Tag Archive | confessions

Author Confessions: My Children are Unimpressed

Feb19
Reading Time: 3 minutes

My Children are Unimpressed

It’s funny that my kids are not impressed the fact that their mother has published a long list of novels. I’m not a famous doctor or multi-millionaire who owns corporations or a private jet. Maybe those would garner attention?

I doubt it. I’m Mom. I’m the one who was always there, making meals, picking them up from school, cheering them on in their sports endeavors.

Some people are impressed but it’s usually followed with “I’ve always wanted to write a book.”

“Great!” I reply. “You should do it.”

I’ve met with people who want to know how. If I were to inundate them with all the things they need to now to be published they’d never write a word. I tell them to write the story on their heart. Whatever it is. Then they can decide what they want to do with it.

I thought I knew how to write when I wrote my first book. Boy was I wrong! I learned so much through the process of those first few books. It’s humbling. I’m still learning. Sometimes I try something new but it flops with my editor and I have to go back and rewrite. There are skills I’ve haven’t mastered yet as well as I’d like to. I am also an editor, so I try to help my authors get to those next steps as well. Hopefully, every book I write is better than the last one.

Recently some people at church have realized that I’m an author and they are starting to read my books. I’m still Susan to them. They enjoy the stories and that is so sweet to hear their comments. I’m not a celebrity though. The work I’ve done conveys no special honor in my church family. There are a few who are honored to be my close friends and have encouraged me on my writing journey through the years.

When my first book hit the best-seller list at number one shortly after publication it was surreal. It lasted a week and only because the publisher dropped the price. Basically it only sold more than the other books out there that week. I realized then that it was an illusion.

Will my children ever realize the hard work I’ve done? Will they ever even read one of my books and be amazed that their Mom wrote them? I often read something I’ve written and been amazed. Not that I’m so great, but that God allowed me to write it. I am fully aware that the gift of telling the stories I do, are from Him. He is the One who I pray will guide my imagination as I seek to write stories that will not only entertain but also encourage or challenge people, that there will be a heart impact. That their faith would be stronger because of the story. I’m often blessed by the words as well which makes me more aware of the spiritual nature of my work.

So maybe I will not be a famous author or my name lauded on the New York Bestsellers list. That’s OK because I write out of obedience to God. Maybe someday my kids will appreciate that even more than the books they’ll be left with after I’m gone someday. Will my children stay unimpressed or become impressed?

Author Confessions: Fun or Hard Work?

Jan29
Reading Time: 3 minutes

When I first wrote a book, it was in 2009 and it was such a rush. I was filled with delight as the story progressed. That high quickly diminished when I began to understand just how much I didn’t know about storytelling–at least not the kind a publisher would want. The Christian market has different standards than much of what I had read in the secular market. Oh, I had so much to learn.

I kept writing. Many of my friends who are writers will exclaim at how fast I can write a story. Most of the time that is true but I have to be really focused to put in that kind of sustained effort. The reality is, as someone who does not plot a novel, writing fast helps me keep track of all my characters and plot points. Sure I make notes as I go but usually I just try to get the story out. The more stories I write you would think the easier it would get. Not true. Sometimes I think I don’t want to get to the end of the story so I will find other things to do. But why? Because then the really hard work comes, the editing, tearing it apart, eventually submitting it and having it either accepted or rejected. If there is a contract then the harder work of editing begins. And marketing. Let’s not forget that.

They tell writers we need to toughen up — but sometimes it is hard to do the edits. It can feel like a personal attack because this story was birthed out of my imagination. I’m not a tough person. When I was in grade school, all someone had to do was look at me with anger and I’d burst into tears. I’m not quite so prone to that now, but in some ways that’s a loss, not a gain.

The more one writes, the better they hopefully get. I had one novel where I tried something different. I wrote two concurrent love stories. One was primary and the other secondary but that meant four,not two points-of-view (the perspective of the one character, what they see, feel, hear, touch, or in anyway experience). It got contracted but I had to remove the points-of-view of the secondary love story. The romance was still there but was only seen through the eyes and ears of my two main characters. Ugh.

It doesn’t matter how you feel about it–the work has to be done. I have some books that I’ve written that due to hassles during the editing process, I almost don’t want to pick up and read when they were done. If I do read them, I’m often amazed at the story and those yucky feelings from the editing disappear as I get lost in a story I should know by heart, but don’t because I write so many. I’ll enjoy it immensly.

So there is fun in the process. There’s an awe and wonder when I read words on a page, enjoy them and marvel because then it hits me. I wrote that. Me? Little ol’ me? Obviously, God was at work. I’m not that great on my own. Many authors refuse to read their books. Of course, the down side is every time I read an older novel I think of ways I could have done it better. I wrote it the best I could at the time, with what I knew. Time gives perspective. If older titles are not longer available someday, I’ll need to consider whether I want to revise them for another run, totally understanding that it would mean another few rounds of edits in the process. Because making changes always seems to mess up something!

Is writing hard work? Yes. The pay is crappy and my employer (me) is an inconsistant taskmaster. Life is full and busy without all that, but as long as God calls me to do this work, I’ll continue on.