This past week, everyone has been so amazing and supportive, with friends and strangers saying delightful things about A DRAGONBIRD IN THE FERN and adding it on Goodreads (you can do that here!).
I've dreamt of
being a published author since elementary school. This journey was far from an
overnight success. If you spend that much time working on a dream, you might
get discouraged, like I did—many times.
I thought of this
line a lot…
Sometimes it's very difficult to keep
momentum
If it's you that you are following.
-"New Argentina", Evita
That's
essentially what we as creatives are doing—trusting over and over that we've carved
out the right path, and while we may make adjustments, we have to keep going to get where we want to be.
So, if you're
like me, you're writing and writing, and learning, and growing, and collecting
some praise, but lots of passes (more on this below). Accounts of longer
publishing journeys like from the wonderful Beth Revis helped me
keep my faith.
So, here's my path.
I wrote a lot
in school and some in college, but never managed to complete a novel until
2011, when I figured out the two keys for me were knowing the ending and trying
to write in first person. Eureka! A full novel! I was a writing genius!
Ha
Ha
Ha
Since then I completed
many full first drafts, and polished and queried several of them. I signed with an
agent (yay!), went on sub, but my story didn't find a home. My agent's interests
changed, and we parted ways. I found myself at a crossroads.
2. But I still believed in A DRAGONBIRD IN THE FERN with all my heart.
I worked on my
next WIP, but I also used feedback from some editors from my round of subs and
revised Dragonbird on my own. I sent it to a small number of respected
publishers that take unagented submissions.
On my birthday
(seriously, on my birthday), Kelsy Thompson from Flux requested my full.
Fast forward a few months, and she asked if it was still available! And now A
DRAGONBIRD IN THE FERN will be published by Flux in Fall 2020.
So, to get to
this point of having a publishing deal, I had 8 years of hard work, heartbreak, hope, and learning. I wrote 9 manuscripts and queried 5 of them. I received
somewhere around 300 passes.
Yes.
300. And some of them were really important, because they contained feedback that helped me grow as a writer. And if I had given
up at 100 or 200 or even 250, I wouldn't be looking forward to holding my book
in my hands.
So,
keep writing, keep learning, believe in yourself!
And
DON'T GIVE UP!
Laura(Lori), we are so proud of you! I have been incredibly impressed by your dedication and conviction to your writing over the years. Without a doubt, you have earned any reward that may be coming your way. You should know that you are an inspiration to me and all others that know you. I couldn’t agree more, DON’T (ever) GIVE UP...words to live by!
ReplyDeleteWith love,
yurbabybro
You're going to make me cry, Jer!!! <3 <3 <3
DeleteHa, you have already made me cry, so proud of you big sis! I really wish that I would have made the time to read through your blog earlier.
ReplyDelete