Six months ago, I decided that my career as a software engineer, while financially rewarding and challenging, just was not doing it for me. Rare were the days I would wake up and say, "Oh joy, I get to write more code today."
Unsure what to do about it, I applied the age-old advice of, "Find something you enjoy doing and then figure a way to make money doing it." I had always enjoyed storytelling and creative writing, but had put off the idea of trying to write anything too ambitious. I felt I had stories inside of me that I wanted to tell, but the task of getting them out stood as a giant barrier, intimidating me into not taking action.
But as I thought about the next thirty years of my life spent in front of a computer screen, I realized I could be either writing code for applications that would have a shelf life of five years or crafting a story for people to enjoy forever.
So, I decided to write a novel.
Following another saying, "Write what you know," I focused on writing a type of book that I enjoy reading. I wanted to tell a good story, something that when the book ends, the readers say, "Damn...it’s over." I have always enjoyed books that are a part of a series, so even if a portion of the saga concludes, I know that I can pick it up again when next one is published. The Eragon series by Christopher Paolini, Raymond E. Feist’s journeys through his world of Midkemia, and Stephen King’s The Dark Tower all drew me in, keeping me entertained for years, even decades. That sort epic tale is what I felt passionate about writing. Ambitious? Umm... just a little.
Please understand that I am not comparing myself to those men. They are all great authors and I am just me. Rather, I am saying that their work is what inspired me to try my own hand at delving into the writing process. To them, I say thank you.
My desire to do something different with my life coupled with positive feedback I received on a series of short stories I wrote for a group to which I belong was the impetus for me sitting down and starting the writing process. I picked up a few books on tips for writing, found some things that worked for me and discarded those that did not. In the end, I discovered what worked best was to just let my imagination run free.
I envisioned where my first story would live. I thought of the history and cultures spread throughout the world and built out the framework the story would hang on. I outlined a rough plot, identifying the main storyline and envisioned the main characters. I had a beginning and an end, but the middle was fuzzy. At that point, I finally started to write.
Ever hear the phrase, "The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray?" Or for sports fans, "A gameplan is only good until the first snap?" I will attest to their accuracy.
As I wrote, I was often surprised by where the story took me. More often than not, I was not telling the story, rather it told itself. I was just the guy hitting letters on a keyboard. Two individuals I had never counted on being more than being a minor character grew into integral parts of the tale. One of them quickly became my favorite character to write. This organic growth of the story required revisions upon revisions to make things line up appropriately, but I found myself enjoying every minute of it. I cannot say I ever experienced that while writing a single line of code.
After writing the story, having a former free-lance writer edit it (mostly for basic grammar), I reviewed the manuscript, tweaking it. Then I reviewed it again, tweaking it some more. And again. Each time, I told myself, ‘Just one more time.’ I will fess up; I am still doing it. However, one of the bits of advice I did follow was to eventually send the book at some point, otherwise you will edit the thing forever.
I researched the heck out of what to do next. I bought all the books about how to contact and query agents and publishers: what goes in a query letter (the one page of "Hi, I’d like to introduce me and my book"), how to write a synopsis (the two page "Here’s a 300,000 word novel jammed into two pages"), and the dos and don’ts of submissions. I came up with a first list of agents to submit to as most publishers do not want un-agented submissions, looked up their submission guidelines, and put together a personalized package of what they wanted. With a lump in my throat, I sent them. I was more nervous hitting the ‘Send’ button than I had been in years about anything.
Now I wait, hoping that someone somewhere will take a few minutes to read the letter, maybe the synopsis, and if I am really lucky, a chapter of two if they even asked for some to be sent. I understand agents are bombarded constantly with queries, but from a new writer’s point of view, it seems a daunting task to get in the front door.
By now, anyone who has made it this far has to be wondering why I writing this diary here, right?
Well, one of the things suggested was to reach out to whatever networks an author has, tossing a very wide net into an ocean of people, hoping that you might catch one person who knows someone who knows someone.
So, that’s what I’m doing.
I am reaching out to the Daily Kos community to see if anyone out there has a contact in a literary agency or publisher, hoping that it might get me more than the passing glance I anticipate receiving from the traditional submission process. I know the community here has people from all walks of life – it’s what makes this site a fun, engaging, and entertaining read. Moreover, I know there are dozens of accomplished authors – some actively participating in daily discussions and others lurking about, as I do most of the time. The book I wrote is fiction, yes, and many of the authors here may be non-fiction focused, but I am still giving it a shot.
If anyone out there has a name, some advice, or a few words of encouragement for a guy looking to turn a passion into a second career, please weigh in.
Everyone duck, I’m tossing the net.