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My Writer’s Journey: Little Did I Know

Updated: Oct 27, 2023

By Brenda W Hargroves


I’ve often heard people say, “I wrote a book. Now, all I have to do is get it published.”

I recently heard those words again from a friend, which prompted me to chronicle the experience of climbing the written-to-published mountain.


OK, so I finally finished my manuscript. Three friends read it, pointed out grammatical errors/typos and provided commentary. They all liked the story. I reread, edited further, made the grammar/typo corrections and addressed the issues my friends raised. I attended many free webinars and read all the articles about writing I could get my hands on. It was time to introduce my work to the world. So I thought!


Underestimating the value of soliciting an agent, I sent ten queries directly to publishers. No interest. I might have continued down this path, having read that many established authors receive more than ten rejections before publication success. Thankfully, I came across a writers membership group I wanted to join. I had seen and ignored a ton of advertisements geared to debut writers But, this group impressed me because the facilitator provided a great deal of valuable free information before marketing the group’s services.


Word To The Wise: When selling your services, offering a truly valuable free benefit will go a long way towards promoting your product and attracting buyers. Especially when dealing with a hard sell like me. Thank you Kathy Ver Eecke.

The financial investment I made in myself by joining her writers group quickly taught me the many errors of my ways. I soon learned:

  1. Your work is much more likely to secure a traditional publisher if represented by an agent.

  2. The process of securing an agent can be as time-consuming as writing your book.

  3. Your book may have masterpiece potential, but it could take forever to find the agent who agrees (maybe not forever, but you know what I mean).

Welcome to the world of publishing!


So, now let’s take a moment to concentrate on point #2 – securing an agent.


You are not done editing. In truth, editing is a never-ending process. The little editing I did to my novel before starting to solicit publishers was a joke. No wonder I didn’t get any bites!


I’ve been lucky enough to find a published author who has agreed to help me edit my work. She does not mince words. She once hurt my feelings so bad it caused my novel’s main character to take a vacation. But I know my mentor practices tough love because she believes in me. And let’s face it, once you put your work out to the public, people may be less kind. So, I pout for a bit, then go back to attempting to follow her advice.


When are you done editing? Obviously, when the book is published. I’ve heard two other thought-provoking answers. My mentor said when all the edits/suggestions you are receiving really boil down to minor nitpicking. But it’s Walter Mosley’s answer that I found most intriguing. In his Master Class, he said he finds and fixes problems by editing his works as many as 100 times. He’s done when he finds a problem he cannot fix. I love it!


More writing is in store. Other than your manuscript, you must prepare a query letter and a synopsis. A query letter is probably the most difficult part of the process. Successful creation depends on following many pre-established rules. Googling ‘writing successful query letters’ will return so many resources, your head will start to spin. Writers find developing a synopsis almost as frustrating. How does one begin to summarize an entire manuscript in 300 words, one or two pages? These are areas where writing groups are most helpful.


Which agent should you contact? Thousands of agents are out there looking for a great book to promote and they all have individual preferences. Before deciding, you must determine your book’s genre, create a strong opening and be able to cite comparable works. Writers are also advised to include a warm, fuzzy connection to hopefully promote partnership possibility. All within a limited number of words. The process sometimes makes agents appear to be royalty. They are not. They’re people like us, trying to succeed in a highly competitive field, who must weed out gems among thousands of pebbles.


Sam Blum’s A Basic Beginner’s Guide to Getting a Book Issued (lifehacker.com) outlines the steps to getting your book published. I sent it to the friend I mentioned earlier and recommend it to anyone who is considering this daunting task.


This article only begins to describe the painstaking process of becoming a published author. Would I have traveled this road had I known at the beginning what I know now? I’m not sure. But, what I do know is that I have faith that my story needs to be told and the conviction to stick to my plan to make it happen. I invite you to follow along my chase for that ever-elusive bestselling novel.



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