The Odyssey of Writing a Bestseller (I can dream, can’t I?!)
A little over 10 years ago, I saw a video of a busy city street with crowds of people on the sidewalk and small dragons fluttering down like pigeons looking for food. That image sparked several questions. What would a high fantasy world look like after 2000 years or more of technological advancement? Would magic be old-fashioned? Would technology remove the need for magic and it became lost? Or would magic reduce the need to develop technology in the same way we had?
The story began to unfold. It seemed that kids in that world would see magic as boring. Much like this world, tech is where it’s at. In my first draft, Will was my protagonist, but I realized I was playing into what had been provided to me… another story about a boy out having adventures.
Here’s a little tidbit about me. I read a lot of books like My Friend Flicka when I was a kid. All the stories I read were about boys having adventures on ranches in the West. Is it any wonder I went to bed at night praying, “Dear God, when I wake up, please make me a boy living on a ranch in the West.” Representation does matter.
I knew I wanted the protagonist to be a strong, smart girl, and suddenly the story got a lot more interesting. Opal became the lead, and Will her sidekick. The book went through a complete rewrite, and it took many versions to get all the pronouns switched, too. Those pesky pronouns.
Having done so much rewriting, it was time I hired an editor. I hired big-timey editor, one far better than I deserved at that point. Looking back at those early drafts, my writing was awful. It was repetitive, as I tried to find just the right way to get my point across. Having come from 20 years of writing screenplays, I was woefully in need of more description. Screenplays are stripped-down, efficient means of getting visuals across to the director. Books require pulling the reader in with lush description or rapid action, depending on what’s needed in the scene.
The story was there, and the setting was original, but my writing skills needed improvement. Still, I began sending off query letters to agents, even as I kept pumping out edited versions of Fear Unleashed, hoping someone might recognize the excellent story under my bad writing. No one ever requested more pages. It was demoralizing.
Despite the rejection, I started writing book two. I was about halfway through when I decided that if agents weren’t going for this book, it was silly to write a sequel. Self-publishing was a thing, but at that time, it was considered the last resort, and traditional publishing was still what everyone wanted. Not seeing a point in continuing, I abandoned the project and wrote a different book about a girl who finds an old camera that takes her on adventures in time. I developed enough time travel plot twists to span a series. Someday I’ll get back to that one, too.
From time to time, I’d take another stab at Fear Unleashed. I hired another editor to try to clean up the mess I’d made with my multiple edits. Then life happened. Due to stress and other factors, I stopped writing and even lost interest in it. When I went into freelance writing and editing, it became work I did for others, but wasn’t doing for myself.
That is, until one night at a networking event. Someone asked me what I did, and when I answered I was a writer and editor, they asked, “Have you published anything?” This is a common question when you say you write. And I gave my standard response, “No, not yet. But I’m working on it.”
But inside, I knew that wasn’t true. Yes, I had three completed books on my hard drive, but I wasn’t actively working towards publishing any of them. What was wrong with me? I didn’t ever want to give that answer again without knowing I was working toward publication.
I went home after that, determined to pull Fear Unleashed up and start working on it again. It was better than I remembered. I had my last editor’s notes and began the work of completing those edits. I found a cover artist. I started to research the steps to self-publishing. Then a publishing date was set.
Now, here I sit with a completed novel that I love, just waiting for the map to be done. While I wait, I keep reading it over and over. I enjoy it so much. I can’t wait for other people to read it too.
Years ago, I heard the saying, “Art is never finished, only abandoned.” I fully understand that saying now. With each read, I find a little word to tweak here, or a phrase to drop there. At some point, I’m just going to have to abandon it and hope for the best.
The marketing portion of this project is my weak point. The good thing is that as a self-published author, I can keep pushing it until it finds an audience. Traditional publishers pretty much abandon a book, marketing-wise, after the release. I will keep trying to find people who enjoy it, and hope for a little luck.
As soon as I upload the book, I will order a proof of the paperback so I can read it and make sure the layout is good. I look forward to holding the book in my hands. And I can’t wait until the next time someone asks me if I’ve published anything. I can’t wait to answer, “Yes! The book is Fear Unleashed. You can get it at any bookstore or on Amazon.”
I’ll let those on my mailing list know when pre-orders can be placed. You can join the mailing list, read more about the history of this planet, and learn more about the characters there. You can even read the first chapter at fearunleashedbook.com.
Fear Unleashed will be available in paperback on August 6th. You can purchase it from Amazon, or go to any bookstore and request a copy there. The ebook will be available at a future date.
I can’t wait to know other people are holding my story in their hands, and going on a grand adventure with Opal and Will through familiar, yet unique landscapes and cultures. I hope the book’s readers come to love these characters and their world as much as I do.
