By Guest Blogger Sheila Connolly
All the motivational words I live by seem to be "P" words: persistence, perseverance, and patience.
Writing was one of those things I thought I would do someday. Eventually. I had plenty of time, right? I'd always loved reading, so I assumed I knew everything I could ever need to write a book.
The reality was, I had no idea how to set down tens of thousands of words in a way that would make a book. I had no clue about structure or plotting or even word count. So what happened? 9/11, for one thing. That single event made it clear to me that you never know what life is going to throw at you, so you'd better do what you really wanted to–now.
So I wrote a book. I won't tell you it was a good book, but at least I finished it.
I know, you'll hate me, but I never found it hard to write. Once I started, I couldn't stop myself: words just gushed out all over the place. I didn't agonize over every adverb or semicolon; I didn't polish every paragraph before moving on to the next one. Nope, I spewed words. I was having a wonderful time.
Then came the next step–actually selling something. That's a lot harder, both because I had to learn the ropes about agents and submissions–and rejection. In the beginning, when you aren't plugged into all the blogs and loops and websites where writers and agents generously share information, you don't realize just how much rejection there is in this business. I wonder how many aspiring writers just give up, after the first ten or fifty or even hundred soul-numbing rejections?
I didn't, because my love of writing outweighed my fear of rejection. I kept at it, both revising and polishing my first manuscripts and trying out different things. I experimented with romantic suspense and mystery genres; I dabbled in both funny and dark stories; I wrote in first person and third person.
It took almost exactly five years (from September 2001 to September 2006) to sell a book. My first book, Through a Glass, Deadly, written under the name Sarah Atwell, came out in March 2008. The Orchard Mysteries, written as me, came very quickly after that. This month, my sixth book, Red Delicious Death, was published. I've got two more books coming out this year, including the first of a new series, and more under contract after that. It's been a whirlwind!None of these books has been a best-seller. I haven't appeared on Oprah. I haven't won fabulous awards that give me instant name recognition. Strangers don't stop me on the street and ask for my autograph. No, I write cozy mysteries for people like me, and they sell well enough to satisfy my publisher (I hope!). Readers write me to tell me nice things. I get to go to conferences and hang out with writers I have read and admired for years (and I'm still awe-struck that sometimes they even talk to me!).
And I still love writing. That's what keeps me going, through all the tedious business of promotion and getting your name out there whenever and wherever possible–all the "business" side of writing. Sitting down at my laptop with a new story in my head is the part that makes it all worthwhile, and I hope that never changes.
Sheila Connolly writes the Orchard Mystery series, is launching the Museum Mysteries series this fall, and authors the Glassblowing Mystery series as Sarah Atwell -- all published by Berkley Prime Crime. She was an Agatha nominee for Best First Novel and is VP of the Sisters in Crime-New England chapter. You can learn more about Sheila at www.sheilaconnolly.com, www.sarahatwellwriter.com, or www.poesdeadlydaughters.blogspot.com.
