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Christa Allan | Journey To Publication
August 21, 2011
One of the oft-asked questions in interviews, is "Tell us about how you came to
be published." My response is the fairly generic, "Once upon a time I wanted to
be a writer..." because I’m never quite sure if I should reveal the entire,
seemingly endless angsty events. But, in the event you write or read an author’s response, I’m fairly certain
that the timeline below is the behind the scenes, real deal. Here is the timeline of the journey to publication: 1. You have an idea. 2. You begin to write a book. 3. After the first two chapters, you are so smitten with your own genius, you
pause to jot down the names of actors who will [consider themselves lucky to]
portray your characters. 4. After chapter two and a half, you decide it's time to dust the fireplace,
crochet the twelve bedspreads you've been buying yarn to complete for the past
ten years, and start a scrapbook for each of your children, your yet-to-be-born
grandchildren, and the family pet(s). 5. You continue writing [or gazing at the monitor] and decide that repeatedly
poking yourself in the eye with a hot stick would be welcome relief from the
blinking, pulsating, taunting, annoying cursor. 6. You light fires in August and clean out the fireplace again. 7. You remember you're writing Christian fiction, so you duct tape your mouth
closed. 8. You read about a twelve-year-old who wrote her first novel in six days whose
agent just sold international rights, movie rights, and rights that haven't been
invented yet. You look for the stick to poke in her your eye that you're going
to light in
the clean fireplace. 9. You consider a feeding tube and a catheter so you won't have to walk away
from your desk. 10. You reach the middle of the book. You wonder if the same people who told not
to buy stock in Appleare the people who told you that you could write. 11. You tug on God's sleeve and ask Him if He wouldn't mind, pretty please,
pretty please with a cherry the size of unsaved nation on top, you promise
you'll be a good girl, clean up the room of your soul, be nice to His people, if
He'd just this one time, you promise never to ask again, it's just an itsy-bitsy
favor. . . could He send a host of heavenly angels to descend upon your computer
and finish this novel. 12. The angels must be flying stand-by. They don't appear, but a new flavor of
Blue Bell does. You eat a half-gallon for each thigh. 13. You hear about the lady who didn't leave the bathroom for two years and was
stuck to the potty seat. You're sure they didn't mention she was balancing a
laptop on her knees and was waiting for inspiration. 14. You have to finish the novel because your legs are permanently bent at the
knees, and you'll need the advance to pay the orthopedic doctor. 15. You send off three chapters to an agent. You feel like you sent a photo of
your left arm, right foot and the back of your head to Match.Com and asked for a
date with Prince Charming. 16. Step #15. 17. Step #15. 18. A dream agent asks for the full manuscript. You pray. You go to the post
office. You pray. You hand the postal clerk the package and walk away like you
just left your first-born at day care. 19. You pray. 20. Repeat step #19 for a few weeks. 21. The dream agent calls. You pray you're not dreaming. 22. You scrape yourself off every wall you've bounced off of for days because
YOU HAVE AN AGENT!!!!!!!!!! 23. You do the happy dance for God and because of God and with God and thank God. 24. Your agent takes over and you are oh, so grateful that she'll be
representing you to publishing houses. 25. You continue to write because you know the light at the end of the tunnel is
not the headlamp of an oncoming train. 26. People ask when the book's coming out. You tell them you don't have a clue.
You smile because you know, one day, you will have a clue. But until then. . .
you write, you pray, you write. Share your thoughts about Christa's journey and you might be a winner of a
copy of her book, THE EDGE OF GRACE. Learn more about Christa
Allan and THE
EDGE OF GRACE.
Comments
37 comments posted.
Re: Christa Allan | Journey To Publication
I love your post! you make sound so easy to be a writer....NOT!
(Deborah Rudd 10:02am August 21, 2011)
Hi, Mrs. Allan! How are you? It's Deborah :) I heard you were
taking some time off from school to finish your book.. I hope
everything goes well! God Bless..
(Deborah Kim 10:19am August 21, 2011)
Love it...determination and a sense of humor..Thanks for sharing today.
(Dawn Staniszeski 10:57am August 21, 2011)
Glad I'm not a writer. But I love reading, so thanks for the hard work.
(Pam Howell 11:31am August 21, 2011)
BIZARRE! But everything pays off every time you see your book
on bookstores. Thank God you love writing.
(Lory Diocampo 12:10pm August 21, 2011)
We certainly enjoy the fruits of your labor!
Blessings,
Marjorie
(Marjorie Carmony 12:13pm August 21, 2011)
Only this morning I decided to quit this novel writing thing and get back to 'real life.' You have inspired me to try again! I will get back to work as soon as I have removed any sharp sticks lying around the house.
(Donna Stone 12:20pm August 21, 2011)
Christa: After reading your entry today, I am convinced that reading is not the direction I was meant to follow!! I had a couple of teachers who told me that I should go into the writing field, and something always stopped me, even though I was in love with the English language!! I bounced off the walls with you, but did not use the red-hot pokers, for the simple reason that I have enough health problems at the moment. :) I know it isn't an easy field to break into, yet I've always yearned to put pen to paper, since I have stories to tell, but you threw up that cautionary flag. I am sincerely thrilled for you, and I hope this is just the start of bigger and better things, since I know it is something you desire deep in your heart. I know it will have extra meaning to me while I'm reading it, after knowing what you really went through personally. Congratulations again.
(Peggy Roberson 12:30pm August 21, 2011)
Christa- You do make it sound so easy. If it was so easy everyone would have a book. Congrats on your book and I look forward to reading it.
(Christine Arcidiacono 12:56pm August 21, 2011)
Thank you for making me laugh! I have always wanted to write a romance novel; but always been afraid to start (which is probably a good thing as I am not a writer). I will continue to be an avid reader and leave the writing to you!
(Jody Hollenbeck 1:13pm August 21, 2011)
I love that you recognize the distractions and fit them into your writing day.
(Alyson Widen 1:13pm August 21, 2011)
I admire and respect most if not all authors who do their reseach before and during writings of their books. Author's work extremely hard, have fantastic imaginations, and I honor them!!!!!!
(Joanne Bozik 1:22pm August 21, 2011)
WHAT AN ACCURATE PORTRAYAL..I CAN TELL YOU FROM MANY YEARS EXPERIENCE, ALOT FEELS THE SAME WHEN WRITING A BRIEF..WITHOUT THE PUBLICATION JITTERS, OF COURSE! WE ONLY WORRY HOW THE JUDGE WILL FEEL ABOUT IT...I AM IN IT TO WIN IT!
(Silvana Moscato 1:26pm August 21, 2011)
I love your journey---definitely a journey of a good writer
(Shirley Younger 1:34pm August 21, 2011)
I'm glad you kept at it. Writing sounds so easy and simple but the muses have to be at work in order to inspire one.
(Kai Wong 1:52pm August 21, 2011)
Great blog, keep up the writing.
(Wilma Frana 2:33pm August 21, 2011)
Persistence pays!
Good luck and happy writing!
(Tracie Travis 3:23pm August 21, 2011)
Congrats on your book. :) What a tough road to be a writer.... :)
(May Pau 3:53pm August 21, 2011)
Isn't it funny how we can look back on a long labor and describe it with
humor? Thanks for a light-hearted peek into the process. Maybe I had
better start stocking my bathroom with toilet paper, a power cord and a
two-year supply of food!
(Matthew Kreider 4:08pm August 21, 2011)
i like the blog and the cover and it great hope you have more for the up coming books
(Desiree Reilly 4:31pm August 21, 2011)
Congrats on your book, sound great. Thanks for writing it, and
giving me a chance to win it.
(Linda Hall 4:37pm August 21, 2011)
Thank you for sharing. The insight was interestng & appreciated.
(Mary Preston 5:40pm August 21, 2011)
I can't understand why everyone isn't a published writer. You make it sound so easy...LOL just kidding. Thanks for the funny list of how to get published.
(Maude Allen 5:53pm August 21, 2011)
Living in San Francisco provides a fair amount of info on the subject matter in The Edge of Grace. I hope to compare notes if I am fortunate enough to win. Congratulations on having an agent and also being a published author!
(Janice Milliken 8:03pm August 21, 2011)
Sorry I'm stopping by so late...I'm on deadline, and it's frightful, but I am oh so grateful to have one! And thank you for all the words of encouragement. Writers are needy people, gotta be honest about that one!
For those of you who shared you've always thought about writing...DO IT! If a little old school teacher from a little town outside of New Orleans who's over half-a-century old can make it happen, I promise, YOU can!
(Christa Allan 8:16pm August 21, 2011)
Can I say I like # 24 best?
(Lisa Kendall 8:20pm August 21, 2011)
This sounds like a fascinating journey. You've shown patience and impatience, great humor, frustration, religion and all the attributes thrown at creative people. I'm really looking forward to reading this book soon.
(Selma Cohen 8:35pm August 21, 2011)
A journey to writing a book; along with a sense of humor.
(Diane Chenier 10:14pm August 21, 2011)
I love your sense of humor and I always like some humor in my reading too and I bet it shows through!
(Jeanne Sheats 10:32pm August 21, 2011)
It's obvious you feel my pain Christa.
(Megan Davis 11:05pm August 21, 2011)
Hmm, more non-book news. Or do the Giants and Dolphins have something to do with your book after all? There were at least a couple of off-topic comments in here last week.
But back to your writing, Christa. I've never done any creative writing. However, I've written many a non-creative essay in my life and many of the steps you've gone through sound very familiar--eating 2 liters of ice-cream in an effort to get my brain to think logically, deciding I just had to clean my bedroom, doing some much-needed mending, etc., etc. Been there, done that. I'd probably be dead before I finally got anything creative done; anything more logical definitely requires lots of prayer.
(Sigrun Schulz 11:51pm August 21, 2011)
If your books show the humor your blog does, they should be good reading.
(Shirley Nienkark 11:43am August 22, 2011)
It's a tough business being an author, but when you do come to the light at the end of the tunnel, you will have fans who adore your works....
(Joanne Bozik 1:58pm August 22, 2011)
It is wonderful to see your humor evident here. Getting published is a masochistic process.
(Marcelle Cole 2:30pm August 22, 2011)
I like #26. It reminds me of trying to figure out my college major.
(Joanne Hicks 7:48pm August 22, 2011)
I also hope your book shows your humor! I like to read books with a Christian tone as well as many other types. I did start a book, had a bunch of notes stacked up to go into it, and years later I never finished it. Writing is not easy, I once had a dance group that met monthly to dance and I put out a newsletter. I grew to hate that newsletter so much because I had to come up with an artical for that front page every month and make it readable as well as grammatically correct. I admire anyone who can tell a good story in their books! I don't think I"ll ever be able to finish that book I started. Good luck with your future writing, would love to read your book!
(Brenda Rupp 7:12pm August 28, 2011)
Well now I am sure I was not meant to be a writer. I would not have the drive to complete anything.
Thanks for the post and giveaway.
(Patti Paonessa 9:03am August 30, 2011)
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