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| I see patience in your future |
This week I've got three different authors I'm highlighting on my site, women I've known for awhile now through blogging, who are all enjoying the publication of a new book.
It's not unusual to see someone celebrated for a week or two when they have a new release, to find their book cover on multiple blogs, and read guest posts and interviews with them. And I have to say I'm honestly very happy for these writers when I see them getting the attention they deserve after years of working hard toward their goal.
If I'm honest, though, I also wonder why the heck it's not me. I used to think I'd be there by now. I mean, I have a couple of novels I could pull out of the drawer, polish up, and self-publish, but I don't think that would be the smart thing to do. First, those novels aren't very good, and, second, I think I'm finally onto a project that is exactly what I've always wanted to write. I just have to learn to be patient and know that we're all on different schedules, and when the time is right it will happen. But somedays it would be nice if I could peer into that crystal ball and see the future, and know that it was going to happen. Sigh. Until then I am more than happy to cheer on my fellow writers who are already there.
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| So beautiful |
Christa can mask the pain and hide the scars, but running from a birthright is impossible.
She’s tried to escape her grief by fleeing to a small town in Florida. Much to her frustration, the locals think they recognize her even though she's never been there before. To make things worse, a man named Jack spouts outrageous theories about her.
Both spur Christa to bolt, to start fresh yet again, but there’s something about Jack that intrigues her enough to stay. The only problem? Someone else wants her to leave, and they won’t stop until she’s dead.
Available for purchase here. Isn't that a gorgeous cover?
This post is part of Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group. We meet the first Wednesday of every month to share our doubts about writing. Join us. I see an IWSG post in your future.
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It's ok to feel jealous—we'd be lying to ourselves if we claimed we never felt that way. Last week I dug up an author interview after feeling jealous about a novel's easy prose. The writer said that she worked for 10 years to publish her first novel before putting it aside to write the work that I had just read. Behind every success are mountains of failed attempts. Just keep your chin up and keep writing—it'll be worth it in the end!
ReplyDeleteI know exactly how you feel. I kinda thought I'd have arrived by now but here I am still plodding away. It is, however, nice to see our fellow writing friends reach their goals. A big congratulations to Lynda :)
ReplyDeleteso happy for our dear Lyndylove! Hope she gets a whole book on her own published soon, and hope it happens to you too, Luanne!
ReplyDeleteAnna - Hey, you! Agreed. It's all about channeling that energy into the right actions. Working toward the goal instead of falling into a vat of self-pity.
ReplyDeletemshatch - Yeah, the older I get the more I wonder, but I'm just going to go with the "late bloomer" title. :)
Dezzy - Lots of writers start off with short story publication. The novel will come next! And we'll celebrate that too.
Have you had some short story of yours published somewhere, darling? Never asked you that before.
DeleteOnly in a newspaper, not an anthology. I don't write very good short stories I don't think. I like to talk for hundreds of pages. :P
DeleteThat could be good, because you're writing big and not wasting your energy on small trifles :) :)
DeleteYeah, I don't have enough writing mojo to spread thin over several projects at once. I gotta stick with my novels for now. But those publishing credits are nice to have.
DeleteCongrats to Lynda, may she sell million of copies. To you I wish good luck with your picky writing muse :).
ReplyDeleteI love that cover too! Glad you found a project your excited about and I hope it trues out as you dream it will :)
ReplyDeleteOops- I meant turns, not trues- that was weird :(
DeleteI love the cover too, it's gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI know how hard it is to be patient but I think it says a great deal that you feel so good about your current project. It will happen! :)
Sometimes I feel that way too. We just have to remind ourselves that the best is yet to come.
ReplyDeleteCoincidentally, I am friends with Jennifer M. Eaton, one of the authors in the Make Believe anthology. We are members of the same local writers group. She's having a great year! And she deserves it too.
Unikorna - she is sort of picky, you're right. LOL.
ReplyDeleteRose - LOVE that cover. The red cape is so gorgeous against all the white.
Julie - Hey, your day is coming soon too!!! Woohoo!! Can't wait.
Mieke - Oh, that's excellent about your friend Jennifer Eaton. I don't know any of the others involved in the project, but it's definitely something for them all to be proud of.
You're going to make it. No doubt about it.
ReplyDeleteI'll be the first in line to buy your book.
L.G. I have no doubt you will be a published author one day. And I'll be next in line after Tonja.
ReplyDeleteKaren
LG, it ill happen. You just keep writing and believing. When it's right, it will happen big time.
ReplyDeleteReally happy for Lynda!
And wow, look at your sidebar! So many insecure writers...
Tonja - YES!! Well, you know, we have to believe it, right? Or else why keep writing every day?
ReplyDeleteKaren - You guys are awesome. :))
Alex - I know!! Look at the sidebar, it's all IWSG posts today!
I was just reading about patience on another blog. That's key. I'm a slower writer so I totally understand your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI'm rereading a favorite of mine, The Enormous Egg, and in the story a chicken lays a huge egg and the owner gives it the usual three weeks to hatch. It doesn't. But he figures since it's a most unusual egg, and the chicken's sticking with sitting on it, he might as well give it another week. Still nothing. Finally he decides it must be a five-week egg. And from that egg hatches something that made all the waiting worth it.
ReplyDeleteSouthpaw - Slow writers like us have to learn to be patient. Even if it kills us to do it. :P
ReplyDeleteMC - Wait, what was in the egg!!!! Tell me now!! Oh, wait, this was an analogy, wasn't it? :P
It was a novel! Written in chicken scratch. : p
DeleteI checked it out, and, hmmm, it has a very familiar story plot to something else I'm reading. Curious coincidence? I think not.
DeleteIt's true - Hilary Mantel stole the whole thing. :p
DeleteWell, you know how those British Man Booker Prize winners are. Take, take, take. :P
DeleteCongrats to Lynda!
ReplyDeleteAnd although I'm on my final countdown to self-pubbing my novel, I know what you mean about patience. It's taken me so long to get to a point where I feel like I'm ready to get my work out there. (Although actually I'm still scared it's not really ready enough . . .I think I'll always have that fear).
Writing takes time and energy, and patience. I know that your book will be worth the time it takes to write.
Well done for taking the time to promote someone else's work like this.
ReplyDeleteTyrean - Time, energy, and patience are the main ingredients, you got that right!
ReplyDeleteStu - I have talented friends!
Wandered over from the IWSG!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on this one. I just "knew" I'd be "there" by now! But I'm not. In fact, I'm not even close. I find it increasingly harder to actually sit down and write much less start the query process!
But-I believe that with enough hard work and patience and persistence, you can achieve your goals!
Best of luck to you!
~Jen
I think we all wonder that at some point. Never give up. Your turn will arrive :)
ReplyDeleteI've had to learn that each of us is on our own road and we have exactly what we need to travel it. Your dream will come in it's allotted time and I think that you are incredible, being such a supportive pillar of this community. You make this blogosphere rock!
ReplyDeleteI petitioned for a crystal ball for those days when I really just need to know. Yeah, no ball for me either. So I guess we just have to believe and Make our own future.
ReplyDeleteGreat things take patience and time. You'll get there. I'll be in that line too :)
I think you should do something with your books, L.G. I rather enjoy self-publishing. Now, as a caveat, I've only done it once with my short story and have relied upon my small publisher to do it for me up to this point. But I've also grown a whole new skill set since those days that I never knew I had. Plus I've been publishing free stories online that have received some amazing reception from people who don't even visit my blog but just email me.
ReplyDeleteSo that's kind of inspired me to make some cover art for a story I'm going to bundle up from all the free chapters I've posted online, and I'll just quietly post it in my books section one of these days and announce it on that "other website" that I frequent.
Anyway, my point is this: self publishing has taken on this whole new light in my eyes. I no longer groan and think...ugh cover art. Now I think...ooh...I get to paint another picture of my characters. I'm working on this one now that I think is gorgeous. Every day when I go home from work, I sharpen the coloring pencils and think about all the details I want to put on the canvas.
Anyway, basically what I'm saying is I don't think self-publishing could ever be detrimental.
My first month in the IWSG and making my way down the list, and then BAM! "I know her!" :-D
ReplyDeleteIt can be really challenging to our faith in our own process to see the bloggers/writers we've grown next to publish things. It somehow feels like they're further along than what we are, and that maybe we're doing something wrong. And you know that's crazy talk. :-)
You'll know when you've written the right story for you, LG. It'll just feel right, and it might even surprise you in that it won't be necessarily what you thought you'd end up writing (like me lol). You've also studied the business enough that the right path to publication will be apparent. I can't say how, but you'll just know that you should query, or not. But above all you'll have that feeling that you need to share it with readers--that you HAVE to share it.
I'm crazy excited for Lynda. Know how hard she works, and I'm not sure there's a nicer person in the blog world. (Well, maybe Alex. :)
It is a lovely cover indeed. Writing is all about patience, I know and, since I can only work on one thing at a time - and I go at it with gritted teeth - you're so lucky you have other projects on the boil. It takes time but it WILL be worth it. And my blog's your first visit. Deal? OK. It's booked :-)
ReplyDeleteMan, I've been there. But you know, it's better to do it write then to do it fast. I wish you all the best and I'm certian you will get there someday!
ReplyDeleteThat cover gives me "The Handmaid's Tale" deja vu! I do know exactly how you feel. It's great to see your friends and colleagues get the deals, but there is that little ping inside, too. Hang in there!
ReplyDeleteJen - Perseverance has to be part of a writer's internal makeup or they don't have a chance. I believe that. :)
ReplyDeleteCarol - Yep, never give up, never surrender! Well, okay I did maybe give up on some old projects, but that was justified. :P
Melissa - I do believe things happen for a reason and on their own time schedule. There's more to writing than getting published, too. Like, you know, meeting all you wonderful people. :D
Lexie - Okay, I've got the perseverance down, but the patience part...that's the animal I haven't quite tamed yet. :)
Michael - You've got that creativity running on all cylinders. I have to admit, I've thought of getting an old story out and self pubbing it under a different name. I think it would be fun to do the cover art. Er, I mean talk someone else into doing it for me.
E.J. - Welcome! Yep, I'm an original member of the IWSG. Saw that one and knew it was the blogfest for me. LOL. And you're right. That's how I feel about this current project. It really is the one I've always wanted to write. Well, and the other one that's brewing in my brain, but it will have to wait. :P Glad you decided to join us!!
Susan - Patience, patience, patience. I need a Zen pill I think. :P And you've got a deal. :)
J. A. - THAT is my whole philosophy right there. I do believe, for me, that doing it right rather than fast is how I need to move forward. Some people are very fast AND good, and more power to them. But, uh, not me.
Jeff - You're right, it does have a "Handmaid's Tale" look with the red cape. And, yeah, I am ecstatic for my friends who are getting published, so I don't really mean to complain, just...sigh, you know?
I understand how you feel, LG. We are on our own time schedules, and it's hard not to compare. Tenacity and perseverance, with a little bit of luck, and the right agent or publisher eyes. I'm in limbo too right now, but I'll write through it.
ReplyDeleteAs for the book you've featured, everyone has secrets. Should be an intriguing book. It's nice to feature other author/bloggers, or just authors. Writers and readers like that.
Oh that is a gorgeous cover!
ReplyDeleteYou know, I tend to use the blog tours as motivation and inspiration. If they can do it then so can I, right? I know that someday it will be my time to shine. So until then I sit back cheer for the others :)
Good question. Why isn't it you? Because you rock.
ReplyDeleteLove that cover.
D.G. - Gotta write through it. What the saying? Published writers are people who didn't give up? Something like that.
ReplyDeleteSamantha - Exactly! I'm very happy to cheer on my fellow writers when they have a success to celebrate. With some, I've seen them go through the entire process, from writing, to querying, to publishing.
Donna - LOL. One of these days!! But first...hmmm, I think I know someone else who has a novel about to be published soon. :)
Beautiful cover.
ReplyDeleteYour turn will come around, LG. Believe.
Knowing is half the battle, right?
ReplyDeleteActually, knowing isn't always the best thing. It's the not knowing that keeps us working.
Hi Luanne .. you'll get there - you have some wonderful ideas and I'm looking forward to reading your Welsh historical novel .. love that learning ...
ReplyDeleteThe Anthology sounds lovely and I'll be getting it .. cheers Hilary
Michael - It is a beauty. And don't know if you'll relate to this or not, but some days it feels like sitting at the Dept. of Motor Vehicles, waiting to get the car registered. I'm in the queue holding ticket number 99 and they just called 12. :PP
ReplyDeleteAndrew - Actually, if I DID know I was going to be published, you're right, I'd sit back and let it write itself. Not knowing, I still gotta work my butt off. Damn. That sounds like the hard way. :P
Hilary - Oh, you won't like what I did to England in my novels, but Wales is thriving. :PP
Everyone goes on their own path. Some books aren't ready to be seen, but you'll know when you have one that is. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd Make Believe is a fantastic anthology! I was lucky to get an ARC.
Yes, that is a gorgeous book cover!
ReplyDeleteJust as gorgeous as the cover will be on YOUR book someday. Ya gotta keep believing.
Me, sometimes I get a teensy bit down because all of the new writers are so much younger than I am, and the writers who ARE as old as I am have already published a boatload of books. But I chose to do other things when I was younger, and I chose to wait until I was an old fartessa to get more serious about my writing. Que sera sera. In the meantime, I'm simply enjoying the process. (Some parts more than others!)
Cherie - Yep, that's why so many of us have novels sitting in drawers. They just weren't the right project for publication. Ooh, and I'm jealous of your ARC.
ReplyDeleteSusan - I thought I'd be published by the time I was forty. *ahem* I may be a decade late on that by the time I get this trilogy published. :- / But that's just my individual timeline. Could be I wasn't ready -- emotionally or craft-wise -- to be published before. Lots of people are ready when they're twenty. I hate them, but whatever. :P Kidding!
I wish I had that crystal ball too.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, that cover is gorgeous. I've been admiring it all over the blogosphere this week.
I have the same problem. I wish I was already published but nothing of mine is quite ready yet.
ReplyDeleteI keep seeing all of these new anthologies out and about and some of them with new authors and I am wondering where to find out about all of the different ones that are taking submissions. I think I might be able to manage a bunch of short stories that are ready for publication more easily than getting my novels ready.
I don't mean that short stories are easy, just that it will take me less time to edit them individually than my longer novels.
ReplyDeleteI, for one, know you are going to make it because I love how you write, I love your BA women series, I've read your snippets and loved them and want more please, so yeah, you got me hooked!!! And, oh yeah..."I get knocked down..."
ReplyDeleteI hear you and I know exactly how you feel. But we can't give up because our time is coming. And yes, all published authors will tell you it's the ones who were persistent that made it.
ReplyDeleteLike us.
M. J. - Cover is gorgeous. And, yes, we'll have our fantasy covers one of these days...soon!!
ReplyDeleteMoonduster - Short stories are a great way to hone craft. AND get publication credits. But I have no idea how these anthologies are put together. Good question.
Elsie - Thank you. Really. Ooh, and I'll have another BA woman on Monday. :)
Marsha - Hmm, now I'm suddenly inspired to quote Invictus. "I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul."
Let's light this candle, Marsha! :))
We all have our own paths, LG, and we all take different routes getting there. You have to travel those that speak to you. You'll get there. I'm quite positive. And I look forward to celebrating you when you do. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so very much, Luanne, for posting about Make Believe. You are wonderful!! And I sooo know what you are talking about!! I keep thinking I should have a novel out by now, but patience hasn't been my strong point ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm hopinh next year will be a good one
I know what you mean. I've had those same thoughts recently, shortly after my birthday months ago, simply because I looked back at 15 years and thought, why am I not there yet? The answer? It's not time yet. When the time comes, it will come, even if it means taking matters into your own hands. With a plan, there's hope. You'll get there. :)
ReplyDeleteM Pax - Hmmm, how did I end up on this Yak path in the Himalayas for my route to publication? :P
ReplyDeleteLynda - You are most welcome!! Congrats and enjoy your moment. :D
David - Birthdays and New Years tend to be times we reflect on where we are and where we wish we were. We just have to remember that as long as we're moving forward we're still headed in the right direction, right?
It's good you recognize that each of us has our own path...but it's so hard to not look around and compare ourselves with others. One of the worst things to happen to me on this writing journey was becoming aware of Amazon rankings. Yes, I was inexplicably but blissfully unaware for quite some time...but now, now do I simply check on my own lagging rankings? Heck no! I need to torture myself by looking at the far better rankings of others. Stupid human nature.
ReplyDeleteWow, J.A.'s book sounds awesome. Going right on my TBR list! Thanks for the recommendation. Well, I certainly know where you're coming from. I wish there was something I could say to make you feel better but from experience there's little I can really say that would except maybe that from what I've read of your stuff, you're incredibly talented so it really is only a matter of time before I'm hosting YOU on MY blog for the release of your own debut novel!
ReplyDeleteNicki - Ooh, yeah, it would be hard to avoid the comparisons. Gah, why do we do stuff like that?!?
ReplyDeleteLisa - Oh, I can't wait for your guest post. Talk about perseverance. Really, once I get this novel written I'm going to put my head down and query my ass off. You've shown me what a wuss I am when it comes to that department. :P
I think it's fantastic that you've found something you really believe in now! I'm sure it's a sign of great things in your future. You're right - you deserve it! :-)
ReplyDeleteL. G. you and me both. I was just reading Rachelle Gardner's post - how do you know your work is any good? I liked the bit about the gut feeling. I think we write a lot of not-so-good work, but this is all part of paying our dues and practising our craft. Finally, we will be published...or so I believe!
ReplyDeleteLexa - Well, let's hope you're right! I'm getting a little tired of starting over. :P
ReplyDeleteDenise - Yes! I do think we should trust our instincts to know when we're onto a good project. They aren't all winners. Some deserve to be abandoned in my opinion. And others deserve as much time as it takes to get them right.
We all face this insecurity at some point in our journey. Keep going, you will get there!
ReplyDeleteThat's the key, right? Keep going!
DeleteIt's not all rainbows & roses even when you do get published. It's all a matter of perspective. From mine, I've determined the only way I can be happy is to write.
ReplyDeleteUm, I'm there right now, too. :) Hang in there, and when it comes to your day - we'll all be there to help you shout about it!
ReplyDeleteNancy - That is such a great point. And I do think I'll survive if I'm never published. I write for the same reason, because it's what I do.
ReplyDeleteNicole - Woot! May we both have our day to celebrate. :)