Writing Journey #10 – Hitting a Rough Patch
When we’re going through a rough patch, if we stay centered and stay out of fear, we can come out on the other side wiser, stronger and better. ~Joan Pillen
Thanks to those of you hanging in here with me as I share my memories while I keep traveling down my writing road on my journey. Last post, I shared how I got my second novel published and then had the disappointment of the next book rejected. My agent kept sending it around. It got a nice written rejection from Harlequin that said it was too religious for their line even though they loved the story. Kind words are nice, but not as nice as words that say they want to publish my book.
Meanwhile back here on the farm, I was forging ahead with my next book and the words kept piling up to about twice as many as I’d written for my other books. It was a saga with multiple characters and several story lines – much the same as many of the historical romances I’d been reading. I had high hopes for those characters. They were alive and overcoming challenges and fighting their way to happy endings. Some of them anyway. When I bundled it up and sent it off to my agent, she liked it. She said it had “all the earmarks of a bestseller.” Could anything have soared my writing spirits any higher?
But then… My agent was from the old fashioned agent world where you sent out the manuscripts to one publisher at a time. My book – this earmarked potential bestseller – ended up on one editor’s desk for six months. By then, maybe the bestselling market had changed. The book made the rounds getting one rejection after another. One editor suggested edits – to cut out whole storylines. I rewrote the book. Made it shorter. Cut out some of my favorite characters. Kept trying to recapture the hope of my agent’s first letter. Nothing worked. Editors said my story was “too clean.” In other words, not enough steamy scenes to fit the market. I was busy writing other books. I tried a short love story. My agent said she wasn’t sure what I was trying to write but it wouldn’t hit the sweet love story market. I tried a mystery. I tried suspense. I was getting a lot of practice putting words together and making my fingers stronger with all that typing.
After several years with nothing but rejection following rejection with that “too clean” remark following me around, I decided to try to write a young adult novel in the hopes that “clean” would be wanted there. So, believe it or not, I wrote a book about a boy who saw Big Foot. Used my farm for the setting. Made up the part about the Big Foot. My young character’s mother had mental problems and now he was seeing Big Foot. His father was more than concerned.
As crazy as all that sounds, that book, A Chance Hero, sold quickly. At least, that’s how I’m remembering it without checking my writing journal. So then I wrote another coming of age story that also sold. My agent had found me an editor who loved my writing. What a gift she was to me at a low point in my writing journey. She was actually a great granddaughter of Theodore Roosevelt which has nothing at all to do with my writing journey. My agent said that this editor loved my writing so much that she would be ready to buy my grocery list. Oh, if only she had continued being an editor, but she moved on to another position. At the same time young adult markets were shrinking and changing. So, after eleven coming of age stories, I once again fell off the publishing wagon.
I wrote another story for kids. It was fun for me since it was about a dog and a cat. The dog told the story. They went on a great adventure. Sadly it was an adventure no editor wanted to take. I did use it later when I started a Heart of Hollyhill blog written by Jocie from my books, Scent of Lilacs, Orchard of Hope, and Summer of Joy. Jocie dreamed of being a writer. I gave her my story, Bailey’s Bug, and shared it on her blog, a chapter at a time. If you think you’d like to read a sweet little dog and cat story – well, the cat wasn’t very sweet – you can check it out on my website, Bailey’s Bug. I thought it was a fun story and I had fun letting Jocie be the writer.
I had a few dry years along that rough patch. I would cringe a little when friends asked if I was still writing. I always said yes, but had to admit it was with no visible success except for that practice of getting better at writing and sharing a story even if no one was reading them. My agent did find a buyer for another of my young adult stories. I was thrilled. Then the publisher went under. I got to keep the advance which was good, but I wanted the book published. I wrote a middle reader book. An editor liked it, suggested rewrites. I did the work and her publishing committee still said no. Years later I did self-publish that story, Freak of the Week, just because I loved the story so much. And that title couldn’t be wasted. It’s available from me or on Amazon.
More years went by. I did temporary secretarial work to help with the bills when my kids got older. Two of them were off to college. I would work a few months and then quit to do some more writing. I still had my goals. I wrote a couple of mysteries that didn’t find any loving editors. I decided to write one more story and if it didn’t make it, I’d have to seriously consider shutting down my keyboard at home and taking a full time job. I would take that advice to write what you know. I wouldn’t worry about markets or editors who might or might not like my story. I’d write the story I wanted to write.
Tune in next time to see what happens next.
The truth is that things matter. They have to. They are what we live with and touch each and every day. They represent what we’ve seen, who we’ve loved and where we hope to go next. They remind us of the good times and the rough patches and everything in between that’s made us who we are. ~Nate Berkus
What advice do you share when helping somebody get past rough patches?
Leave a comment to get an entry in my book giveaway. The deadline is fast approaching on Saturday, August 23, 2025. I might still have more of my writing journey. That might mean I’ll have to do another giveaway. We’ll see. If you’ve already commented on other posts, that’s great. Comment on this one too to get another entry. If you want, you can answer the question, but that’s not necessary to enter. Any comment will do. You have to be at least 18 years old to enter. I’ll notify the winners (two of them) by email and they will get to choose one of my books as their prize.
As always, thanks for reading.
