Forcing Myself to Learn

So, you know how my publisher went out of business last fall? At the time, I knew very little about self-publishing. But thanks to the good people at Rhemalda, I knew a LOT more about publishing than I had before I signed with them. They were very good to keep me involved in the process, patiently explaining all the hows and whys of everything they did, and because of that, I learned. And I took that knowledge with me.

Now I’m getting ready to release Birthright, the sequel to Descendant, and I’m really missing my Rhemalda family. Besides the support and friendship, I am realizing all over again how much I have left to learn. Some days it’s overwhelming. But I still know the things they taught me, and I’m adding to that arsenal of experience every day. I have some amazing, wonderful, talented friends who are patient and kind, and who have all contributed in one way or another to my success as an author. Without them, I couldn’t do this. Not the way I need to.

Even so, there’s a lot that I still don’t know. I can’t continue to ask others to help me with certain things, or have them do it for me. I have to figure out how to be a grown up author. And it’s both scary and exhilarating at the same time. There’s a certain feeling of accomplishment with each mountain of frustration I conquer and each new thing learned.  

I’m not going to lie. Publishing a book is hard. That’s why publishing houses hire entire teams of people. But I’m getting there. I’m forcing myself to learn it. Because I have no idea what’s in my future, and knowing these things can only help me grow.

Suddenly, I remember what it’s like to be in high school again, and I have a renewed sympathy for my young adult children who are having to do this kind of learning in every aspect of life. It’s hard. It’s scary. It’s exhilarating.

What about you? What scary things have you learned lately?

One of the many things I've learned this month.

Things I don’t know

I’m a writer. An author. And not only do I openly admit it, but I talk about my writing and my hopes and dreams quite a lot. And in very public forums. (Like blogging.) Because I’ve been into this for a while, people have a tendency to ask me things. Sometimes, I have answers, but more often than not, I don’t. Not yet, anyway.

There are a lot of things I don’t know.

1. How do you get an agent?
(Um, I can tell you how I’m trying, but since I have yet to be successful in this never-ending endeavor, I might not be the best person to ask.)

2. When is your next book coming out?
(Hm. I’d love to say 2013, but since I’m not feeling the self-publishing vibe, I have no idea.)

3. How does a midlist book make the bestseller lists?
(My guess: good writing, strong word of mouth, and some brilliant marketing from the author. But I’ve never been there, so…I couldn’t really tell you for sure.)

4. How can I make a living as a writer?
(Uh, I’ll have to get back to you on that. As soon as I find the secret, I’ll be happy to share it, because I’m nice like that.)

5. How long are you planning to keep writing / submitting?
(Indefinitely. Because I’ve tried to quit. A few times. Recently, even. Never works for long, so I guess I’ll write forever.)

6. Who is your favorite author?
(Answering this question would be like diving into the ocean and trying to pinpoint a favorite starfish. But I have a particular love for young adult authors these days, so I guess I could start there.)

7. Where did you learn how to write?
(Everywhere. Practice. Lots and lots of practice, and classes, and critique groups, and conferences. But again, see the above questions. It’s entirely possible that I don’t know how to write—maybe that’s why I don’t have an agent and/or book deal and am not making a living as a writer.)

But even with all the stuff I don’t know, there are a few things I do know.

1. I will never get to where I want to be if I don’t try.

2. Trying sometimes = failing a whole lot of times.


3. Winner/ loser/ reject: there are people in my life who will always be there, and they will love me anyway.

4. People will always be more important than money or deals or success.

5. I am the only person who can decide how I act, how I treat others, and how much I value the relationships in my life.

6. I have written a number of full-length novels. Someday they will be read by people who need to read them. It’s okay if that someday is far away.

7. Even though I am not necessarily where I want to be in my writing career, I am already successful. I have done things most people will never even attempt. I have met people and formed relationships, and experienced things I didn’t even dream when I was young. And I am teaching my kids the value of the phrase never give up.

8. Someday, I WILL have the answers to the questions on my don’t list.

Sometimes what we know and what we don’t is a matter of perspective.

When You’re High on Cold Meds

You really shouldn’t make important online transactions.

For the last two weeks I’ve had an ongoing, long-lasting cold that I just can’t seem to get rid of, despite my doctor prescribing an antibiotic and my going a little nuts on vitamin supplements and probiotics. It’s all good, though. I have an economy size box of Sudafed, another one of Nyquil, and an ample supply of tissues.

As it happened, last week was a really busy one for me, and while I canceled a number of things, I couldn’t cancel or rearrange them all.

For example, paying bills. None of those big companies cared that I was dying, as long as they got their money.

Apparently, sometime on Thursday, at a time when I must have been high on cold meds, I paid my mortgage. Saturday, I had no recollection of such an event. (Even today, I have no recollection of it.) And so, worried that I had forgotten, I went online and made the payment.

It wasn’t until I thought to double check my bank balance that I realized my massive error.

I paid my biggest, most overwhelming bill twice.

Oops.

And still, I have no idea when on Thursday I made that payment. But according to my online statement, I did pay it that day.

Note to self: When you’re living on cold meds, you are not as lucid as you think. Just. Stick to email and Facebook and don’t do anything else, okay? Okay. Oh, and also, you should call the bank now.

**Because of last week’s illness, and my lack of publicity attempts, I have decided to extend out the deadline for the October Give Back Giveaway until midnight, Friday Oct 21. Enter here if you’ve done something nice this month.

Things I Learned at Storymakers 2010

By Nichole Giles

I spent last weekend at the conference of awesomeness—the LDStorymakers 2010. This is my very favorite conference of all time, for several different reasons, but mainly because after six years of attendance (or is that seven?) I feel like these people are my second family, and the conference is a giant reunion.

As much as I’d love to share all my notes, the classes are copyrighted. And truthfully, you kind of had to be there to get the fullness of everything. But what I can share with you are some thoughts and quotes from the classes I attended, and those incredible authors who taught them.

These are the things that affected me enough to stick in my mind, but not necessarily in any particular order:

“Anything that gets people to read is a wonderful thing.” ~Laura Rennert, Andrea Brown Literary Agency

“Writing a query is hard, but you can do hard things.” ~Elana Johnson author of From the Query to the Call.

“Writing is work, even when it’s fun.” ~Aprilynne Pike, author of Wings

“Believe in yourself, and find others who believe in you too.” ~ Laura Rennert (I went to two of her classes.)

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” ~Dave Wolverton (aka David Farland) author of the Runelords series, In the Company of Angels, and so many other books I can’t possibly list them all.

And finally, a thought given by Dave Wolverton at the Whitney Awards ceremony. (I didn’t write it down, so this is as I remember it. Definitely not verbatim.)

“Doctors spend years going to medical school, but for some reason, writers expect to be published right out of the gate…the difference between learning to be a doctor and learning to write is that medical school has teachers and instructors and college texts to teach them medicine and writers are all on their own.”

And.

“You can make a living as a writer.”

Do you need more than that? Yeah, I didn’t think so.

My advice for the week? If you want to be a writer, go out of your way to attend conferences as often as possible. Consider it medical school for writers, and justify it by reminding yourself that you need all the training you can get, whenever you can get it.

Oh, and check out my totally awesome friends. Our writer's group has certainly grown this year! This is only some of us. I love these people!