Merry meet all,
The Wheel of the Year has spun again. The Summer Solstice is a few days away. My garden is so beautiful and lush. I love the sun and the summer heat. I saved a beautiful arugula stem and flower and pressed it in my Introductory Herbal Course.
Today’s post is about the wonderful support I have for my novella. I know that I couldn’t have written my novella without them. I owe them everything and I am certainly mentioning them in the acknowledgements. It is so important to have a support system and to be a positive, friendly person with EVERYONE in the publishing world. The publishing world is smaller than you think. Everyone knows everyone. Everyone will remember you if you are pleasant. Everyone – and this also means agents, editors and other more successful authors will remember you if you are totally impatient and toxic to deal with. In other words, they won’t deal with you. You can still be honest but you have to do it the right way. It is NEVER cool to send an editor who rejected you a death threat. You will be excommunicated from the whole publishing world, not just that one editor. That’s because they will talk about you to anyone who will hear. So send the honey, not the vinegar.
My friends are so awesome. I could not live without them. I could not exist as a writer without them. Alice Walsh and Dave Rimmington are awesome and they live in the same hometown as me. We have all known each other for years. Dave R has interviewed me and supported me. Alice Walsh has helped me edit my writing. My other awesome friends on Facebook and social media are too numerous to mention here, so I will focus on a few.
Stephanie Ellis helped me shape and rewrite, to refine my entire novella. One great thing about today’s technology is tracking changes. We worked on each chapter and passed the story between us using tracking changes. I love tracking changes now. I have adjusted to tracking changes and now I believe it is the easiest way to edit. Other than red pen on paper. I cannot believe the transformation of my story. I learned how to finally improve my writing and overcome a bad writing habit. This is necessary for a writer to change and grow.
Fred Rayworth is now helping me with a line edit. Again, I am learning a lot from him. I value all this help and support. I like the expression that it takes a village. It’s true. Even rejection letters can be a good thing. If you do try to keep improving as a writer, then if you are lucky the rejection letters begin to get friendlier, and they invite you to write for them again, take them up on it. They are basically saying: we don’t want this submission but we may take your second story! Few writers take editors up on that opportunity. Editors are human and they may seem like lava snorting demons but at the end of the day, they are human.
The best advice I can give is be professional, be yourself and be confident. You can’t be shy in this business. You don’t want to be toxic either. Just be yourself and everything falls into place. I have attended many writers book launches and readings long before I had a book published. I attended them to show my support, make friends and get free books!!! They remember you when you show support. They will do the same for you someday. It’s a win win all around.
I have also lived in Halifax for many years. I know the bookstores and the bookstore staff here at my fave bookshops. I value their friendship. I have visited those fave shops for years now and a certain camaraderie develops between me and the managers. They will sometimes go well out of their way for you. Libraries are also a value to a hopeful writer. I can’t believe how hugely helpful librarians have been to me, whether that has been helping me find books or in printing out sewing patterns. I love books and I love libraries and I value the staffs’ help to me over the years.
I also credit the Writers Federation of Nova Scotia and the hugely helpful horror loving Horror Writers Association. Again, I have been part of them for years. It has taken me a long time to get a book published. I never did it alone. I had all that support not behind me, but beside me. It takes a village! So cultivate those friendships and be good to them and they will be good to you. When your awesome time comes, look at all the friends you will have to celebrate with! I know for myself personally, I plan to have a huge party on the release date here in Halifax- and virtual in October. Better than a sad glass of wine alone. Where’s the fun in that? You tell me.
Good fences make good neighbours. At least, I think that is how the expression goes. Be nice and be in it for the long haul. Do it for the love!
Blessings, Spiderwitch
