment: The Writing Life – Editors: The evil red pen or a blessing in disguise?
A.C. ArthurObject of His Desire
The Beginning
I’ve always loved to read so early in my teen years my mother would purchase the Sweet Valley High series by Francine Pascal to keep me occupied. I think I was about fourteen when I saw my mother reading a Danielle Steele book. Now, while I thoroughly enjoyed following Elizabeth and Jessica through their high school years, I had a suspicion that what my mother was reading was much more exciting. I’ve always been a very candid individual and usually tend to just say what I want, so I asked my mother if I could read her book. I was completely shocked when she said yes. The book was Star, by Danielle Steele and I loved every single page. I remember lying on my bed for an entire Sunday reading non-stop and when I finally finished all I could think about was what I would have had Crystal Wyatt do differently or how I could imagine the scenes taking an alternate direction. From that point on when I read a book whether it was a young adult or adult book I would always think of how I would have written the characters. A useless fact about me is that No Greater Love by Danielle Steele is one of my favorite books ever.
My sophomore year in high school I was still reading whatever I could check out from the library that was age-appropriate and every book my mother kept in her bedroom. By that time I’d already begun writing little plays or story outlines on notebook paper and smiling to myself for a job well done because I didn’t have the guts to show it to anyone. My writing was a well-kept secret at that point until I heard on the intercom at school that they were having a writing contest and the topic was “My Favorite Teacher”. Now, it’s highly unlikely that a high school student has a favorite teacher, but at the moment I did. She was my U.S. History teacher and I absolutely loved her class. I didn’t talk much because high school was just not a happy time for me. Still, I jumped on the opportunity to write about the teacher and the class I enjoyed. And guess what? I won the contest! Now, my prize was nothing to write home about—lunch in the teacher’s lounge with my favorite teacher. We had grilled cheese and flat Sprite. LOL But that was the first time I began to think that maybe what I was writing was interesting.
I continued to write plays and stories and finally built up enough nerve to show them to a co-worker and my fiancé (who is now my hubby after 18 years of wedded bliss). They both really enjoyed them and asked when I would be finished so they could find out what happened. The years that followed were full of finding my professional career, getting married and having my first two children. By this time I was a Nora Roberts fanatic and read on my lunch hours and every minute I was at home that the kids or hubby weren’t demanding my attention. I didn’t begin writing another story until 1996. There was no computer in my house at that time so I would arrive at work an hour early and write then. My first completed story was a romance I titled “And Then There Was You”. As soon as I finished that story, I had an idea for another one and began writing that. In 1997, my daughter began having some health issues and I resigned from my job as a legal secretary to stay home and care for her. While I was home I bought a computer and finished my third story and began thinking about publishing seriously at that point. I think because I had more time on my hands I could really consider letting others read my work—others besides my husband because he was still the only one who knew about my writing.
I had no idea what becoming published entailed and no one to ask. The first thing I did was search the internet for everything about publishing. I began submitting my story to agents and editors and receiving one rejection letter after another. I really wasn’t discouraged by the letters because every now and then someone would say: “good story idea”, “engaging writing” or something along those lines. I figured I was still on to something and kept plugging away. In 2002, after I’d had my third child and was back to working full time in a law firm I received a call around ten on a Friday night. I wasn’t home but I listened to the message as soon as I came in. It was from a publisher who wanted to buy my book—“And Then There Was You” became Object of His Desire my first published adult romance! Excitement followed, of course. And then, the real work began.
Next Installment: The Writing Life – Editors: The evil red pen or a blessing in disguise?
A.C. ArthurObject of His Desire
The Writing Life - Editors: The evil red pen or a blessing in disguise?
The Writing Life – Editors: The evil red pen or a blessing in disguise?
I forget what day of the week it was when my first batch of edits were sent from the publisher. I do remember I was very excited about the entire process and of course, because I would finally have a book on the shelves. Still so daggone naïve. {shaking my head}
So I ripped open the package and read the letter that was on top of a rubber banned bundle. The further down the page I went on the letter the slower my heart began to beat. I was congratulated on writing an “interesting” story. That was the best part of the letter. From then on I was systematically told everything I’d done wrong in writing this “interesting” story. Now, by the time I finished reading the letter I had to sit down. My previous elation had drained out of me as quickly as a deflated balloon.
On to the bundle which was my “interesting” story. I flipped through the first couple of pages without even reading the comments because at this point I felt like the ability to read was totally betraying me. It didn’t matter, all I saw was RED. I thought it was because I was upset about the letter so at first I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths. But when I re-opened them and flipped through more pages there was more RED, and more RED. I wanted to cry. Really, I did, and I am not a crier at all. But I felt like my dream of being a writer had been shattered by a freakin’ red pen!
Hubby told me to just put it down and sleep on it. So I did. The next morning all the comments were still there and more so because I actually went through the entire manuscript this time. [What’s really bad about this is that I still hadn’t actually READ one comment that was written on the manuscript.] I went to work (at that time a personal injury law firm), dutifully carrying the bundle with me. At lunch time I looked at it again and began to read some of the remarks written in the margins. Not, the ones in the actual text because I recognized the proofreading symbols and knew they weren’t too harmless. By the end of the day I was livid. After reading the comments I really felt like this person—whoever had held the red pen and so mercilessly scribbled all over my masterpiece—had to be possessed with some sort of evil spirit. Without another thought I picked up the phone (my desk phone) and called my editor—you know the one who’d called me at ten o’clock one night to tell me how much she loved my story and wanted to publish it. [Yes, I put that long distance call on my employer’s phone bill. I should feel bad, but looking back, I don’t.] Anyway, my editor listened to me and spoke in a really calm voice when she said, “Nobody is trying to re-write your story. We just want it to be in the best possible condition when we publish.”
Okay, that made sense. And because I was so upset and she was so calm, my head actually stopped throbbing. My breaths came easier and I could read the RED remarks wherever they were on the page without wanting to scream. We went over a lot of the comments and I was assured that I could always dispute changes if I wasn’t comfortable with them. But really, by that evening when I’d read most of the story again along with the comments, I didn’t dispute a lot.
So here’s the thing about edits, when you first get them back you should read them ALL. Then put that bundle of joy (which I know call all my manuscripts when they come back from my editor) in a corner and watch your favorite movie while eating your favorite dessert. For me that’s really depending on my mood—today it would be Miracle on 34th Street and a bag of chocolate covered raisins from Wockenfuss. About two or three days later, depending on your deadline for returning the edits, bring your bundle of joy out of the corner and read the edits again. Then get to work!
Writing is an emotional process but if you want to make it in this business and be professional you have to learn when to check your emotions at the door. I go through all my edits twice, I recognize the mistakes, take the suggestions and use what I agree with. At this stage of the game, twenty plus novels later, I don’t dispute a whole lot. Then again, my bundles of joy no longer look like the infamous red pen has exploded all over it. See, learning to write professionally is a process. With each novel you are expected to grow and to take the corrections and admonishments from the past to heart as you’re writing. The comments of my very first editor replay in my mind constantly as I’m writing a manuscript, so that now I don’t make a lot of the same mistakes. Of course, I’m not perfect—and it’s a good thing I’m not because I’d been absolutely horrible to live with if I were—so I still get edits but my “interesting” story is usually a “great” story now and I’m usually thanking my editor for seeing things that I didn’t see.
The moral of this story is that I survived the horrid edits and have learned how to deal with them. Now, this might just work for me, I don’t know, crazy person that I am. LOL But I’d like to think there’s some logic in here somewhere that may just help the next writer. Or at least I hope so!
Next Installment: The Writing Life: Waiting and waiting and waiting. Is Patience Really a Virtue?
I forget what day of the week it was when my first batch of edits were sent from the publisher. I do remember I was very excited about the entire process and of course, because I would finally have a book on the shelves. Still so daggone naïve. {shaking my head}
So I ripped open the package and read the letter that was on top of a rubber banned bundle. The further down the page I went on the letter the slower my heart began to beat. I was congratulated on writing an “interesting” story. That was the best part of the letter. From then on I was systematically told everything I’d done wrong in writing this “interesting” story. Now, by the time I finished reading the letter I had to sit down. My previous elation had drained out of me as quickly as a deflated balloon.
On to the bundle which was my “interesting” story. I flipped through the first couple of pages without even reading the comments because at this point I felt like the ability to read was totally betraying me. It didn’t matter, all I saw was RED. I thought it was because I was upset about the letter so at first I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths. But when I re-opened them and flipped through more pages there was more RED, and more RED. I wanted to cry. Really, I did, and I am not a crier at all. But I felt like my dream of being a writer had been shattered by a freakin’ red pen!
Hubby told me to just put it down and sleep on it. So I did. The next morning all the comments were still there and more so because I actually went through the entire manuscript this time. [What’s really bad about this is that I still hadn’t actually READ one comment that was written on the manuscript.] I went to work (at that time a personal injury law firm), dutifully carrying the bundle with me. At lunch time I looked at it again and began to read some of the remarks written in the margins. Not, the ones in the actual text because I recognized the proofreading symbols and knew they weren’t too harmless. By the end of the day I was livid. After reading the comments I really felt like this person—whoever had held the red pen and so mercilessly scribbled all over my masterpiece—had to be possessed with some sort of evil spirit. Without another thought I picked up the phone (my desk phone) and called my editor—you know the one who’d called me at ten o’clock one night to tell me how much she loved my story and wanted to publish it. [Yes, I put that long distance call on my employer’s phone bill. I should feel bad, but looking back, I don’t.] Anyway, my editor listened to me and spoke in a really calm voice when she said, “Nobody is trying to re-write your story. We just want it to be in the best possible condition when we publish.”
Okay, that made sense. And because I was so upset and she was so calm, my head actually stopped throbbing. My breaths came easier and I could read the RED remarks wherever they were on the page without wanting to scream. We went over a lot of the comments and I was assured that I could always dispute changes if I wasn’t comfortable with them. But really, by that evening when I’d read most of the story again along with the comments, I didn’t dispute a lot.
So here’s the thing about edits, when you first get them back you should read them ALL. Then put that bundle of joy (which I know call all my manuscripts when they come back from my editor) in a corner and watch your favorite movie while eating your favorite dessert. For me that’s really depending on my mood—today it would be Miracle on 34th Street and a bag of chocolate covered raisins from Wockenfuss. About two or three days later, depending on your deadline for returning the edits, bring your bundle of joy out of the corner and read the edits again. Then get to work!
Writing is an emotional process but if you want to make it in this business and be professional you have to learn when to check your emotions at the door. I go through all my edits twice, I recognize the mistakes, take the suggestions and use what I agree with. At this stage of the game, twenty plus novels later, I don’t dispute a whole lot. Then again, my bundles of joy no longer look like the infamous red pen has exploded all over it. See, learning to write professionally is a process. With each novel you are expected to grow and to take the corrections and admonishments from the past to heart as you’re writing. The comments of my very first editor replay in my mind constantly as I’m writing a manuscript, so that now I don’t make a lot of the same mistakes. Of course, I’m not perfect—and it’s a good thing I’m not because I’d been absolutely horrible to live with if I were—so I still get edits but my “interesting” story is usually a “great” story now and I’m usually thanking my editor for seeing things that I didn’t see.
The moral of this story is that I survived the horrid edits and have learned how to deal with them. Now, this might just work for me, I don’t know, crazy person that I am. LOL But I’d like to think there’s some logic in here somewhere that may just help the next writer. Or at least I hope so!
Next Installment: The Writing Life: Waiting and waiting and waiting. Is Patience Really a Virtue?
The Writing Life: Waiting and waiting and waiting. Is patience really a virtue?
The Writing Life: Waiting and waiting and waiting. Is patience really a virtue?
Of course patience is a virtue, its just one I’m still waiting to possess.
If you don’t like to wait and not hear a word, good or bad, for days, no weeks, probably more like months, then the writing life isn’t for you. I waited for about five to six years from the time I wrote my first book, until I held that published book in my hands. And with tons of naivety that I believe a lot of first time authors suffer with, I thought the wait was over.
It was not.
Each time I submitted a synopsis for a new project, I had to wait to hear back. My first two book contracts were signed without an agent—big mistake but a necessity sometimes—and I think that may have added to my wait time. Even now, 25+ books later, I still wait. And it grates on my last nerve!
Just about a month ago my agent called me laughing. She said, “I would have never pegged you for an impatient person.” Well, I laughed right back because I don’t know why after all this time she hadn’t realized that. Could it be that possibly I’m getting better at waiting? Huh, I wonder if progress does come no matter how old you are. LOL
Here’s the bottom line, editors have a bunch of submissions on their desks, some they like, some they don’t and some they just have no idea why it’s there in the first place. Agents, have probably double the submissions because they don’t have the pleasure of saying “agented queries only”. And when you think about it logically, they (said editor or agent) only have one pair of eyes. I don’t know about you, but I like for an editor and/or agent to really read my work, not just gloss over it. So if that means I have to wait an additional four weeks (tacked on to the six weeks I’ve already waited) just so they have a semi-clear head or at the very least a great big cup of steaming hot coffee, when they sit down to look at my work, then okay, I’ll have to find some patience from somewhere. It’s still not easy, really it’s not and I wanted to be the first to warn any aspiring authors that just because you finally get to the other side, the rules don’t really change all that much.
So you ask yourself daily, “is it worth it?” The answer comes each time I’m sent a cover to review for my book. Then when I see that book on the shelves—and snap a picture because I absolutely love to do that—I’m elated all over again. It is soooooo worth it and that’s why I keep praying for more and more patience.
Next Installment: The Writing Life—Wait a minute, doesn’t the publisher handle promotion?
Temptation Rising
Of course patience is a virtue, its just one I’m still waiting to possess.
If you don’t like to wait and not hear a word, good or bad, for days, no weeks, probably more like months, then the writing life isn’t for you. I waited for about five to six years from the time I wrote my first book, until I held that published book in my hands. And with tons of naivety that I believe a lot of first time authors suffer with, I thought the wait was over.
It was not.
Each time I submitted a synopsis for a new project, I had to wait to hear back. My first two book contracts were signed without an agent—big mistake but a necessity sometimes—and I think that may have added to my wait time. Even now, 25+ books later, I still wait. And it grates on my last nerve!
Just about a month ago my agent called me laughing. She said, “I would have never pegged you for an impatient person.” Well, I laughed right back because I don’t know why after all this time she hadn’t realized that. Could it be that possibly I’m getting better at waiting? Huh, I wonder if progress does come no matter how old you are. LOL
Here’s the bottom line, editors have a bunch of submissions on their desks, some they like, some they don’t and some they just have no idea why it’s there in the first place. Agents, have probably double the submissions because they don’t have the pleasure of saying “agented queries only”. And when you think about it logically, they (said editor or agent) only have one pair of eyes. I don’t know about you, but I like for an editor and/or agent to really read my work, not just gloss over it. So if that means I have to wait an additional four weeks (tacked on to the six weeks I’ve already waited) just so they have a semi-clear head or at the very least a great big cup of steaming hot coffee, when they sit down to look at my work, then okay, I’ll have to find some patience from somewhere. It’s still not easy, really it’s not and I wanted to be the first to warn any aspiring authors that just because you finally get to the other side, the rules don’t really change all that much.
So you ask yourself daily, “is it worth it?” The answer comes each time I’m sent a cover to review for my book. Then when I see that book on the shelves—and snap a picture because I absolutely love to do that—I’m elated all over again. It is soooooo worth it and that’s why I keep praying for more and more patience.
Next Installment: The Writing Life—Wait a minute, doesn’t the publisher handle promotion?
Temptation Rising
