From Spellbound Child to a Published Author: An Inspirational Journey

Never let anyone tell you not to write in your own voice. This guest post came into my inbox on Friday, begging to be shared. Because it touched me, I have shifted one of my scheduled posts to give it precedence. Please be inspired by the publishing journey of Snjezana Marinkovic.

Many years ago, a woman sat in a little chair and read to her granddaughter who lay in bed with her eyes closed. She quietly listened to the story as it came to life in her head, but at the same time she was dreaming. This was a dream of her words being read and her stories inspiring others.

At age twelve, she started on a journey and put pen to paper.

At first she wrote poems and later short stories which blended the different cultures, languages and experiences that shaped who she was. As time passed her voice became clearer, and her resolve deeper which culminated into her first book.

Although she is at the core of my being, I am no longer a little girl.

Literary agents and traditional publishing houses became interested in my writing but could take up to a year to provide simple answers to even simpler inquires. I struggled to come to terms with the disconnect between my writing and the traditional publishing industry. I was often asked to change my voice to sell more books. Although a small press published my first book “Born in Sarajevo,” the experience showed me that such an impersonal industry had little respect for the journey of that little girl. There had to be a different path.

In 2012, I became independently published. Although it is harder to go at alone, I feel that it is easier to be successful. The trick is not to let others define what success is. For me it isn’t the number of books sold, but the ability to speak from my heart through my own voice and inspire the next little girl to dream.

Follow Snjezana Marinkovic: Author of Born in Sarajevo Series

https://www.facebook.com/BornInSarajevo
https://twitter.com/pjesnik
www.snjezanamarinkovic.com
http://hopepost.blogspot.com/

This blog post is Copyright Snjezana Marinkovic 2013. All rights are reserved Internationally. You may not reproduce it in any form, in part of whole, without the author’s prior written permission. That includes usage in forms such as print, audio and digital imaging including pdf, jpg, png etc. A fee may be requested for re-use.

Filed under: "Writing Lessons from the Writing Life" Tagged: author, books, Born in Sarajevo Series, encouragement, Indie publishing, inspiration, publishing, Snjezana Marinkovic, voice, writer, writing