Tuesday, June 18, 2013

TRISH JACKSON ON "WRITING - A JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY"

WRITING – A JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY
First, thank you so much, Marta for inviting me to be a guest on your blog. I feel honored to number among the wonderful authors you've had on this blog.
Recently in interviews I've been conducting on my own blog, I've asked authors what advice they would give to other writers, and they've come up with some wonderful, positive suggestions. The most common and probably the best being: "keep writing and never give up."
Writing is an amazing journey of discovery, and although I had always written stories, no-one was more surprised than me when I found that I was actually able to complete a full length novel that other adults may enjoy reading.
That was in the mid-nineties, before the Internet had become a household name. Publishers still held the power, and were like gods. Self-publishing and small presses were not an option, and eBooks had not yet been invented. The publishers set their own "rules" that had to be followed if you had any chance of ever being published.
I tried submitting WAY OUT OF LINE and found it hard not to take the rejections personally. Finally, a POD publisher accepted it. Publish America was somewhere between a vanity press, whom you pay to publish your work, and a traditional publisher, who pay you for the publishing rights. I accepted out of desperation and they offered very little help with anything.
When I had completed my next novel, REDNECK P.I., self-publishing and eBooks had become a reality and had taken the power away from the traditional publishers. The challenge was on for me to have a publisher accept my manuscript on merit. I knew it was good, so I followed the submission guidelines and sent it to several publishers, and when Uncial Press accepted it, I was ecstatic. Uncial Press published the sequel, KICK ASSITUDE this March.
Since then, I have signed a contract with an agent and had CAPRICORN CRAVINGS, the first book in my Astrology Series, accepted by a larger publisher, Soul Mate Publishing.
Strangely, I'm actually contemplating self-publishing the third novel in the Redneck Series, BACKWOODS BOOGIE. Although one does not have a professional editor to consult going this route, one has total freedom to publish immediately instead of having to wait for a publisher's time scale, plus control over the pricing.
So my advice to writers is - whichever route you go, keep writing and never give up. We are living in a great period in history for writers.
Visit my website: http://www.trishjackson.com
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14 comments:

  1. Thank you for your invaluable contribution, Trish.

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  2. Trish, I am so intrigued by your publishing journey as I have had a number of the same experiences. Most interesting is your idea to perhaps self-publish again for the reasons you cite. It has taken me 6 years to get The Loyalist's Wife out the door and I am excited to finally be at this point. The sequel, The Loyalist's Luck, will take much less time as I've made my decisions on agents, publishers, editors, and all the other things which I had to learn. I am very happy with the people I've found to make my self-published book excellent, a standard which was and is very important to me.
    Congratulations on sticking to your writing along all of its pathways!

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  3. Trish, you are an inspiration to us all. Like Elaine, I am intrigued by your return to self-publishing. Apart from the control factor, it means you don't have to pay intermediaries. Would you ever consider publishing in electronic format only, and thereby eliminating printing costs (to your and your readers' economic benefit?) I'm just glad that your wonderful character Aunt Essie will be back sooner than expected.

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  4. Dear Trish, thank you for sharing your wonderful experiences with other writers, especially regarding the self-publishing choices you have made. I often ponder this choice myself for my novels, and you have given me much to think about!

    Shari

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  5. Marta, thank you for letting me know about this article!!! I so appreciate you. And Trish, thank you for sharing your story. It help me immensly!! Because you see, I being a novice self published my first book. I had no idea of all of the work involved in the same. Stand In Your Anointment - This Too Shall Pass is my second book and I went through Xulon Press thinking it would be easier and less work this way. HMMM! Not true. I have had a little more succes. Now that I know a little more of what I am doing though, I will go back and spend a little more time with my first book, and by God's grace, it will go further this time. Louise

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  6. Thank you Trish - I thoroughly enjoyed your thoughts on this topic!

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  7. Most inspiring Trish, thanks so much for sharing your experiences with us who are considering and weighing various publishing options.

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  8. I am always interested to hear how other authors made it to traditional publishing; the journeys are forever fascinating and triumphant. But I, like others commenting before me, am interested in Trish's leanings toward self-publishing a future manuscript. I admit that although I love my publisher (they just GAVE me 400 free pre-release copies of my book, "BODIE," to kick-start the marketing process! Who does that?) I have entertained the idea of going a different way with my current WIP, "Grog Wars," for reasons too complex to go into here. I believe I will want to pick Trish's brain a bit when the manuscript is ready. Thanks so much for hosting a great post, Marta.

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  9. I'm posting for Trish because the page refuses to take her comment.

    "Wow! I'm so pleased I have helped some of you with this article. Thank you all for commenting and thanks again to Marta for inviting me to be a guest on her blog. The publishing industry is changing quicker than home values dropped in the USA recession, and this journey is far from over. It'll be interesting to see what is around the next bend..."

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  10. Trish, thanks for a great treatise on the trials and rewards of publishing. I have a publisher who was small press but is now vanity so I'd be better off on my own, I think for my next book--should I ever get to it. I'm hoping to get to read one of your books as soon as my pile of books to review dwindles. You'll have to advise me which one you think I'd like the most.

    Micki

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  11. Hi

    First of all, congratulations on what seems to be a successful writing career for you. Truly, you have experienced both sides of the coin from the traditional publisher to publishing your own books and have gained invaluable knowledge about the book industry.

    I like your advice, keep writing, and can confirm that this is so important to any writer's career. However, I would also like to add, keep reading. A good writer, in my opinion, reads, and if writing is a craft then reading as well as writing is an essential element of becoming an excellent author.

    Thank you also for you openness. I too hate rejections, but I am learning to turn them around to meet my need. By that, I mean that I look at my manuscript again and there are always things that I find that I can improve. I will continue to send my manuscript out until it is accepted.

    I enjoyed listening to what you have to say and I wish you the very best with your next book.

    Ciao,
    Patti

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  12. Patti, you are so right about reading. Read as many best-selling books in your genre as possible and learn from the experts. Latest trend I've noticed is writing in first person, present and it is very powerful!! And Micki - thank you my friend.
    Finally figured out why I couldn't comment - Google Chrome was blocking cookies.

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  13. Thanks Trish for sharing your experiences with us. I agree with you and Patti. Keep reading in your genre and writing is the best advice for writers to encourage them.

    Best wishes,

    Ana.

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  14. Thank you so much for your comment, Ana, and best of luck with your projects!

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