Authors: How Did You Start

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Forum -> Hobbies, Crafts, and Collections -> The Imamother Writing Club

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qwerty4

Mon, Dec 05 2016, 4:50 pm

Same OP as the other thread today... I've got writing on my mind today Smile

So I've noticed we have several fantastic published authors on here (Dina Neuman, Etka Gittel are two I've been excited to discover, I'm a fan!). So here's my chance to ask you the million dollar question: how did you get started? What was your entry to the writing world and how did you get your work published at first?

agreer

Mon, Dec 05 2016, 6:13 pm

I love this question! I also want to know.

MagentaYenta

Mon, Dec 05 2016, 6:53 pm

I wrote for profit for a number of years. I started off in a local Audubon newsletter. Then I moved up to a birding magazine, a gardening publication, a couple of travel publications and then my crowning glory was a story of mine in Outside which is a national publication. I also had a couple of articles published in Ms and The Sun. I wrote because I liked to read and friends told me I could tell a good story. Writing was not my vocation, but a challenging hobby that I actually turned into $$ for about 10 years. I shifted between fiction and non fiction during those years. During that time I also got to attend two highly regarded writers workshops which really helped me. Criticism is endemic to writing and early on I recognized that it was vital.

qwerty4

Mon, Dec 05 2016, 6:56 pm

Thanks for sharing MagentaYenta!
I get that it would probably be too much for me to ask someone to out themselves, but if posters could post anonymously and include their name/pen name that would be fascinating...

amother

Slategray

Mon, Dec 05 2016, 7:20 pm

I'll chime in here - but I'll only share one of my pen names - Ahuva Parnes - dunno if any of you know me Very Happy

:

I started writing right after seminary because I was passionate about getting published - I knew I wouldnt forgive myself if I didnt. I remember dreaming of seeing my name published in Binah and wondering if it would ever come true.

I started by writing poems for a local publication. At the same time I read obsessively about writing and began writing and submitting (getting accepted and rejected, of course) My writing, though, really took off when I hired a renowned (in the Jewish world) author to coach me. I paid her a few hundred dollars, but the tips, critique, and assistance she provided was invaluable. She literally gave me the confidence to get to where I needed to go.

After that I myself dont even know how I get further. I wrote more and published more and then things just took off - I still pinch myself that I am actually published in many mags bh. I actually recently branched off into marketing/copywriting - its a totally new field for me - scary but also very exciting.

Hatzlacha!

amother

Oak

Mon, Dec 05 2016, 7:35 pm

I've had written work published here and there. I don't feel like that makes me an author though. The biggest key to being a successful author isn't breaking into publishing. What matters is a lot of consistency and prolific writing. If you're churning out tons of stuff, you have a better chance of getting published more often and the pieces that never get published don't matter as much.

amother

Blue

Mon, Dec 05 2016, 8:37 pm

I'm a published author (articles and books, both Jewish and not).

Honestly, getting published in the frum world is easy. You send your article directly to magazines, you send your manuscript directly to the publishers. No need for an agent, and the standards aren't very high.

Mainstream publishing is a whole different ballgame.

Ruchel

Tue, Dec 06 2016, 6:28 am

amother wrote:

Agree - BTDT. And iyh my mother will soon be too Smile

FranticFrummie

Tue, Dec 06 2016, 7:07 am

DD has a bright future in YA literature. This is what I've seen of her process:

1. You start out BADLY. You will look back at your work and cringe. It's OK, everyone starts that way. Do not judge yourself. just use it as a teaching tool.

2. Get someone you trust, who is a better writer than you are, to beta read your work. Not just editing and proofreading, but someone who can critique the flow of your "voice" for readability.

3. Get a creative writing buddy, and challenge each other. Something that DD likes to do, is to write one paragraph, and have her buddy write the next one, and so forth. Play off of each other's ideas, and see where it takes you. This gets you out of your box, and prevents writer's block.

4. If you are writing fiction, do online role play, similar to exercise 3. Each take a character, and build dialogue, conflict, resolution, etc. This will help you find your voice, build context, and develop a deeper emotional connection to your characters. It doesn't matter where this takes your story, the point is to get you deeper into it.

5. Before submitting for publication, share your work with as many people as you can. Don't limit yourself to people who love you and will be supportive no matter what. You want the widest readership possible once you get published, so you have to risk and be vulnerable.

6. Praise is nice, but critique is golden. It may sting at first, but it's the greatest gift anyone can give a writer (or any other artist). Don't take it personally, and you can accept it or not, but if someone cares enough to criticize your work, do yourself a favor and take it as a good thing. You will only grow and improve through challenge, so bless the people who take you there.

Good luck!

wordsmith

Tue, Dec 06 2016, 8:41 am

I love reading about how other people got started in writing and the one thing they all have in common is that they simply write! Your early works will be cringe-worthy (I know mine were), but that’s all part of the learning process.

Determining what you want to write will really help you figure out how to approach your work. If you want to write novels, for instance, your process will be quite different than if you plan on covering breaking news stories for a major newspaper.

As for my own journey, I always knew I wanted to write and tell stories. Professionally, though, I started out as an editorial assistant, moved onto being a journalist and news editor. I won several awards for my work, and have covered everything from politics to health care to education to holidays decorating and more.

I wrote screenplays and TV scripts (none ever made it into production, but I did final in a couple of contests.) I was the executive editor for a women’s magazine that covered popular, mainstream fiction. Tried my hand at romantic suspense novels, which got some interest from agents.

I am now a published children’s author and, B”H, my books have been selling quite well.

I’m happy to answer specific questions about writing, but really the one thing I always tell people is that you just have to sit down and write.

Ruchel

Wed, Nov 15 2017, 10:55 am

Ruchel wrote:

Agree - BTDT. And iyh my mother will soon be too Smile

I forgot I already posted in this thread LOL.
Anyway yes, once you publish something, it gets easier to do a second, third... work because you have "proven" yourself in a way.

InnerMe

Wed, Nov 15 2017, 10:11 pm

I am no author. Perhaps a wannabe.
Interested as well in what the experts have to say.
Figure this is a good place to give a shout out to some of my fave authors that may be on here, and ask you to let us know some of your journeys? Maybe let us in on some secrets? That's asking too much? Ok, I get it. We'll take whatever you give..

So.. Riva Pomerantz!!!! Love love love your works! They are written with so much insight into the human psyche. I am currently loving the Ami serial your'e running and I do hope that Yehuda and Shiffy can work on their marriage and have a healthy loving relationship without her mother's shadow. I have always followed your past serials.. my fave probably being with Benny, the ADHD guy, I forgot the title..Was it Split Ends?

Shoshana Schwartz!!! You are one of a kind! You combine real life experience with awesome writing. I admire how you are so open about your struggles in the current diary in family first, and also how you're not afraid to speak your mind. You're creating much awareness, and boy I love those horses. One day I may visit Retorno just to get a peek:)

Yitta Halberstam! Boy am I glad you are back from your babysitting hiatus. I find your writing to be so professional, well researched, and engaging. I'm jealous of you chummy cleaning help who helped you grieve your grandchild's move. Please do keep writing! I await your articles.

There are many more... hope you can stop by and say hi!

amother

Slateblue

Wed, Nov 15 2017, 10:33 pm

I’ll add what I can in case someone finds it helpful:

I’ve published books in 2 very different genres so far - secular self-help books and Jewish children’s books. I’d been writing for many years prior to publishing anything. When I decided to go for it (publishing my first book), I looked into different publishing houses extensively. Someone recommended that I look for similar books that did well and see who published them, because publishers don’t usually want to take unnecessary risks. They want something they can reasonably expect to do well. Many publishers also have a niche market or audience and it pays to know what they’re all about before pitching an idea to them. (It’s also worth noting that even if your book is well-written with great content, etc. it still might be rejected for any number of reasons... fierce competition, didn’t fit the publisher’s current catalogue, too similar to competing works, and so on...).

Many publishers like to publish “authors” and not “books,” meaning they prefer to work with the same authors on several books and shy away from situations likely to result in “one hit wonders.” I can’t say I have any first-hand knowledge of any of this, since I haven’t personally worked at a publishing house, but it seemed to be decent information and helped me get started.

I submitted my first manuscript (self-help) to about 50 different publishers before I got my first (reasonable) acceptance. My second book started as a conversation with my editor, which I later turned into a formal proposal. Before we first began working together I was asked how involved I was willing to be in promoting my books. (Book talks, media interviews, etc.). They also asked if I was willing to make certain revisions. That played a significant role in their decision to accept my first manuscript.

When I started writing Jewish children’s books I started from scratch. I actually didn’t mention that I was previously published. I knew there was a lot of competition and truthfully I wasn’t expecting an acceptance, especially considering there are so few publishers who handle these types of books. I wrote a brief proposal and submitted my work to 5 places. I’m honored and grateful to have found a great publisher to work with on my first few books and I’m hopeful that we will continue working together on many more.

My advice to anyone starting out, regardless of genre, is be persistent. Rejection can be brutal sometimes, but stick with it. Keep writing, seek honest feedback, be humble... as many posters mentioned upthread, we all improve over time with practice.

InnerMe

Wed, Nov 15 2017, 10:40 pm

Thanks for that reply! I started a new thread when I realized this was really old... Mind copy pasting into there your post?
http://www.imamother.com/forum.....11218

amother

Blue

Wed, Nov 15 2017, 10:48 pm

amother wrote:

When I started writing Jewish children’s books I started from scratch. I actually didn’t mention that I was previously published. I knew there was a lot of competition and truthfully I wasn’t expecting an acceptance, especially considering there are so few publishers who handle these types of books. I wrote a brief proposal and submitted my work to 5 places. I’m honored and grateful to have found a great publisher to work with on my first few books and I’m hopeful that we will continue working together on many more.

It is much, much easier to get published in the Jewish world.

amother

Slateblue

Wed, Nov 15 2017, 10:59 pm

amother wrote:

It is much, much easier to get published in the Jewish world.

Maybe so, but I didn’t know that... ;-)

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