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I stopped writing any kind of fiction for nearly ten years after my first run in with traditional publishing. Life kinda took over and I didn't have time for it. Then things changed and I had some extra time on my hands. I wrote my first novel. That was two years ago this March. Since then, that book sold 25K copies. Did you all catch that? I published the first novel I ever wrote. *cringe* The stuff I submitted a decade ago was illustrated children's books. My 1st novel reads like a debut book, but that's okay. Everyone starts somewhere. It has a pretty purple cover. 
Fast forward to Jan. I have an idea for a book. My editor raises his eyebrow (which is the skeptical face). I wanted to write a book about a call girl. It was supposed to be sad and funny and hot and not erotica. Basically, a hot mess like the main character. I made it a serial instead of a novel, b/c I didn't think anyone would read it based on the reaction I got. I stopped telling ppl about it b/c I got the oh, dear face one too many times. I wrote it anyway. Book 3 came out last week and jumped up into the top 100. Holy freaking crap!
Another book I wrote last summer hit the NYT and USA today bestseller lists in Jan after sleeping for 9 months. It was a weird book about a preacher and a painter. I vented a little bit in there. It was cathartic. I almost didnt publish it.
Write because you have to. Write because you love it. People sense that and latch onto it.
And write what you want. Even if you share your ideas, its hard for ppl to know what it'll look like in the end. I don't tell anyone what I'm doing anymore. I've been writing what I want to write and letting things fall where they may. I decided to stay away from things that bring me down. There are ppl who really get off on writing horrible reviews. They make me nuts. I'm not reading them anymore. I'm avoiding GR and anything else that brings me down.
BTW, I had a professor in college that called me into her office. She pushes my term paper back at me and says she can't grade it. I'm thinking that I turned an A paper, so it freaks me out. She said that my grammar is so atrocious, but it's not technically wrong. My sentence structures are unconventional in a bad way. Her eye was twitching by the time I left. She hated reading anything I wrote and wanted to fail me. She was an editor for some big names at the time. Meanwhile, another prof was gushing about my clever writing style and super excited for me, encouraging me to do post graduate work at an Ivy League University. I think they used to fight about me in the coffee room.
Never let one person shatter your dreams. It's just one person.
Fast forward to Jan. I have an idea for a book. My editor raises his eyebrow (which is the skeptical face). I wanted to write a book about a call girl. It was supposed to be sad and funny and hot and not erotica. Basically, a hot mess like the main character. I made it a serial instead of a novel, b/c I didn't think anyone would read it based on the reaction I got. I stopped telling ppl about it b/c I got the oh, dear face one too many times. I wrote it anyway. Book 3 came out last week and jumped up into the top 100. Holy freaking crap!
Another book I wrote last summer hit the NYT and USA today bestseller lists in Jan after sleeping for 9 months. It was a weird book about a preacher and a painter. I vented a little bit in there. It was cathartic. I almost didnt publish it.
Write because you have to. Write because you love it. People sense that and latch onto it.
And write what you want. Even if you share your ideas, its hard for ppl to know what it'll look like in the end. I don't tell anyone what I'm doing anymore. I've been writing what I want to write and letting things fall where they may. I decided to stay away from things that bring me down. There are ppl who really get off on writing horrible reviews. They make me nuts. I'm not reading them anymore. I'm avoiding GR and anything else that brings me down.
BTW, I had a professor in college that called me into her office. She pushes my term paper back at me and says she can't grade it. I'm thinking that I turned an A paper, so it freaks me out. She said that my grammar is so atrocious, but it's not technically wrong. My sentence structures are unconventional in a bad way. Her eye was twitching by the time I left. She hated reading anything I wrote and wanted to fail me. She was an editor for some big names at the time. Meanwhile, another prof was gushing about my clever writing style and super excited for me, encouraging me to do post graduate work at an Ivy League University. I think they used to fight about me in the coffee room.
Never let one person shatter your dreams. It's just one person.
