The August topic is “My Writing Dreams”. Ironic since my writing dreams literally started with a dream. It happened in high school. I had been a voracious reader from a young age. The Little Golden Books, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Nancy Drew, the Chronicles of Narnia, Sweet Valley High, you name it, I would read it.
I eventually found romance novels as a teenager and would read them all the time. Then one night I had a dream. We all have them, of course, but usually we forget it the minute we wake up. This dream was different. It was really vivid and appeared like a scene from a book or movie. The dream stayed with me after I woke up, so I wrote it down on paper (by hand…I didn’t know how to type back then). Then I just kept on writing, sort of like Forrest Gump when he starts running and then doesn’t stop for 2 years. I had no idea what I was doing, of course, and I certainly never thought about making a career in publishing. It was just something I did for fun.
I started writing a number of stories in the years after that, but I never finished anything. It wasn’t until I was in my mid-20s that I had the "great epiphany" that I was supposed to be a writer. Even then I couldn’t figure out how to make that a reality. It took 10 years before I got my act together enough to join a writer’s organization (Romance Writers of America) and seriously pursue publication.
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| The first book |
That was in 2005, but I still did not realize the “dream” of publishing a novel until 2013. In between, I experienced A LOT of rejections. There were plenty of “close calls” where editors loved my writing and my story…“but”. As in “but our schedule is full”, “but we don’t know how to market this book”, “but we just signed another author with a series about wedding planners”. Oh there were so many ways to say “but…we’re still rejecting you”. Then I finally got a “yes” from someone, a small digital publisher. That first book was MARRY ME. Then indie publishing came along and I was finally able to make my own publishing dreams come true. (Although I will say that the time I spent getting rejected and revising and learning was not wasted.)
Five years later, I now have 14 books published with two more on the way this fall. The indie world is tough and I still haven’t achieved the kind of success I want, but every book is a chance to try again.
Kristin Wallace is the USA Today Best Selling Author of inspirational and sweet contemporary romance filled with “Love, Laughter and a Leap of Faith”. She has three series, Covington Falls Chronicles (inspirational romance), Shellwater Key Tales (sweet contemporary romance), and The Heiress Games/Palm Cove Tales, a sweet contemporary series that sees three very different women competing for custody of a pampered pig…and a $120 million fortune. Buy the books individually or download the Complete Heiress Games Box Set.
