Rachel L.
asked
Melissa Tagg:
How did you get started as an author? Me and my best friend LOVE to write and have a but load of ideas and uncompleted chapters and dont know what to do with it.
Melissa Tagg
Hi Rachel! That is a great question. I was the same way as you and your friend for a LONG time...I knew I wanted to write books, I had ideas, I had a bunch of half-started stories, but I had no idea what to do with them or where to go from there.
When I finally got serious about writing and publishing, the first super helpful thing I did was attend a writing retreat. The one I attended was through My Book Therapy, founded by Susan May Warren (award-winning, best-selling author and all around amazing person). I learned soooo much...before that retreat, I didn't even know what genre I wanted to write in! I learned to plot, learned how to craft a scene, it was just amazing and eye-opening. There are lots of writing organizations, workshops, retreats, etc, out there. In my opinion, My Book Therapy (www.learnhowtowriteanovel.com) is at the top of the game!
From there, I set some goals. I set a goal to write a book in the next 6-8 months. I decided to enter a couple writing contests the following spring and also started saving up money to attend a big writing conference with the goal of pitching my story to agents and editors. I also started blogging regularly in an effort to hone my author voice and did my best to connect with other writers and people in the industry.
From there, it was honestly just a matter of keeping on keeping on. :) I kept writing. Kept learning. Kept entering contests. Kept attending conferences.
In the end, my editor actually found me through Twitter and my blog! Which is crazy and not something you hear often. But because I'd been doing all those other things, I was ready for it when the door opened. I had two books written and two proposals ready to send when my editor first reached out to me.
More than all of that, though, I believe God opens doors at the right time. So doing all the things--attending retreats and conferences, entering contests, blogging, etc--that's all wonderful. But at the end of the day, it's really about trusting God and writing, writing, writing...and keeping it fun!
It's easy to get caught up in all the things you should be doing to try to get published...but when all that stuff tries to snuff the joy out of writing, that's when it's time to step back and remember why you're doing this. If it's only for the fun of seeing your name on a book cover (which is admittedly super fun) eventually that loses its sparkle. But the joy of telling stories, sharing your heart and doing what you're meant to do...that's something to hold on to!
Sorry this answer got a lot more long-winded than planned. :)
When I finally got serious about writing and publishing, the first super helpful thing I did was attend a writing retreat. The one I attended was through My Book Therapy, founded by Susan May Warren (award-winning, best-selling author and all around amazing person). I learned soooo much...before that retreat, I didn't even know what genre I wanted to write in! I learned to plot, learned how to craft a scene, it was just amazing and eye-opening. There are lots of writing organizations, workshops, retreats, etc, out there. In my opinion, My Book Therapy (www.learnhowtowriteanovel.com) is at the top of the game!
From there, I set some goals. I set a goal to write a book in the next 6-8 months. I decided to enter a couple writing contests the following spring and also started saving up money to attend a big writing conference with the goal of pitching my story to agents and editors. I also started blogging regularly in an effort to hone my author voice and did my best to connect with other writers and people in the industry.
From there, it was honestly just a matter of keeping on keeping on. :) I kept writing. Kept learning. Kept entering contests. Kept attending conferences.
In the end, my editor actually found me through Twitter and my blog! Which is crazy and not something you hear often. But because I'd been doing all those other things, I was ready for it when the door opened. I had two books written and two proposals ready to send when my editor first reached out to me.
More than all of that, though, I believe God opens doors at the right time. So doing all the things--attending retreats and conferences, entering contests, blogging, etc--that's all wonderful. But at the end of the day, it's really about trusting God and writing, writing, writing...and keeping it fun!
It's easy to get caught up in all the things you should be doing to try to get published...but when all that stuff tries to snuff the joy out of writing, that's when it's time to step back and remember why you're doing this. If it's only for the fun of seeing your name on a book cover (which is admittedly super fun) eventually that loses its sparkle. But the joy of telling stories, sharing your heart and doing what you're meant to do...that's something to hold on to!
Sorry this answer got a lot more long-winded than planned. :)
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Jul 20, 2016 05:58PM · flag