To be honest, when I contemplated giving writing a go in 2019, I thought I’d write a memoir. (Long story… and the past is the past.) Still, the overwhelming urge remained, so while working full time, I studied writing craft. Getting ready for work every morning, I’d watch YouTube authors. I wrote about those fun times here.
Always seeking yet more information (I have a PhD, so I come by it naturally), I stumbled across Shut Up And Write when they were hosting a week of writing prompts. I was desperate for an outlet (and ideas), so I posted a creative response for five days. I shared them with my husband, who kindly said,
Whatever you do, never stop writing. ~Bob Ranson, 2019
Wow! And just so you know, he wasn’t the type to offer hollow praise. I was doing something right. But that didn’t mean I could actually finish a novel and get it published.
Was that even what I wanted at the time? I don’t recall.
A writing prompt got me on a good path
One prompt suggested listening to a favorite piece of music. I chose Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, which I fell in love with as a teenager. Yes, I was a total dork who didn’t always fit in. Surprise!
I wrote a scene featuring a young woman named Elizabeth in the 1920s in New York City.
I liked her so much; she stole into my slumber. Dreams about how to make Elizabeth come more alive took over some waking hours, too. So I enrolled in an online Creative Writing course at the community college where I was an administrator. Elizabeth starred in the short story that was my final exam.
COVID came to the world, and cancer came to our house. Teleworking and Zoom calls became the unpleasant daily norm and soon I was dreaming of writing more. I took early retirement in October 2020. I became a writer while also caregiving.
I finished my first draft of “She Danced Anyway” during NaNoWriMo in November 2020.
Way leads on to way, so said a famous (and my favorite) poet. Next thing I knew I was working on a second novel while She Danced Anyway was in an editor’s hands.
I rewrote the ending, and other storylines got changed. It left the Romance genre, but stayed solidly in Historical Fiction.
Choosing a publishing path
Beta readers weighed in. While betas were doing their thing, I researched publishers that accepted unagented work. I’m past the age when I can wait for a literary agent to sell my writing.
I figured out QueryTracker, where I studied literary agents and publishers. It was exhausting, but being organized is my jam. I started a spreadsheet (an idea I got from a YouTube author).
Note: I conducted considerable research into self-publishing. If anyone could figure it out, I probably could do it. Had I not ended up with a traditional publisher (spoiler alert), I would have put my books out myself. Why not?
I’d still be editing the darn thing if Perfectionist Julie had her way. Instead, in 2023 (one year after my husband passed away), I braced myself and submitted the manuscript to several publishers. I received one full manuscript request. Within two months of submission, I was signing a contract with The Wild Rose Press.
For two months, I worked closely with a historical fiction editor. She was skilled and encouraging — I love Nan! If I wanted to do another round of reading and edits (perfectionism is such a plague), she let me. We had a great partnership.
The Wild Rose Press is run by two women founders who started the company in 2006 to publish romance. They’ve since branched out to publish many other genres, but company president Rhonda Penders keeps asking for ‘more romance’ during our weekly chats.
The Tuesday night chat (which is open to anyone, not only TWRP authors) is just one layer of support that writers receive. We have a group discussion board where incredible advice is dispensed every single day. Authors share their victories. It’s a positive feedback loop all the time.
The communication from management is regular and always helpful. A marketing guidebook is provided after contract signing. (You do know that authors have to market their own work, right? The DOJ anti-trust case in 2021 revealed that even the Big Five publishers spend a small percentage on book promotion.)
When my debut novel showed up at online retailers, I found a category error on one site. I emailed the operations head (co-founder RJ Morris) who fixed it within thirty minutes.
Am I happy so far? YES, indeed!
This publisher has the expected rules, but it doesn’t feel bureaucratic. My editor, Nan, invited me to submit my next manuscript directly to her (rather than go through the ‘submission email’) regardless of the genre. It is contemporary romance. Wild Rose offered me another contract. Nan had the time, so we kept working together. It was such a joy!
Now, I’m working on book three. We’ll see how that goes.
I love full-circle moments
Last fall, I attended a local Shut Up and Write group sprint (look for one in your area on meetup.com). And what do you know… I’m now coordinating these meetings twice a month. The group has grown from two retired ladies to meetups of five-to-eight writers. It’s a lovely, supportive group for accountability.
Oh, and remember that scene I wrote to the Gershwin music? It’s still in She Danced Anyway.
A friend recently said that I’d reinvented myself in retirement. I’m not so sure about the reinvention part, but I am definitely reading from a new manual. To mix metaphors rather absurdly, one could say that I switched guidebooks about five years ago and I’m traveling incredible new territory.
Or maybe I’ve “started a new chapter.” Ha-ha.
She Danced Anyway released in June 2024. My second contracted book, His Christmas Muse, releases December 9, 2024. My newsletter is entertaining and not annoying at all. Signup here.