Guest Post: Why Two Writers Remember To Pay It Forward by Jess Lourey and Shannon Baker

If you know me at all, you know I believe in writers helping writers, and I love sharing stories like the one today. Meet Jessica (Jess) Lourey and Shannon Baker, who writing lives are linked together by kindness. Let them inspire you to reach out your hand to other writers. I know most of you do! 

Please share stories of reaching out and reaching back! We’d love to hear them!

Amy xo

PS If you see funky formatting, I apologize. I’ve spent hours trying to correct it, but blogging time is up for the day. The glitch shall remain.

 

Writers Paying It Forward

Jess here. I finished writing my first novel in 1998. Like many first novels, it was a thinly-disguised autobiography. The 25 agents I submitted to efficiently and justifiably rejected it. I gave up on fiction writing until a 2001 tragedy forced me back as a way to focus my spiraling brain. The result was May Day, my first mystery. I thought it might be okay. This was still pre-Internet, at least in the rural community where I lived, and so I’ d print out 20 query letters a day, fold them into an envelope, lick and stick the stamp, and drive to the post office. I received 423 rejections before I landed my first agent. In 2004, I (finally!) landed a two-book contract.
To celebrate, I drove my country mouse self the three hours to Minneapolis to attend a Mystery Writers of America meeting. I almost chickened out a  million times, but I made myself park my car and walk inside the church where the meeting was being held. On the way down the stairs, I *literally* ran into New York Timesbestselling author William Kent Krueger. I’d read all his books. He was a rock star to me.

My impact had thrown us both off balance, and he grabbed my hand to steady me. “Jess Lourey,” he exclaimed, when he got a good look at me. “My agent sent me a copy of your new book. May Day, right? I can’t wait to read it.”

I have since become friends with Kent, but I’ll never be able to convey to him the impact (not just  physical) of that moment. It was my first foray into the world of writers, and he treated me like I belonged. It gave me the courage to keep climbing. Since that time, I’ve researched blurbs, workshop gigs, editing, and advice from more writers than I can thank. I sometimes think that writers are a generous, kinder group than the average because we work through most of the toxic crud in our books.

My takeaway is this: you never know who you touch or the butterfly effect of your generosity. It really does move mountains. Shannon, you’ve been brought back from the brink thanks to the kindness of writers, too, right?


Yup. (Shannon here.) When Jess and I talked about this subject, we both mentioned some of the same people who grabbed our hands just as we were about to go under and yanked us back onto the boat. This is about one of them.

I’d just released my second book and in some kind of denial, I hadn’t done any promotion. Naturally, the book tanked. I mean, within days of release it still hadn’t climbed above the 1 millionth rank on Amazon. I happened to be at a big mystery readers convention, mingling with the hottest names in the business. I’d already turned in the third book of the series and was out of contract. But I’d started a book I’d been super-excited about before I realized what a failure I was. I’d already decided to scrap that book and any future writing projects, and take up competitive drinking.

On a walk along the beach, one of those successful mysteries writers took note of my low spirits and impulsively asked if I’d like for her to read my first three chapters and a synopsis. I didn’t think she was serious and didn’t respond until the next day when I asked if she meant it. She did, and she read the pages, and red-lined the synopsis, which was amazingly helpful. But more than that, she praised my pages. Single handedly, she gave me back my writing life. I finished the book, got an agent, and it was sold in a matter of months.

The lesson wasn’t lost on me. I vow to try to be supportive and helpful to other writers whenever I can. Because, as Jess said, you never know when that one word or gesture can save another writer’s dream

Jessica (Jess) Lourey is best known for her critically-acclaimed Murder-by-Month mysteries, which have earned multiple starred reviews from Library Journal and Booklist, the latter calling her writing “a splendid mix of humor and suspense.” She is a tenured professor of creative writing and sociology, a recipient of The Loft’s 2014 Excellence in Teaching fellowship, and leads interactive writing workshops all over the world.  Salem’s Cipher , the first in her thrilling Witch Hunt Series, hits stores September 2016.

Shannon Baker writes the Kate Fox mystery series. Stripped Bare , the first in the series, features a sheriff in rural Nebraska and has been called Longmire meets The Good Wife. Baker also writes the Nora Abbott Mystery Series, a fast-paced mix of murder, environmental issues and Hopi Indians published by Midnight Ink. Baker was voted Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ 2104 Writer of the Year. She writes from the Colorado Rockies to the Nebraska Sandhills, the peaks of Flagstaff and the deserts of Tucson.