Our guest blogger today is Karen Harrington, author of JANEOLOGY. After her publisher shut down last year, she decided to release a paperback edition via CreateSpace, due out April 30th. We’re happy to have Karen here today to share her experience on the ups and downs of publication. You can find her on her blog or at http://www.karenharringtonbooks.com/. She is represented by Julia Kenny of Markson Thoma.
You Can Always Keep Writing
by Karen Harrington
One of my favorite songs by Gary Clark includes this memorable lyric:“Some days you write the song. Some days the song writes you.”
That is how I would sum up my writing and publication journey. It is fodder for a country song. My experience has gone from love and celebration to heartbreak and tears. I haven’t had a lot of control over the lyrics of my country song journey, but I’ve learned one important lesson: I could always control the refrain. And that refrain is to constantly, consistently keep my butt in the chair and write.
When you can’t control anything else, you CAN keep on writing.
Like any good story, this one has a beginning, middle and end.
BEGINNING
Since the early 1990s, I’d written novels and screenplays, collecting a steady stream of rejections and a handful of encouragements. My first real sign of recognition was when I received an honorable mention in the Lorian Hemingway Short Story contest in 1998. This, of course, made me feel validated. I thought, here is a sign that I am a true writer. I’m finally in the club! My dreams are on their way!
You know how life works? The road to a dream isn’t always a direct one. It’s more of an uphill, zig-zag.
It would be two novels, two jobs as a professional speechwriter, two babies and ten more years before I’d become published.
MIDDLE
I finally stumbled upon the idea that would be become JANEOLOGY. I wrote it in fits and starts for a few years. I began the long query process and received a fair amount of requests to read it, both from agents and a handful of independent publishing houses who accepted unagented work. Many of these responses were positive. They really liked the story, “but, it’s just not quite there,” some of them wrote. Now as a stay-at-home mom, I knew what I needed was feedback on this story. Many people benefit from writer’s critique groups, but I wasn’t in a position to participate regularly, much less get a regular haircut. Then, a fortuitous thing happened. I quite literally stum Add a Comment
Thanks for sharing. It is so true that there are ups and downs in an author's journey to publication. We can't control them. But the one thing we can control is that we keep on writing. Thanks for the inspiration.
What great inspiration and so true. This journey is full of ups and downs. Thanks for the amazing post!
Thanks to Adventures In Children's Publishing for letting me be part of this great blog series. I'm always inspired by the stories of others.
Great love,
kh
An "uphill zigzag." Love it! Thanks for sharing the story of your journey. It's always enlightening and inspiring to read how others made it to publication. We all have slightly different stories, but you're right--we have to keep on writing!
I'm glad to hear you stuck with writing and have achieved so much!
Really appreciate your encouraging post, Karen. Life happens 24/7 around every writer, and it's just a matter of pressing in and writing deep no matter what.
: ) Beth
Congrats! Never surrender!
Wow - what an amazing story! Perseverence is such an important trait for any career - but it seems especially important for writers. Thanks so much for sharing your story!
Wow, what an inspirational story! I wish you the best of luck with NO ORDINARY GIRL.
Thanks for your inspirational story. I know what you mean about how to control the refrain by continuing to write.
I'm now in the process of seeking out "beta readers," which I've never used before. With my previous five novels, I had "readers" who were colleagues—each with divergent points of view. I can't use them again...hence, the need to search out other options.
Karen, I appreciate you sharing your story. Mine has been filled with downs, ups, and more downs too. I agree with you completely that 1. We have control over little besides writing and submitting it and 2. Studying the craft and getting feedback is vital.
Hope we hear great news from you about a contract soon!