During the recent RT Booklovers Convention in Dallas, I was hit with sudden
insight.
What
was it?
Simple. I am not alone.
In the three years I’ve focused my energies on writing my Angel
Assassins
series,
I’ve often wondered if
I’d made a huge mistake following the author road. It hasn’t been paved with gold
and
precious
gems.
Beneath my feet were bones and the skeletal remains of would-be authors who’ve
traveled
before
me.
Dire? Yes, but oh so impossible to resist.
Starting today, the New & Emerging column is my opportunity to share the
journeys
of
other debut
authors who, like myself, understand what’s ahead for us will take everything we
have and
everything we
are to reach the next milestone and achieve the next goal. For some, the big time is
hitting the
New
York Times or USA Today best sellers lists. Some want movie deals or TV
shows
based on
their books.
For others, it’s finding readers who’ll enjoy their work enough to buy the next book
and
the
next, to
infinity.
Dreams. I understand them. I grew up in Detroit in a not-nice neighborhood. My mom
raised
two
girls
solo, and it was our close-knit Jamaican community that we relied on to stay out of
trouble
and
focused
on getting an education, and then getting the heck out.
Reading was (and remains) my passion so becoming a newspaper reporter was natural.
Words
were my
friends and my escape. Now, words are my life. I write urban fantasy romance novels
where
my
heroes
have serious trust issues and my heroines are streetwise and independent. I make
them earn
their
happily ever after because that’s what I had to do. Authors often write what they
know, and
I
know how
to survive against ratty odds.
Meeting fellow debut authors at the convention gave me a glimpse of other stories of
success and
failure. Quite a few made me laugh out loud, and several stung my heart. Writing a
book is
one
thing,
but finding a home for that book and strangers to love it changes a new author. What
did it
take
for
your favorite author to get published? What stood in their way? How did they write
the
novels you
enjoy?
I want to know and I hope you do too.
In future columns I’ll be transparent about building a publishing career, showing my
own
success
and
failures in detail. I’ll ask my guests to do the same, and maybe this up close view
will
intrigue
you to see
what happens to a promising author as he or she tries to emerge from the skeleton
pile of
hopefuls.
About the Author:
Tricia Skinner writes dark, diverse, dangerous fiction. Her urban fantasy romance
series,
the
Angel
Assassins, is
her first. She’s represented by Fuse Literary Agency. Trish shares her life
with her
husband, young son, and three Great Danes.
3 comments posted.