I'm Kaye George and I'm on the road to being a published novelist. Since I've read that the average time to be published after starting down this twisted path is ten years, I'm right on schedule to not be published yet.
It's a new year and I'm taking stock. Here's where I am: I've written short stories since I was a child. For a few years I collected rejection slips from The New Yorker and other prominent fiction markets. When I decided I really, really wanted to be published, I picked the genre I most enjoy reading, mystery, and started a novel. One day, after the kids were all gone, after my programming job left the continent, and after hubbie's midlife crisis/career change (which uprooted us, leaving behind my social circle and a bunch of other stuff), I decided I really, really, really wanted to be published. I finished the novel I'd been messing with, a murder mystery, found a supportive, welcoming online community in the Sisters in Crime Guppies, shaped the thing up and starting shooting out the queries.
After a couple of years of rejection on that front, I returned to writing a few short stories, in between novel forays. Much to my surprise, I got some of them published. Even won some contests and awards.
But I kept plugging away on that one novel until I couldn't stand it any more. I've now written three more, a sequel to that first one, a YA, and the beginnings of another series. I'm actively working on and/or querying the YA and the new series, and still putting out short stories when I take a break from novels.
I'd love it if you'd like to follow me on my journey. I may make publishdom this year! That's what I'm telling myself.
Kaye,
ReplyDeleteI joined SinC last year and am working on my first novel, so I am a Great Unpublished author and joined both Guppies and my local chapter of SinC as well as the Sinc Online group. Today on Make Mine Mystery, you posted about your move. And now I find myself tracking you back to the beginning of your blog where you started talking about your road to publication. (CONGRATULATIONS, by the way, as you've come a long way in three years, not ten.) I would like to learn from what you did, so I'll be reading from first to last as I can do so. Did you have a work schedule at this part of your journey? I haven't found as much help from the Guppies as I would have expected. I found just as much (and a lot of the same members, to be sure) in the online group. I'm still debating on renewing my membership. Thank you, for sharing your journey here.
Diane, thanks for stopping by! And thanks for the congrats. I had been on the road to publication for 10 years when I started the blog, BTW. My first novel was published in 2011, so it was a little over 10 years for me.
ReplyDeleteAs far as a schedule, I have made goals for each year, broken them down by months, and, through the Goals for Guppies group, posted my goals and whether or not they were met weekly. I dropped out of the group last year when something had to give, but I'm thinking of returning to it.
I can honestly say I would still not be published if not for the Guppies. What sub groups have you tried? There are quite a few and they are varied.