Turning Points in My Life as an Author

People often talk about THE turning point in their lives, but I feel I have had several when it comes to writing.
Some will sound small, others large, but to me they are all important.

One of the first "turning points" came early on when one day the (all too common) form rejection letter for a short story arrived, but scrawled at the bottom was "Sorry, nice effort," followed by the initials of the editor. Now, that may not sound like much, but editors are very busy people and they don't take time to write on every rejection!

Not too much later I got a note that was a couple of sentences long from the same editor on another story I had submitted. Needless to say, I kept trying at that magazine! Unfortunately, I never did sell to that editor or that magazine, but it kept me going.

Then there was the day I received a letter in response to a status query I'd sent about a short story. Instead of the by then usual rejection it was a "mea culpa" for "taking so long" and the news that my story had been accepted!

The next occasion came absolutely unexpectedly. I had sent off a manuscript for a novel on a Thursday and Tuesday I got a phone call. Yes, it was an offer to publish! Talk about a major turning point! That was "Practice Makes Perfect," published by a YA imprint of Harlequin. The book has since been reissued by HSWF as "Summer Replacement."

Since then, EVERY sale has felt like a turning point. The second book felt like validation that the first book was not a fluke. I have never taken subsequent story and book sales for granted. They are all turning points, because in the world of publishing there are no guarantees.

So keep an eye out for those first, small turning points. You never know where they'll lead.

Don't Die Waiting to Write that First Word!

“A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word to paper." -E.B. White

I know too many would-be authors who are waiting for the "perfect time" to start writing. It might be when they finish college or when the kids are grown or when they retire. Others are a little less specific. They say they'll write when they aren't so busy, or have a little more time. Or…when the muse strikes.

Sorry, people! There are no ideal conditions or perfect circumstances, so stop waiting for them before you start writing (I'm saying this with an encouraging smile). :)

 The time to start writing is now. You can carve out an hour a day--or even an hour a week. You can do that hour all at once or you can divide it up into 15-30 minute segments. Really, you can put in at least an hour a week, and you'll be surprised at how even with that minimal amount of time your word count will add up at the end of a month. Get up a little earlier in the morning and write. Or announce (even if it's only to yourself) that Friday evenings from 9-10 is your time for writing, and that's that!

Don't put too much pressure on yourself, though, if you've set "only" an hour a week as your writing time. Tell yourself you have to write only two sentences. 99% of the time you will end up writing much more than that. But on those occasions when two sentences are "it," don't feel bad. That's two more sentences than if you hadn't written anything at all!

You really do have only one life, so the time to start writing is immediately.

 For information about me, my books and my kitties, visit: http://annherrickauthor.com/