What was your first piece of writing as an aspiring author? Where is it now, collecting dust or has it been published?
I'm going with the question this month. The first novel I wrote, The Greater Good, was not the first book I ever received a contract for. It was the novel I plotted out in my head years before I actually wrote. I wrote it by hand and then typed it on an old iMac desktop. Back in those days, everything was queried by sending out hard copies. I spent a lot of money on postage. But after I attended a number of workshops, I knew the book needed a lot or work. I put it away for a while and worked on the books I did have contracts for. But I loved that story. After many more drafts, I lost count, the publisher I'm currently with offered me a contract. In 2007, The Greater Good, was published. Nine years later, that book still has between 5 and 10 sales every quarter. And I still love that story. So dust off those old manuscripts and stories and give them another chance!One of my IWSG friends has a book coming out soon!
Cling to God: A Daily Devotional by Lynda R Young
Release date: 10/18/16
Published by Freedom Fox Press
Cling to God is a book of devotionals for every day of the year. The aim is to encourage Christians in their faith, to help them think about their beliefs and learn more about God. The devotions are short and inspirational so that people with busy lifestyles will still be able to spend time with the Lord each day. It will appeal to a wide Christian audience, to those new in their faith as well as those matured beyond milk and honey.
Lynda R. Young, a Christian first, writes devotionals, articles, and speculative short stories. In her spare time she is also an editor, game developer, artist, and dabbles in photography and all things creative. She lives in Australia with her sweetheart of a husband. You can find her here: Blog, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads
In case you're worried about the Zika virus, you should know that there are about 144,000 mosquitoes for every person on Earth. Today's not fun fact.
One fun fact that is actually funny. If you obsessively correct people's grammar, you may suffer from an obsessive-compulsive disorder called grammatical pedantry syndrome, GPS.
Where is your first piece of writing you did intending publication? Have your share of the mosquitoes found you this summer? Do you flinch when someone uses bad grammar around you?
40 comments:
We all I think remember the first thing we ever wrote whether it was published or not. It holds a special place in our hearts. I wrote my first poem 25 years ago then didn't write another for 6 years both are published in my first book eight years ago.
I enjoyed reading about your first write.
Yvonne.
I love that your first novel is published and is still out there for people to enjoy.
Thank you so much, Susan, for helping me share the exciting news about my devotional book.
That's wonderful your first story was published.
Lynda's devotional is so uplifting.
I am far from being an expert on grammar, but it does drive me crazy when I see mistakes in professional correspondence. Or on signs. I itch to correct it, but I don't. I control myself. :)
My husband gets annoyed when I mention a product description or a movie title card with bad grammar or typos, but I'm the first person he checks with if he ever has to send out an email. :)
haha that is a lot of frigging mosquitoes. I only correct grammar if it is really bad. Congrats to Lynda. Awesome you got your first one published. I deleted mine. Idea was great, writing crap. May get to it again one day.
Finally getting your work published had to be a good feeling, shows persistence pays off. Scary about the mosquito fact. That sounds like a good devotional, might have to check it out.
Betty
Hi Susan - that's amazing you achieved publication and ongoing sales with your first book drafted up ... I love Lyn's cover for her new book ...
That many mozzies - well I sure hope my 140,000+ keep away from me! Cheers Hilary
Bad grammar does annoy me, more so when it's written because then someone actually took time to write badly.
Congratulations to Lynda!
Cool your first story was published. A little polishing and old manuscripts can come alive.
Hi, Susan,
I agree with dusting off some of the old pieces.... many just need a tweaking to really shine. So happy to read yours was eventually published.
As for bad grammar, I'm with Marcy.... SO many people speak incorrectly, including myself at times, slang is part of our culture now. But when it's badly written... UGH!
Oh gosh, I remember the 'good old days' of sending out hard copies. It cost a fortune in ink, paper, and postage! I'm so happy for electronic submissions now.
Congratulations on publishing the book, though! That's a great achievement!
My husband has that grammar disorder. Every time he correct me, I want to kill him. It's wonderful that your first book got published and is still selling. Gives us all hope for those "trunk" novels.
I'm impressed that your first book got published! Even though it took a lot of time and hard work, that's a wonderful accomplishment. My first pieces are tucked safely away in a file cabinet!
The cover of Lynda's book is very calming.
Congratulations on having your first novel published!
I think you're in a small group of writers who can claim the honor of seeing their very first story in print.
Bad grammar and spelling annoy me when I see it on restaurant menus and in public places.
GPS? Isn't that the Global Positioning System that helps with geographical location? I suppose it fits with the one mentioned above, grammatical pedantry syndrome...helping somebody with grammatical navigation. LOL
That is awesome - getting that 1st one pubbed is huge!
Yay for Lynda!! :)
Thank you, Susan. I am getting lots of encouragement from all the posts that I am reading. Yours especially reminds me of my own manuscript that I have been working on since 2009. I will keep pushing forward.
Thank you for sharing and thank you also for promoting Lynda's upcoming book, Cling to God.
Shalom aleichem,
Patricia
That's a wonderful and inspiring story, Susan. Reminds me that I wrote my first novel on an IBM at night while my sons were sleeping. And it took me 7 years to complete. The fun days.
I hear you! I wrote my first novel in my head for years too before it was hand written then typed out. And spent too much on sending it in a query. Here's to sticking with stories you love and bringing them to reality!
Yay for Lynda!
What's crazy is it wasn't THAT long ago that queries were still mailed; it was before my time as a writer, but now it seems unheard of to mail a query.
Here's my August IWSG post on my first novel attempt (note I said ATTEMPT). YA Author Stephanie Scott IWSG August
Good that you never gave up on it! And I love that you admit that you still like it. :)
It sounds as if you wrote a book that will be around for a long time. That's success! Congratulations.
My first novel, THE OLD MERMAID'S TALE, was in revision for about 14 years! I just couldn't make it do what I wanted it to do. Fortunately, I finally published and it's been easier ever since.
I'm glad your first book eventually made it into print. It's not about the money it makes, but about your success. Glad you didn't give up on it.
I'm glad you got a contract for it! :)
"So dust off those old manuscripts and stories and give them another chance!" Perfect! I've been commenting telling a lot of writers the same. :)
I think it's great to dust off old stuff. You never know what kind of gold mine you'll find.
I think it's a good idea to dust off some old manuscripts. Time allows you to see things differently and make improvements.
How cool that you kept at it and got it published. Most people seem to have theirs collecting dust. But I guess if you work enough on your first novel you can get it published :)
Wow, talk about a success story for a first book. That's awesome.
Juneta @ Writer's Gambit
That's a disturbing fact about mosquitoes, especially as I'm currently in Florida. Your book, The Greater Good, is a wonderful testament to persevering.
What an inspirational post. Congrats on sticking with it, letting it mature and then writing it. So pleased for you.
Wow, talk about a success story for a first book. That's awesome.
Juneta @ Writer's Gambit
That's wonderful that your first book worked out so well!
The mosquitoes around here are awful, and i've had my share because two clients wanted me working outdoors this week.
If someone who knows better uses bad grammar around me, it is grating. You get a pass if English isn't your first language, or if you didn't have much formal schooling, but if you have a college degree, you should at least speak properly!
Congrats on getting that first book sold later on. We never know the treasures that past works can reveal. Also congrats to Lynda on her upcoming book.
I have a file box full of bad short stories, worse poetry, and some novel starts/ideas/notes. And I have three novel manuscripts that may collect dust forever. The first novel I had published was the third one I wrote--there was no magic way to learn writing other than by writing.
Love your fun fact about correcting grammar. I'm not that obsessive, but I do cringe when I hear it from supposedly intelligent people. Worse, is reading it in work that should have been edited better. Oh, well. Best wishes.
Good to know that a trunked book made it to publication! I have a project I want to revisit.
I love sci fi so I'll have to check out your books. Just joined the IWSG - I'm #256, In my own words, on the list. What a great group of people. Have a good weekend!
Susan, how great that the book in your head was finally published. That's a lovely story. All the best!
That's highly impressive that the first book you wrote was published and still sells. Inspiring! I think I must have my own in-built GPS system. :)
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