Slowing Down

I've been taking a good long look at my writing career lately and have come to the conclusion that I try to do too much, too fast. I've always had a bit of a competitive streak, even if I'm only competing with myself, but that's led to me having too many books out and not enough time to effectively promote them. And promoting is a necessary part of being a published author.

I've also kind of lost some of the joy I used to have in writing. It used to be enough to just sit down and watch the story pour out onto the screen, but now sometimes I get stressed about whether said story will be contracted, whether anyone will buy it, whether my career will be over because all my publishers will hate me, etc. Low self-confidence, thy name is publication.

So I've decided to try--again--to slow things down a little. I say again because I made the same vow at the end of 2011, and yet by the end of 2012 I'll have had *more* releases than I did last year. Even though I was supposed to have fewer. I'm going to write and submit fewer stories going forward, because I'm going to take time to do other things, as well as to just write stories for the fun of it. Writing used to be fun, and if it stops being fun, I'll know I'm finished with it.

Harlie's an Author...well, she's signed a contract

 

 

My Publishing Journey by Harlie Williams

 Now, I know that most authors have a fabulous publishing journey.  Filled with a fast track to greatness, glowing inspiration from other authors and the words just flowed like you’re the writing machine of Nora Roberts sitting in your perfect office overlooking beautiful scenery in your backyard, right?

Reality for this writer is I wrote my story over a year ago with SpongeBob Square pants in the background, my son consistently bugging me for food, something to drink or “Can you play with me?” every five minutes.  Yes, writing the sex scenes were interrupted too many times. 

I subbed this story for anthology call and it was rejected flat out.  No explanation from the editor.  I cried and told myself that I wasn’t cut out to be a writer.  After about a month of self-loathing, I realized that I was a writer.  I had a review blog.  I reviewed books, wrote about them and people really liked my reviews.  So I took a couple of online writing classes, joined a great critique group and buckled down.  I even had a couple of authors read it and see what they thought of it.  Well, after getting back my story in shreds, I re-worked it and put it away for a couple of months.

In one of my loops, they were offering an online pitch session.  I eagerly signed up and worked on my pitch.  If I thought writing the story was hard, getting the pitch right was even harder.  I mean, how do you sell in a story in ten minutes?  It’s not easy.  As I waited my turn in the bull pen to pitch, I got really, really nervous.  What if they don’t like it?  What if it’s too short?  Is my story good enough?  Soon, I’m leaving the pitch session with a request for a full.  OMG!  They liked the pitch.  Now what?

I went back into my story added some things that were mentioned in the pitch session and hit the “send” button.  Hardest thing I have ever done in my life; hitting that button.  Within 48 hours, I had a contract.  Yes, a contract.  I was in shock for at least two days.  I didn’t know what to do.  Sign the contract?  Not sign?  Can I handle edits?  Promo? Reviews?  Social media?  Website?  The answer is yes.  I have a blog; I review for other sites and my own.  I’m active on social media.  I can do this!

The main thing I learned about this journey is that everyone’s is different.  It took me a year for someone to like this story and give it a chance.  I’ve been told that shopping a story for a year and getting a contract for it is excellent.  Most of the time it takes longer for a story to even be considered. 

The moral of my journey is I NEVER gave up.  I worked on it, learned from my mistakes and it made me a better writer. 

I signed with MuseItUp Publishing and my release month is December.  I haven't even gotten edits yet but then again, I only signed the contract a week ago.  :)

I would love some likes on the author page.  Here's the link:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Harlie-Williams-Writer/224885394212458

 

Thanks for reading my post this month.  And yes, I'm still in shock but I'm slowly coming out of it.  Harlie's review blog is too busy for me to sit around and eat bon bons, sipping a Mai Tai!