Posts Tagged getting published

My third attempt at a novel was my most ambitious project to date: a sweeping novel with four main characters, (all male), which took place in the 1950s in a small town in Virginia. The title: Born Leaders.

As with the other two novels, I sent off the query letters and sample chapters, but to no avail. My query/response spreadsheet was beginning to look like a report from a ten-year government study.

During this time, I wrote a short story which was beginning to show some promise. I worked on it for months, with critique groups and revised it several times. When it was as polished as I could get it, I sent it into our local Charlotte Writer’s Club contest, (The Elizabeth Simpson Smith Award), and it won first place– $500.00.

The award was more than just a local contest, (I was told), but a coveted prize each time it is offered. I attended a dinner in my honor, (along with the second and third place honorees), and accepted my award later at the monthly meeting. Although this seemed like a great honor at the time, I discovered later that agents are only interested if you win a national award. Still, I was proud of my accomplishment, and was also pleased to discover the short story would be published in the Writer’s Club anthology.

Next blog post, I will explore my fourth attempt, (a young adult novel), loosely based on events from my own teen years.

As promised, I wanted to describe my “road to publication” in a series of blog entries. This will be the first in that series.

In 2002, I began writing short stories. Most of them were amateurish at best, but a few of them showed promise. I submitted them to local contests– (the first one I ever submitted to the Charlotte Writer’s Club won honorable mention). I was excited, but I wanted more. Also, I wanted to know more. How do you get published? How do you get a literary agent? How can I improve as a writer?

Over time, I found the answers to my questions. I studied, participated in writing critique groups, wrote more, and read books in several genres. Soon, I had one particular short story which my writer friends suggested I flesh out into a full novel. I worked on it for several months, and began submitting it to literary agents, who were kind enough to give me suggestions for improvement. I spent several more months revising the manuscript, sent it to new agents, and received more rejections than I care to admit, but I learned a great deal in the process. One important lesson learned, was that I should begin writing the next novel– take what I’d learned from the first one and create something new. Move on.

Next post: What happened to novel number two…