Why Everyone Feels They Have a Book in Them
Why Everyone Feels They Have a Book in Themby Joanne Sundell
I hear it a lot a signings, the inevitable comment, “I have so many stories in me and just don’t have time now to write.” Or, “I’m going to write books after I retire; piece of cake.”
It’s hard for me to hold my tongue, but I do. I wait and listen, often asking the passers-by what story they have in them? What is their passion, their genre? This usually stops the comments coming and sometimes spurs the passer-by to actually pick up my book and study it for the first time. It goes without saying that some folks who troll bookstores today either wish they could write, or think it is, in fact, “a piece of cake.”
I’ve also gotten the comment, “When you decided to publish …”
This cracks me up, as if we could wave a magic wand and be published! Magic!
There might be a correlation between the folks who are sure they have a book in them and the folks who are truly naive about the publishing industry. In no way do I mean to discount those sincere folks who yearn to write “the story they have inside” but haven’t been able to get started as yet. Those are the ones that I love to chat it up with. We writers must support one another and reach out, networking when and where we can. I enjoy discussing all of the how-to’s and how-not-to’s with those interested in getting started. I think many folks who have not yet penned their book are intimidated by … well … by all of it: writing, critique, rejection, reviews, agents, editors etc etc etc! During our chats, we trouble-shoot together and try to figure a way to get started and get it done.
Common to many romance authors in particular, I began writing my own after I thought, mistakenly or not, that I’d read most authors in the historical romance genre and began wondering if … dare I say it … if I could write my own stories. I then took the time I usually spent reading romance and devoted that time to trying to write romance. The transition, I’m happy to report, went smoothly and continues to this day.
I already knew I wanted to write in the historical romance genre, but it was only when I began researching in earnest, that I found my passion to begin writing and keep on writing: I fell in love with the Victorian Era and old-fashioned romance, absolutely hooked on history and the romance, long-buried within it!
Happy Writing, Everyone!
Joanne Sundell’s first sale was in 2005, to Five Star, Gale, Cengage Learning. The prime market for Five Star Expressions is the library market, but Five Star’s books are also available on-line at Barnes & Noble and all bookstores. The Five Star Expressions line is a combination of romance and women’s fiction. Joanne’s particular interest is in historical romance with suspenseful elements.
To date, Joanne’s sales to Five Star include: MATCHMAKER, MATCHMAKER (06), A…MY NAME’S AMELIA (07) also out in Large Print, THE PARLOR HOUSE DAUGHTER (08) also out in Large Print, MEGGIE’S REMAINS (09), & THE QUAKER AND THE CONFEDERATE upcoming series (5/10, 9/10). Joanne’s first sale was reviewed nationally by Booklist, her second by Library Journal and Publisher’s Weekly, and her third by Publisher’s Weekly and Booklist. A…MY NAME’S AMELIA garnered a top 4&1/2 star rating from Romantic Times Magazine.
History is always a strong character in Joanne’s books, with her first four stories set in colorful, turbulent
With her three, Colorado-mountain-raised-children grown and off on their own adventures, Joanne lives part-time in
Joanne is a member of Colorado Romance Writers, Romance Writers of America, Women Writing the West, Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, and Los Angeles Romance Authors.
e-mail Joanne: author@joannesundell.com
www.joannesundell/blogspot.com
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