Welcome back Lois Winston, with a fabulous post on perseverance. We can all learn from her lessons!
Several years ago, I saw The Play that Goes Wrong. The play-within-a-play is about a production of Murder at Haversham Manor, an Agatha Christie type murder mystery “…where things are quickly going from bad to disastrous. With an unconscious leading lady, a corpse that can’t play dead, and actors who trip over everything (including their lines).”
Recently, the play came to mind when an interviewer asked me how I celebrated the release of my first book. That book sold way back in 2005 and was released the following April. I had written for ten years prior to selling. I had an agent, had won several prestigious writing contests for unpublished authors, and had placed in many more.
I had also collected a file folder stuffed with dozens of rejection letters. What one editor loved about a manuscript, another cited as the reason for the rejection. Those who loved my manuscripts rejected for reasons unrelated to the quality of my writing, like an editor taking another job, a similarly themed book hadn’t sold well for them, or they’d recently bought a similar book.
But I kept writing.
After ten years and seven manuscripts, I finally received an offer from a well-known independent New York publisher. The advance was $1500.
My husband’s reaction? “Is that all?”
No flowers. No celebratory dinner. The unspoken subtext was why have I wasted a decade of my life when I could have spent that time taking on more freelance assignments and made that much money in a week or two?
Did it hurt? Of course. But I kept writing.
A few weeks before the book’s release, I was invited to take part in a multi-author gathering at a local chain bookstore. The event was being held on the official release date of Talk Gertie to Me. A week before the event, the coordinator emailed to say the store had received our books. I arrived to find stacks of books for the other five authors. None for me. Contrary to the email I’d received, my books had never arrived.
I forced a smile, made a few self-deprecating jokes about my lack of luck, and kept writing.
My book sold well. The publisher exercised the option clause in my contract and offered a slightly higher advance. Then they went out of business, stiffing their authors for unpaid royalties.
I still kept writing.
Why? I couldn’t not write. And even if I didn’t have much support from my family, I had an agent who believed in me. She called one day, suggesting I write a humorous craft-themed cozy mystery. An editor was looking for such a series. My agent knew I could write humor. Talk Gertie to Me was humorous chick lit. And she knew I was a designer in the consumer crafts industry.
A few months later, I finished Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun, the first book in what was to become my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series. The editor loved it, but the publishing house was in the process of being bought by another. All contracts were on hold until the sale was finalized. The first thing the new publisher did was change the company name. Then they folded their cozy mystery line.
But I kept writing.
Eventually, I received a 3-book contract for the series from another publisher. A few years ago, I made the decision to walk away from two additional contracts and go indie. Yesterday was the official release of A Crafty Collage of Crime, the twelfth Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery. There are also three connecting mini-mysteries.
And I still keep writing.
A Crafty Collage of Crime
An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 12
Wherever crafts editor and reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack goes, murder and mayhem follow. Her honeymoon is no exception. She and new husband, photojournalist (and possible spy) Zachary Barnes, are enjoying a walk in the Tennessee woods when they stumble upon a body on the side of a creek. The dead man is the husband of one of the three sisters who own the winery and guest cottages where Anastasia and Zack are vacationing.
When the local sheriff sets his sights on the widow as the prime suspect, her sisters close ranks around her. The three siblings are true-crime junkies, and thanks to a podcaster who has produced an unauthorized series about her, Anastasia’s reputation for solving murders has preceded her to the bucolic hamlet. The sisters plead for her help in finding the real killer. As Anastasia learns more about the women and their business, a host of suspects emerge, including several relatives, a relentless land developer, and even the sisters themselves.
Meanwhile, Anastasia becomes obsessed with discovering the podcaster’s identity. Along with knowing about Anastasia’s life as a reluctant amateur sleuth, the podcaster has divulged details of Anastasia’s personal life. Someone has betrayed Anastasia’s trust, and she’s out to discover the identity of the culprit.
Craft project included.
Read an excerpt and find Buy Links here.
USA Today and Amazon bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction. Kirkus Reviewsdubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a former award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry. Website: http://www.loiswinston.com Newsletter sign-up: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r2e9v1 Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers blog: www.anastasiapollack.blogspot.com
The people who never stop writing and pushing for publication are the ones who succeed!! Congratulations. Elaine L. Orr
Thanks for stopping by, Elaine, and yes, you are right!
Thanks, Elaine! Those who give up, will never know whether or not they would have succeeded had they only kept trying. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Inspirational post, Lois and Judy. It has a bit of the Myth-of-Sisyphus ring to it but with a happy ending–eventually, the rock can stay at the top! To me, knowing that others have made it through similar adversities is what helps keep me going. Thanks for modeling that for me.
I found it inspirational too, Pamela. Thank you for stopping by.
Pam, I guess it’s a bit of what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. 😉
Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Judy, thanks so much for hosting me on your blog today.
You are always welcome!
Wonderful post, Lois. It comes down to passion and perseverance and your example of both is inspiring!
Thanks for stopping by Lynn!
Thanks, Lynn! I’d add stubbornness to that list, as well. 😉
I’ve been referedto as a prolific writer, but like you I just needs to write. Thanks for the validation.
DonnaRae Menard
Thanks for stopping by, DonnaRae. Glad you enjoyed the post.
Thanks for stopping by DonnaRae!
Lois, you have hit on the number one reason to keep going: a writer has to write. Even when it’s not working, keep going. So glad you have! Just bought the new book and am looking forward to digging in.
Thanks, Gay. I’m often reminded of something Nora Roberts said about how you can always fix a bad page, but you can’t fix a blank page. No matter what, we just keep on keeping on. I think that not only goes for hitting a brick wall in our writing but also in our writing journeys.
Thanks for stopping by Gay!
Thanks for sharing your story. Mine is similar. I’m glad things have worked out, and love your books (and your titles).
Thanks for stopping by Susan — amazing how many of us are products of perseverance.
Somebody said determination is the key to success. You are a poster child!!
Thanks T.K. for stopping by. Lois is definitely an inspiration.
Thanks, T.K.! As I commented to Lynn, I think stubbornness also has something to do with it!
So true. We just keep writing. As Kathleen said, we write for ourselves as well as our readers. For me, writing is an escape from the reality we live in to a different reality, where things turn out as I want them to. Well, more or less. Sometimes my characters take control, and usually they are right.
Twelve Anastasia books! Wow, that’s fabulous, Lois. 🙂
Thanks, Barbara! I completely agree. I also write because it’s a way to escape the real world and have more control. Even when the characters take over, everything works out in the end. That’s not necessarily true in real life.
Thanks for stopping by Barbara!
Absolutely, Kathleen! Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
We just have to keep going and remember that we write for ourselves as well as for our readers.
Very true Kathleen. It keeps us sane and we can get even with the nasty folks in our lives, even if it’s only make believe on paper!