Christine Feehan's Blog - Posts Tagged "writing-tips"
Making Time to Write
DON’T LET CIRCUMSTANCES KEEP YOU FROM WRITING
Everybody’s circumstances are different. When I had a lot of young children I would write when my children were at sports practice. I’d sit up in the bleachers and I’d write. When they’d watch television in the evening I would write. That was very disjointed, but I made it work because I wanted to write.
Some of my friends would get up at 3 or 4 in the morning to write before their kids got up. I couldn’t do that, but they could. Everyone has to choose when you have time to write.
Think about Jean-Dominque Bauby who in 1995 had a stroke and became paralyzed. He could only blink in order to communicate. He used that system of blinking to write about his life which became a book called The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. That book has been turned into a movie. We overcome what stops us when our goal becomes our passion.
If you think about it, if you write just one page a day, one page, at the end of a year you have a story written
.
CREATING HABITS
If you can write even 15 or 20 minutes and try to make it the same time of day pretty soon your mind becomes accustomed to thinking of stories at that time of day. The stories come to you faster and faster and more readily because you have created a habit and disciplined your mind to think just like anything you practice all the time. If you do that the same time of day your mind starts to expect to have to come up with those stories. It’s like muscle memory, but this is your creative muscle.
EXCUSES
Anyone can make excuses. The truth is, if you want to do it, you’ll find a way to do it. That’s the way with anything in life. Do it, or don’t do it. You can say to me, “I spent a year putting my office together.” And I’d say to you, “Why didn’t you spend a year writing?” There are always excuses not to do something. I have taught myself to write pretty much anywhere when I need to and I write 5 books a year.
SOME ARTICLES/BLOGS TO CONSIDER
Fantasy Author’s Handbook Blog- Save the Bullshit Excuses- Here
The Weeklings Blog- Calling Bullshit On A Writer’s Top 10 Excuses For Not Writing Here
Everybody’s circumstances are different. When I had a lot of young children I would write when my children were at sports practice. I’d sit up in the bleachers and I’d write. When they’d watch television in the evening I would write. That was very disjointed, but I made it work because I wanted to write.
Some of my friends would get up at 3 or 4 in the morning to write before their kids got up. I couldn’t do that, but they could. Everyone has to choose when you have time to write.
Think about Jean-Dominque Bauby who in 1995 had a stroke and became paralyzed. He could only blink in order to communicate. He used that system of blinking to write about his life which became a book called The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. That book has been turned into a movie. We overcome what stops us when our goal becomes our passion.
If you think about it, if you write just one page a day, one page, at the end of a year you have a story written
.
CREATING HABITS
If you can write even 15 or 20 minutes and try to make it the same time of day pretty soon your mind becomes accustomed to thinking of stories at that time of day. The stories come to you faster and faster and more readily because you have created a habit and disciplined your mind to think just like anything you practice all the time. If you do that the same time of day your mind starts to expect to have to come up with those stories. It’s like muscle memory, but this is your creative muscle.
EXCUSES
Anyone can make excuses. The truth is, if you want to do it, you’ll find a way to do it. That’s the way with anything in life. Do it, or don’t do it. You can say to me, “I spent a year putting my office together.” And I’d say to you, “Why didn’t you spend a year writing?” There are always excuses not to do something. I have taught myself to write pretty much anywhere when I need to and I write 5 books a year.
SOME ARTICLES/BLOGS TO CONSIDER
Fantasy Author’s Handbook Blog- Save the Bullshit Excuses- Here
The Weeklings Blog- Calling Bullshit On A Writer’s Top 10 Excuses For Not Writing Here
Staying Disciplined
THE BEGINNING OF MY DISCIPLINE
A lot of my discipline came from being a single mom of four children by the time I was 24 years old. To take care of them I had to hold down two jobs. I had to make sure those children were fed, clothed, it was all on me. I believe in taking care if my responsibilities, and sometimes that is hard, so hard I would sometimes cry from the frustration of it all. I would go days without eating because a can of beans could stretch to feed four kids, but not an adult. Commitment and discipline go hand in hand.
Back then people didn’t want to rent to single moms. So, I had to keep the house perfectly clean and the yard had to be perfect. I had to make sure the landlord had no reason to throw us out. All of that took hard work and discipline.
DOING WHAT YOU MUST FOR WHAT AND WHO YOU LOVE
Books are what I often lived on. They kept me sane back then. I’d crave them so much I’d go to the library, or I’d spend money going to the store to buy books and skip meals, but, I always fed my kids. You have to be disciplined when you have children. I trained myself to do everything I had to do exactly on schedule to get them where they had to be and still get to my job on time.
MARTIAL ARTS
Those days were hard. I started taking martial arts for self-defense. Martial arts saved me in so many ways. I did it for years and years, living in that world. You had to have discipline in that. I earned my third degree black belt and it built my confidence. Soon I knew that if I put my mind to something and disciplined myself, I could do most anything.
WHERE THERE’S A WILL THERE’S A WAY
If you want to write, no matter what your circumstances are, you find a way. Even if you only write fifteen minutes a day, you do. You can use your phone and record what you’re thinking if you don’t have a pen and paper or computer. There’s so many ways now to get your stories out. If you know you’re making excuses for yourself then you know you don’t want it enough. There aren’t any excuses. Because if you’re sitting down watching TV, you could be writing. You are the only one who can determine what you’re willing to sacrifice in order to have what you really want.
WHAT MY WORK DAY LOOKS LIKE
I get up really early and try to get all my business out of the way 9 a.m. That’s anything the publishing house wants me to do, any blogs, social media, anything my team wants me to do, personal emails, my online community, it all gets done. Then I have breakfast.
After that, I start my power hours. I write for a solid hour at a time, and then take twenty minutes off to move around and get a little exercise. Then I’m back at it again. I take lunch for about an hour, often fitting in social media, email and talks with my team. I write again up to 4 PM, sometimes a little later. During that time I don’t do research, I don’t chat with friends and family, I don’t take phone calls. I’m writing. I’m putting new words to the page and moving my story forward.
Tell your friends and family that unless it’s an absolute emergency you aren’t going to take calls. And I don’t. I write. A lot of people are slaves to their phone. I am not.
At the end of the day I’ll exercise a bit. I’m not much of a television person. But, it’s later in the evening that I’ll go do my research or do my edits. And to wind down I read. I love to read old favorites and I love to try new authors. I guess you can say that business and pleasure all come back to books for me.
With such a big family and writing five books a year I have to be disciplined in all that I do.
A lot of my discipline came from being a single mom of four children by the time I was 24 years old. To take care of them I had to hold down two jobs. I had to make sure those children were fed, clothed, it was all on me. I believe in taking care if my responsibilities, and sometimes that is hard, so hard I would sometimes cry from the frustration of it all. I would go days without eating because a can of beans could stretch to feed four kids, but not an adult. Commitment and discipline go hand in hand.
Back then people didn’t want to rent to single moms. So, I had to keep the house perfectly clean and the yard had to be perfect. I had to make sure the landlord had no reason to throw us out. All of that took hard work and discipline.
DOING WHAT YOU MUST FOR WHAT AND WHO YOU LOVE
Books are what I often lived on. They kept me sane back then. I’d crave them so much I’d go to the library, or I’d spend money going to the store to buy books and skip meals, but, I always fed my kids. You have to be disciplined when you have children. I trained myself to do everything I had to do exactly on schedule to get them where they had to be and still get to my job on time.
MARTIAL ARTS
Those days were hard. I started taking martial arts for self-defense. Martial arts saved me in so many ways. I did it for years and years, living in that world. You had to have discipline in that. I earned my third degree black belt and it built my confidence. Soon I knew that if I put my mind to something and disciplined myself, I could do most anything.
WHERE THERE’S A WILL THERE’S A WAY
If you want to write, no matter what your circumstances are, you find a way. Even if you only write fifteen minutes a day, you do. You can use your phone and record what you’re thinking if you don’t have a pen and paper or computer. There’s so many ways now to get your stories out. If you know you’re making excuses for yourself then you know you don’t want it enough. There aren’t any excuses. Because if you’re sitting down watching TV, you could be writing. You are the only one who can determine what you’re willing to sacrifice in order to have what you really want.
WHAT MY WORK DAY LOOKS LIKE
I get up really early and try to get all my business out of the way 9 a.m. That’s anything the publishing house wants me to do, any blogs, social media, anything my team wants me to do, personal emails, my online community, it all gets done. Then I have breakfast.
After that, I start my power hours. I write for a solid hour at a time, and then take twenty minutes off to move around and get a little exercise. Then I’m back at it again. I take lunch for about an hour, often fitting in social media, email and talks with my team. I write again up to 4 PM, sometimes a little later. During that time I don’t do research, I don’t chat with friends and family, I don’t take phone calls. I’m writing. I’m putting new words to the page and moving my story forward.
Tell your friends and family that unless it’s an absolute emergency you aren’t going to take calls. And I don’t. I write. A lot of people are slaves to their phone. I am not.
At the end of the day I’ll exercise a bit. I’m not much of a television person. But, it’s later in the evening that I’ll go do my research or do my edits. And to wind down I read. I love to read old favorites and I love to try new authors. I guess you can say that business and pleasure all come back to books for me.
With such a big family and writing five books a year I have to be disciplined in all that I do.
Research and Writer’s Block
Research to me is a huge, fun aspect of writing. I like to learn things. The danger of research, for me, is that I get carried away. I can read for hours about crazy or interesting subjects. I read, I watch videos, I look online, I talk to primary sources and I become consumed. And in reality, with all of that research, maybe four lines will actually make it into my book.
I love doing research so much it becomes distracting. So now, what I do is limit the research. Now I’ll have any online research done by someone on my team and ask them to send maybe just the top 5 articles on something and I keep my primary resources, which are people who have expertise or experience on a topic, to just two or three people.
I love learning, so research can be my most distracting things and I have to make myself not go crazy with it.
Of the research I’ve done I became extremely interested and intrigued by computers and how to keep people from hacking them, and how people could hack them. Technology isn’t my forte and it was shocking to me the number of people who did understand it.
For Covert Game I had to do a lot of that kind of research and it fascinated me. I’m sure I spent way too much time on the research. I had a primary resource who used to work in the defense department and I spent so much time asking questions that I knew would never make it into the book, but I just couldn’t stop myself.
Finding primary sources happens often in person, at conventions or traveling. I’ve just fallen into meeting experts and interesting people and asked if I could talk to them. Sometimes what they did and knew inspired an idea I could use in a book and I’d ask that person if I could contact them later.
I remember that, in the case of the Shibari I used in Shadow Reaper, many years ago I had seen a stage performance of a husband and wife doing Shibari and I thought it was stunningly beautiful and wanted to know more about it. I later bought books about it, not realizing I’d put it in a book, but when I decided where I could use it I did reach out to some riggers and experts in Shibari.
What was the most challenging for me was finding out about the music business. I am not musically inclined whatsoever, which was particularly difficult with Jolie’s book in Turbulent Sea. I tried to get in contact with Gloria Estefan, but in the end that didn’t work out. I had to rely on roadies and some acquaintances.
It happens sometimes that your resource isn’t what you’d hoped, or doesn’t show up.
Oddly, the expert I thought would be the best for Shibari ended up not being helpful at all and the man that I thought would be the least helpful ended up being amazing. So, don’t be discouraged if the person you think is going to be the one to help you doesn’t, it could be the one you least think will help, or get back to you, that comes through.
WRITER’S BLOCK
It’s not like I’ve never had a time when I’m not sure what I’m going to write, of course I’ve had that, but I have a personal policy that, if I can’t figure it out in 2 hours I figure one of two things have happened.
WHAT MAY HAVE GONE WRONG
1. I’ve inserted MY reaction into the story. Every writer has to step back and everything you’re thinking or feeling, how YOU would do something has to take a back seat. You have to consider what the character would do. Ask yourself what motivates them, why they act the way they do. And the reader doesn’t have to understand that, but you, the writer, must do. The character has to live and breathe. They have to have real reactions and they may act different from you.
For example, if you have a character that’s submissive, but you yourself are not a submissive person and someone says something to them and they do it, you may think to “No way in hell am I doing that!” and then you have them react like YOU instead of like them, your story stops dead in the water and the story can’t go forward. So you have to backtrack and identify where you went off the line. It could be several pages back or a chapter back or it could be your favorite part of the whole story, probably because he reacted the way you would react, but you have to take it out of there.
You have to know your characters. What motivates them, what they would do in any situation? Don’t write the same character over and over and over as you start a new book with new characters. The world is very diversified and everyone reacts differently to various things, and your characters have to as well. Really know your characters and keep them fresh.
2. You can have writer’s block when you have a scene in your head that you don’t want to give up. It’s an amazing scene and you’re trying to force your story to go down this path, to get to the place so you can write this amazing scene, or to tie it to a scene that you’ve written earlier, but you can’t get there because your story has taken a turn on its own. And it can. And you have to re-calculate.
WHEN CHARACTERS TAKE OVER
My characters often take on the story beyond what I thought it would be. I remember one time that I thought I knew which couple I was going to write about. I told my publisher. I wrote the entire first chapter. And then, the girl entered and she’s like…that’s not my lifemate, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I argued with her, because as writers we can do that, but she assured me that my choice was the wrong one and I had to change it. And since then I never announced the names of my characters until the book is written because the characters always take on a life of their own and start dictating to me. That’s the way it should be.
THE WONDERFUL CHALLENGES OF GETTING STUCK
I’ve written myself into a corner before, but believe it or not I like that. I like the feeling that I’m reading a book and don’t know where it’s going. I love the challenge.
When I read a book I want to be fascinated with the story and feel like I’m on an adventure. If I don’t feel that way when I write, I figure my readers won’t either. I’m willing to do some research for just a few words in order for my readers to feel that. I’m willing to work at a tough scene, or even re-write a scene or a chapter in order to give that feeling to my readers.
Don’t spend too much time on research or on writer’s block. Spend your time moving your story forward.
I love doing research so much it becomes distracting. So now, what I do is limit the research. Now I’ll have any online research done by someone on my team and ask them to send maybe just the top 5 articles on something and I keep my primary resources, which are people who have expertise or experience on a topic, to just two or three people.
I love learning, so research can be my most distracting things and I have to make myself not go crazy with it.
Of the research I’ve done I became extremely interested and intrigued by computers and how to keep people from hacking them, and how people could hack them. Technology isn’t my forte and it was shocking to me the number of people who did understand it.
For Covert Game I had to do a lot of that kind of research and it fascinated me. I’m sure I spent way too much time on the research. I had a primary resource who used to work in the defense department and I spent so much time asking questions that I knew would never make it into the book, but I just couldn’t stop myself.
Finding primary sources happens often in person, at conventions or traveling. I’ve just fallen into meeting experts and interesting people and asked if I could talk to them. Sometimes what they did and knew inspired an idea I could use in a book and I’d ask that person if I could contact them later.
I remember that, in the case of the Shibari I used in Shadow Reaper, many years ago I had seen a stage performance of a husband and wife doing Shibari and I thought it was stunningly beautiful and wanted to know more about it. I later bought books about it, not realizing I’d put it in a book, but when I decided where I could use it I did reach out to some riggers and experts in Shibari.
What was the most challenging for me was finding out about the music business. I am not musically inclined whatsoever, which was particularly difficult with Jolie’s book in Turbulent Sea. I tried to get in contact with Gloria Estefan, but in the end that didn’t work out. I had to rely on roadies and some acquaintances.
It happens sometimes that your resource isn’t what you’d hoped, or doesn’t show up.
Oddly, the expert I thought would be the best for Shibari ended up not being helpful at all and the man that I thought would be the least helpful ended up being amazing. So, don’t be discouraged if the person you think is going to be the one to help you doesn’t, it could be the one you least think will help, or get back to you, that comes through.
WRITER’S BLOCK
It’s not like I’ve never had a time when I’m not sure what I’m going to write, of course I’ve had that, but I have a personal policy that, if I can’t figure it out in 2 hours I figure one of two things have happened.
WHAT MAY HAVE GONE WRONG
1. I’ve inserted MY reaction into the story. Every writer has to step back and everything you’re thinking or feeling, how YOU would do something has to take a back seat. You have to consider what the character would do. Ask yourself what motivates them, why they act the way they do. And the reader doesn’t have to understand that, but you, the writer, must do. The character has to live and breathe. They have to have real reactions and they may act different from you.
For example, if you have a character that’s submissive, but you yourself are not a submissive person and someone says something to them and they do it, you may think to “No way in hell am I doing that!” and then you have them react like YOU instead of like them, your story stops dead in the water and the story can’t go forward. So you have to backtrack and identify where you went off the line. It could be several pages back or a chapter back or it could be your favorite part of the whole story, probably because he reacted the way you would react, but you have to take it out of there.
You have to know your characters. What motivates them, what they would do in any situation? Don’t write the same character over and over and over as you start a new book with new characters. The world is very diversified and everyone reacts differently to various things, and your characters have to as well. Really know your characters and keep them fresh.
2. You can have writer’s block when you have a scene in your head that you don’t want to give up. It’s an amazing scene and you’re trying to force your story to go down this path, to get to the place so you can write this amazing scene, or to tie it to a scene that you’ve written earlier, but you can’t get there because your story has taken a turn on its own. And it can. And you have to re-calculate.
WHEN CHARACTERS TAKE OVER
My characters often take on the story beyond what I thought it would be. I remember one time that I thought I knew which couple I was going to write about. I told my publisher. I wrote the entire first chapter. And then, the girl entered and she’s like…that’s not my lifemate, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I argued with her, because as writers we can do that, but she assured me that my choice was the wrong one and I had to change it. And since then I never announced the names of my characters until the book is written because the characters always take on a life of their own and start dictating to me. That’s the way it should be.
THE WONDERFUL CHALLENGES OF GETTING STUCK
I’ve written myself into a corner before, but believe it or not I like that. I like the feeling that I’m reading a book and don’t know where it’s going. I love the challenge.
When I read a book I want to be fascinated with the story and feel like I’m on an adventure. If I don’t feel that way when I write, I figure my readers won’t either. I’m willing to do some research for just a few words in order for my readers to feel that. I’m willing to work at a tough scene, or even re-write a scene or a chapter in order to give that feeling to my readers.
Don’t spend too much time on research or on writer’s block. Spend your time moving your story forward.
Submitting Your Book
WHERE TO START
Online, most publishing houses have a whole submission criteria available and I recommend that people look that over. Really look at it. Send it in the way the publisher asks. Send the right type of book. For instance, you wouldn’t send erotica to a Christian publisher.
I recommend RWA. They have a list of good agents and are a great resource. And they have a lot of those guidelines listed on their site.
If you are doing self-publishing and need help with that I don’t know anything about it, so I’m not very helpful there, but I know there are a lot of others out there who can help with that.
You can pitch to agents and editors at conferences and you should. Remember they are looking for new voices. Don’t be afraid when you’re pitching. The reason a lot of these people go to a conference and participate in these pitching sessions is that they’re looking for fresh voices. They want to find you. So if you believe in yourself and your story you need to go there with confidence and say “Hey, this is my story” and pitch it.
THE THINGS NOT TO DO
These are the don’ts for submitting or pitching.
If you’re pitching at a conference don’t follow an editor or agent in a bathroom, and believe me, people do. Be professional. Reach out to them at appropriate times, during scheduled appointments or if they have a time they say they’re open for pitching.
Make sure your manuscript is the best that it can be and that it is finished. Don’t turn in a manuscript with notes that you’re going to finish it later, or notes that say “Will place love scene here”. Yes, that happens. Don’t be one of those people. Be respectful of the agent or editor’s time and be as ready as possible with your manuscript.
Make sure you’re a fit with whatever publishing company or agent you’re pitching to. Research it. Don’t just sign up for every agent available. That’s just lazy. Look into who that person is, what they are acquiring or what they take. Again, that goes back to being respectful of someone’s time.
DO YOUR HOMEWORK
Research to find a good fit for your book and for you. Look at what that publisher is putting out. Look at who that agent already represents. Do your homework to give yourself and your book the best chance at success.
Online, most publishing houses have a whole submission criteria available and I recommend that people look that over. Really look at it. Send it in the way the publisher asks. Send the right type of book. For instance, you wouldn’t send erotica to a Christian publisher.
I recommend RWA. They have a list of good agents and are a great resource. And they have a lot of those guidelines listed on their site.
If you are doing self-publishing and need help with that I don’t know anything about it, so I’m not very helpful there, but I know there are a lot of others out there who can help with that.
You can pitch to agents and editors at conferences and you should. Remember they are looking for new voices. Don’t be afraid when you’re pitching. The reason a lot of these people go to a conference and participate in these pitching sessions is that they’re looking for fresh voices. They want to find you. So if you believe in yourself and your story you need to go there with confidence and say “Hey, this is my story” and pitch it.
THE THINGS NOT TO DO
These are the don’ts for submitting or pitching.
If you’re pitching at a conference don’t follow an editor or agent in a bathroom, and believe me, people do. Be professional. Reach out to them at appropriate times, during scheduled appointments or if they have a time they say they’re open for pitching.
Make sure your manuscript is the best that it can be and that it is finished. Don’t turn in a manuscript with notes that you’re going to finish it later, or notes that say “Will place love scene here”. Yes, that happens. Don’t be one of those people. Be respectful of the agent or editor’s time and be as ready as possible with your manuscript.
Make sure you’re a fit with whatever publishing company or agent you’re pitching to. Research it. Don’t just sign up for every agent available. That’s just lazy. Look into who that person is, what they are acquiring or what they take. Again, that goes back to being respectful of someone’s time.
DO YOUR HOMEWORK
Research to find a good fit for your book and for you. Look at what that publisher is putting out. Look at who that agent already represents. Do your homework to give yourself and your book the best chance at success.
Last Words on Writing
Thank you to everyone who has come to read my blog series on writing! This is the final in the series and I wanted to just wrap a few things up.
I’M A BOOK LOVER
I’ve always loved books. I love the written word. I’ve always admired authors. Those were my heroes. I spent, and continue to spend, thousands and thousands of hours reading. I would go to the library and even took a job in the library so I could be surrounded by books.
AMAZING MOMENTS FOR ME
To see one of my books published, to see my name on that book, it’s a magical thing. You often tell yourself, before you’re published that there’s no way that will ever be you. You think your book isn’t good enough or worthy enough.
I remember the first time I saw my book in a library that was a moment of such joy. I kept thinking to myself, “That’s my book in the library. I can’t believe my book is actually in the library!” It was so special because that was where I really started reading and getting books. Libraries were like a miracle to me and then to see my own book there, it was astonishing to me.
I remember going into a bookstore and buying some books and when I went to use my credit card the woman behind the counter says, “Oh my gosh, you’re Christine Feehan!” It was amazing to me because I was recognized and recognized as a writer.
Another amazing moment for me was when I was giving a talk to these high school students about writing. These teenagers had been bused in from various schools and they were all into writing. They wanted to be authors specifically. One of them said to me, “Well, we’re from a tiny town. It’s not like we know people or we can get our books even considered by anybody.” And I was so happy to say to her, “Did they not tell you? I graduated from this school. This is my school. I was born in this town and I was raised in this town and I graduated from this school.” I told them that I knew nobody in the business and that, in fact, I had made so many mistakes along the way it’s a wonder I got published. And that was this wonderful moment for me that I could tell someone something that would matter to them. Where they could look at me and see that, if I could do it, they could too.
BEST ADVICE AND FINAL THOUGHTS
I think the best advice that was ever given to me happened at the first conference I went to after Dark Prince was published. Jayne Ann Krentz sat me down and she said, “I think you’re going to be really successful and there are some things I’d like to talk to you about.” And one of the very first things she said was “You’re a business woman. You’re not just a creative artist, you’re a business woman and you have to take control of your career. So, you have to learn about the publishing industry.” And I realized that she was right and I’ve never been more thankful to anyone. She didn’t have to do that. But, she took the time to talk to a total stranger and that left such an impact on me. And, now, years later, if we’re at a conference at the same time we always make sure we touch base with each other. And I’ve always been able to email her with questions and she always guides me. She is a generous soul and I’ll always be immensely grateful to her.
I want to be the same way. So if an author asks me a question I make sure I give her the best advice I can. I think it’s important to pay it forward. You have to know that readers will read more than just one book. You can’t possibly write enough books to satisfy every reader. Authors don’t have to be in competition with each other. You can help one another.
Keep in mind that if you’re a writer, you’re a reader and you need to remember that writers want books to read too. We need to help each other for a lot of reasons. I will be forever grateful to Jayne for what she did for me.
If you're published please tell me about the first time you held your book in your hands!
If you're aspiring tell me which of these blogs were most helpful for you. I'd love to have some feedback!
Thank you!
I’M A BOOK LOVER
I’ve always loved books. I love the written word. I’ve always admired authors. Those were my heroes. I spent, and continue to spend, thousands and thousands of hours reading. I would go to the library and even took a job in the library so I could be surrounded by books.
AMAZING MOMENTS FOR ME
To see one of my books published, to see my name on that book, it’s a magical thing. You often tell yourself, before you’re published that there’s no way that will ever be you. You think your book isn’t good enough or worthy enough.
I remember the first time I saw my book in a library that was a moment of such joy. I kept thinking to myself, “That’s my book in the library. I can’t believe my book is actually in the library!” It was so special because that was where I really started reading and getting books. Libraries were like a miracle to me and then to see my own book there, it was astonishing to me.
I remember going into a bookstore and buying some books and when I went to use my credit card the woman behind the counter says, “Oh my gosh, you’re Christine Feehan!” It was amazing to me because I was recognized and recognized as a writer.
Another amazing moment for me was when I was giving a talk to these high school students about writing. These teenagers had been bused in from various schools and they were all into writing. They wanted to be authors specifically. One of them said to me, “Well, we’re from a tiny town. It’s not like we know people or we can get our books even considered by anybody.” And I was so happy to say to her, “Did they not tell you? I graduated from this school. This is my school. I was born in this town and I was raised in this town and I graduated from this school.” I told them that I knew nobody in the business and that, in fact, I had made so many mistakes along the way it’s a wonder I got published. And that was this wonderful moment for me that I could tell someone something that would matter to them. Where they could look at me and see that, if I could do it, they could too.
BEST ADVICE AND FINAL THOUGHTS
I think the best advice that was ever given to me happened at the first conference I went to after Dark Prince was published. Jayne Ann Krentz sat me down and she said, “I think you’re going to be really successful and there are some things I’d like to talk to you about.” And one of the very first things she said was “You’re a business woman. You’re not just a creative artist, you’re a business woman and you have to take control of your career. So, you have to learn about the publishing industry.” And I realized that she was right and I’ve never been more thankful to anyone. She didn’t have to do that. But, she took the time to talk to a total stranger and that left such an impact on me. And, now, years later, if we’re at a conference at the same time we always make sure we touch base with each other. And I’ve always been able to email her with questions and she always guides me. She is a generous soul and I’ll always be immensely grateful to her.
I want to be the same way. So if an author asks me a question I make sure I give her the best advice I can. I think it’s important to pay it forward. You have to know that readers will read more than just one book. You can’t possibly write enough books to satisfy every reader. Authors don’t have to be in competition with each other. You can help one another.
Keep in mind that if you’re a writer, you’re a reader and you need to remember that writers want books to read too. We need to help each other for a lot of reasons. I will be forever grateful to Jayne for what she did for me.
If you're published please tell me about the first time you held your book in your hands!
If you're aspiring tell me which of these blogs were most helpful for you. I'd love to have some feedback!
Thank you!
