My Writer’s Journey - Six Years Of Staying The Course

I haven’t addressed my writer’s journey for several months, and lately I’ve been thinking about how this journey has progressed. So here we are.

The accomplishments I’ve achieved during my six years as an author/coach include:

• the honor of having one of my short stories published on a literary journal’s website and an essay included in a published anthology

• won an expenses-paid scholarship to a writer’s retreat and an award for best first chapter

• published 87 posts on my #LitBizLife blog and 40 Substack articles with a co-author

• completed my first novel and am in what feels like the never-ending editing process 

• working on a nonfiction manuscript about entrepreneurship

Pretty good for a retirement career! 👏

I’ve also discovered a few things about myself. 

I am a woman of words. When looking at the vision boards I’ve created over the years, their content consists of more words and phrases than images.

I relish the freedom to write about whatever strikes me at the moment. Ultimately, I return to the topics I mainly focus on which include articles on my blog that encourage readers to treat life like a business and Substack articles that address various topics from the viewpoint of a Baby Boomer and a Millennial. 

I’m not upset that I don’t have thousands of followers. What’s more important is that I created  substantial content, which has proven valuable for later use. For example, the articles I’ve written about entrepreneurship now serve as an outline for the book I’m writing on the subject.

Genre has been a struggle for me. Fellow writer, Tara McMullin, recently posted an article with fragments she called “Excerpts from Unfinished Work.” I related well to the second fragment.

Tara said, “Fragment 2 is from “If Books Could Sell” and examines how economic and algorithmic incentives impact the stories we tell and the books that get written.” And later she states, “Through experimentation, they [publishers] figured out best practices for book length, topic, and release frequency, among other factors, to maximize their sales. The impact is especially obvious in genre fiction.”

Because my novel doesn’t have a ‘happily ever after’ ending I was advised early on to consider it Women’s Fiction. For a while, I edited the story through a Women’s Fiction genre lens until the premise no longer worked for me. I’ve since concluded and switched the genre to romance with a ‘happy for now’ ending.

The genre issue follows arguments made in my Substack articles, Has Creative Writing Become A Lost Art? and Pen A Bilennial Perspective on Creative Writing. I encourage authors and readers to take a look at these articles and let me know your thoughts on the subject.

Enough controversy.

Another thing I discovered about myself is my aversion to having my picture taken. Actually, I’ve felt this way most of my life, but the feeling has become more prevalent as I pursue my writing career. 

When picture-taking situations arise, my first reaction is, “No thank you. I’m in the witness protection program.” In general, I HATE how my pictures turn out. But alas, to my dismay, I need a professional photograph if I want to be taken seriously as an author. So thank you, Dom at Warped Vision Photography for doing an excellent job and making the process painless. 

So, fellow and prospective authors, I’d love to know what you’ve accomplished or learned about yourself during your writing journey? Post your thoughts in the comments!