My path to publication – update!

With novel #4 about to hit the shelves in May, I am so glad to still be tripping down that yellow brick road, hand in hand with the wizards of publishing Simon & Schuster (Australia) and singing travel songs.

This crazy writing journey has not always light of foot and joyous. My path to publication hit some serious detours, but I picked up a few good tips and friends along the way and because the question most asked of me is “How did you get published?” I thought a re-post ad update from my February 2012 post on the subject a good idea. So if you are interested in watching paint dry, you might also enjoy this post about….

My Path to Publication (as posted in Feb, 2012)

It is a tradition within my writing association that those announcing their first sale/book contract follow the announcement with their ‘call story’. It’s meant to be a re-telling of that moment when a publisher calls and gives you the news you’ve been working towards and dreaming about since you could pick up a pen (or access an i-Pad, as is the case today!)

But I fear my call story might be like watching paint dry, as it was a long process with lots of emails and waiting in between for things to be finalised. (Thank goodness for agents!)

So I thought, if a call story is meant to inspire (as well as inform) then maybe I’m better to write about the turning points in my writing, when a few significant things happened to nudge me closer to my goal.

Grab a coffee, settle in and … come home to the country.

Many moons ago, when my sister (in real estate at the time) listed the house of ‘a famous author’ and happened to mention to said author, “my little sister wants to write romance novels”, the ‘lovely lady and owner of said house’ (Valerie Parv was her name) gave my sister some magazines called Hearts Talk, and a message. “Tell your sister to join RWA.”

Turning Point #1 – I joined Romance Writers of Australia.

Recuperating after major surgery, I spent  seven weeks writing my first Danielle Steel meets Nora Roberts novel. Of course I was going to be THAT famous! Then over the next two years I entered RWA’s Valerie Parv Contest – twice – as well as many other contests.

Turning point #2 – I entered lots of contests – not to win (I was too green) but to get feedback. (Winning/placing was a bonus.)

Turning point #3 – Bootcamp 109, April 2009 – I think.  This RWA initiative with the  fabulous Rachel Bailey and Nikki Logan (et al) made me realise:

1. I am not alone.
2. This writing caper is bloody hard.
3. There’s no reason why success can’t be mine.

I now had two manuscripts which I subbed and subbed (with various calls for more chapters). But all I got was the big R – rejection.

Turning point #4 – This IS a business. Analyse the market. See what’s selling. Plan, strategise, set goals.
Rural romances were really starting to take off a couple of years ago. Okay, I thought, can I do that? I’ve never  harvested a crop, sheared/shorn (see I can’t even tell how to say it) a sheep, rounded up brumbies, or branded a cow. But I could brand myself!

Turning point #5 – Work out what you CAN write about and create a theme/brand. We’ve heard it before. Write about what you know. Well, I know about small country towns and all the colourful, quirky characters. I am part of a small community (moving from the city to run a cafe business which I’d never done before. I could do anything – right!) I’d experienced the difference between country and city. (I was a city girl who’d craved to get back to her country roots for years.)

Hey, coming home to the country! Does that sound like the theme for me? (In 2016 I’m taking readers from the country to the coast.)

Next, I took a ‘leaf’ out of Nikki Logan’s strategy and established a brand. (Nikki is a fantastic example of branding with her ‘nature’ theme and she has been such a positive influence.)

So two years ago (or so) I created my Come home to the country….small towns, big hearts theme.

Okay, now I needed to write something. Amazingly, once I had my brand, my ‘voice’ seemed to develop all by itself (with a little help from Lisa Heidke who really showed me what ‘a fresh voice’ was all about).  Bronwyn Parry and Helene Young had already taught me how to plot a page turner. (There have been many other influences over time, of course: Dianne Blacklock and Monica McInerney – whose books my readers will enjoy.)

Turning point #6 – Stop trying so hard, glue bum on seat and write.
The glue was NaNoWriMo – National Novel Writing Month. With my brand and my voice knocking to get out, I sat down in November 2009 and wrote my first draft of House For All Seasons.

Turning point #7 – Lightning (yes, Annie Seaton editor extraordinaire, I said ‘lightning‘) bolts flashed and I decided I am a writer of Australian contemporary fiction. (I still say it with trepidation!)  I don’t write romance novellas and the like (and I admire those who can fit high emotion in with so few words allowed).  I was trying too hard. It took me years to figure out what I wrote and what it was called. Sounds stupid, doesn’t it? Was I single title, ‘with romantic elements’, mainstream fiction, commercial fiction, women’s fiction… Aren’t they all the same, I would cry.

Aaaaarrrggghhh!!!!

But this was a turning point for me.

Turning point #8 – a milestone birthday. Nothing like growing a year older to give you a shove. I was giving myself one year, telling myself if I hadn’t sold, I would give up on publishing and just write for myself.