Today I welcome our third guest blogger in the ‘Write Life’ series – award winning author, Lynne Stringer. Lynne has a background in journalism and editing and is also the author of the Verindon trilogy (YA Romantic SciFi). A writer with a wonderful imagination and eye for detail, I’m sure you’ll enjoy what Lynne has to share.
One of the most interesting things about the writing journey for me has been the realisation of how much is involved.
I’m not just talking about writing. Writing a novel is something I’m good at. I can formulate a story and keep up the pace with consistency and flow. I can generally avoid plot-holes, develop a good story arc and resolve issues appropriately.
Even editing isn’t too much trouble. In fact, it’s one of my favourite parts of the whole process. I enjoy paring down my work and watching it improve as I cut away the fat.
However, there is more involved in being an author than these things, especially if you want to be published.
You also need to be a salesperson. For a start, you need to sell the merits of your writing and yourself as an author to an agent or publisher. This is one of the most difficult parts for me. My natural response when someone asks me about my work is to criticise it rather than praise it so that they don’t think I’m arrogant, but I can’t do that if I want someone to publish my work. I have to tell them how wonderful it is.
The next hardest thing is being willing to compromise on some things to see my book published. Most publishers want to change at least a few things and watching an in-house editor tear your baby to shreds and tell you to start again is never easy.
Even after publication more is required. I need to sell my book to bookstores and members of the public. I need to look for advertising and promotional opportunities. I need to make people believe in me.
All of this is not easy for an introvert, like me. However, doing all these things has stretched me and taught me a great deal, not the least that I need to appreciate myself and my work. My books may never become classics but they clearly appeal to some people and I need to congratulate myself for achieving that much.
I have learnt that I can write and there’s no shame in saying that to others. I have learnt that I can praise my work and not feel like I’m being vain. Believe me, I can still be my own worst critic, but now I can tell people the good and know I am doing the right thing.
Lynne Stringer has been passionate about writing all her life, beginning with short stories in her primary school days. She began writing professionally as a journalist and was the editor of a small newspaper (later magazine) for seven years, before turning her hand to screenplay writing and novels. Lynne currently works as a professional editor and proofreader. She lives in Australia with her husband and young son. Her debut novel, The Heir, recently received the Literary Classics’ Silver award in the YA science fiction category. To discover more about Lynne, make sure you drop on over to her website at www.lynnestringer.com and if you’d like to purchase her books, you can find them at www.verindon.com.
