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