My Journey As A Writer
My book, “Saga of Crow’s Landing” is on my editor’s desk. Now I just need to sit back and wait until I get the editor’s suggestions. In the meantime, I’ll try to figure out what my new book will be about. I only know it will be another Jennifer Parsons novel. I’m shifting gears and expanding her repertoire into a new line of work. Stay tuned.
Here’s a little about me. I’ve lived a fulfilling life—33 years as an engineer with the Oregon Department of Transportation, 25 years as a volunteer with Marion County, and now fully retired. Throughout this time, I’ve enjoyed writing stories, many of them.
From time to time, I shared my stories with anyone interested in reading them. Often, I was encouraged to get them published. In the early to mid-seventies, I sent my work out to various magazines and publishers. I got enough rejections to fill the wall of my workspace. I attended workshops and writer’s conferences and quickly learned that I needed an agent.
Finding an agent was as hard or harder than finding someone to publish my work. Even going the vanity publishing route was beyond me. Then I’d have to sell the darn things and that took me way out of my comfort zone (and it still does). So, I gave up. Finding a publisher, not writing.
However, the world has changed and getting a book on the bookshelves has become relatively easy. It does cost a bit, but I’ve always paid someone to do things I didn’t want to spend my time at, such as mowing the lawn, changing the oil in my car, etc... So, for me it was a no-brainer. I’ll gladly pay someone rather than take the time to master every task necessary to get my work on Amazon, Barnes and Nobel, and other bookshelves.
So, when I recently checked into it, I found that indeed the world has changed. I picked BookBaby because it does it all. It guides me through editing and all the other necessary things needed to make my book publishable… and they distribute it as well. Further they charge a reasonable amount, in my opinion for the work they do for me. I say this because in my case I believe it to be true. To be clear, I’m not pitching them. I’m not paid anything by that firm.
Having said that, writing is still a hobby for me. I’m not into all the things necessary to market my books. I’ll be content if I only get a handful of sales though it would be nice if tons of people enjoyed my work. To that end, I thought I might sell a few books via this website. I can showcase the two books I have put out there. The first one, “Ride the Winds of Change” I put on Amazon several years ago just because I could. Obviously, it needs editing and other things as well. The other is “Saga of Silver Springs.” My next venture “Saga of Crow’s Landing” which will drop as soon as it’s ready.
But there is another reason, perhaps a more important one. I wanted to have a forum that might be useful for beginning authors struggling through a very complex process. I thought, why not set up a series of posts that highlight my week-to-week progress of writing, then preparing their manuscripts for publication. Maybe share some thoughts on why I wrote what I did. Why I choose a female as my protagonist, for example.
I don’t mean the nitty-gritty of the book but more the struggles I’m having as I work my way through the writing of it. And as you well know there are many issues that pop up along the way. Maybe respond to questions about what others might be facing.
I’m lucky enough that I can afford this hobby. It is after all less expensive than my other hobbies of the past, flying, photography, motorcycle riding. You get the picture.
My goal here is to show that setting goals and persevering will lead to success. Words and ideals don’t just fall from the sky—usually. Beginning authors may find it interesting to see they aren’t alone. Maybe we can share our successes.
And if nobody finds this interesting, at least I tried to help someone get over some of their roadblocks. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. It is, after all the love of the game, isn’t it?
