Tonight I had the pleasure of going to a meeting for local women in business in my area. It was like a women's only marketing group for your own business, including direct sales, etc. I felt so welcomed and encouraged by these ladies. Regardless of your product, you were rooted on and felt empowered. I never realized behind all the women who bicker about parenting choices, religions or even political beliefs there were other women who just want to see each other succeed and will help to get you to the next level with their resources you may not have.
I had to tell them about myself (working on public speaking since I get so nervous), and something came out of my mouth that was funny but so true. I'd like to share it with all of you.
While I do represent other direct sales companies (mlm, pyramid, etc-call it what you will, I dont take it personal anymore because I know the truth) I have recently focused most of my energy on my writing. So when I got up there I said hi, my name is Lauren. I accidentally became an author.
See, I didn't dream of this as a little girl. Heck, I wanted to be in show business. Singer, actress, something where everyone liked me. Being bullied alot in school, I guess, had part in that. When I was a stay at home mom, only one vehicle that my husband used for work, which left me stuck at home with a baby. Now, I'm not saying I hated it but I felt, at times, confined. While he napped alot or played with toys, I embarked on a new hobby. Fan fiction writing. I stumbled upon it by accident and was instantly hooked. Basically you take a story already made and continue it on your own and give life to these characters while staying true to their personality.
We would write out our own plots and story lines for shows like True blood, vampire diaries, twilight, etc. See for us, those stories couldn't just end where they did. We needed more. So, made writer friends.
Was it fun? Absolutely! Was I good at it? Not exactly. I used the wrong coarse and course. Definitely and definitaly. Lord, typing that made me twitch. But over time, I grew as a writer because of the amazing role models I was writing with. These writers were levels above me, their writing in my eyes-flawless. So, I practiced and I wrote like crazy. With each day I found my writing getting better.
My mother in law suggested I write a book. See, that's the thing about fan fiction. I dont have to come up with much of a plot to carry a book. I had to figure out things like, "what would Edward and bella do if renesemee fell in love with Jake once she met maturity" and then write a small, short story about that. Not a novel. A very short story with another or multiple writers adding to it. It was a group effort. Writing a novel was terrifying. Was I good enough? Did I have a good enough plot?
The biggest one for me- is this original or has it been done?
And to this day, that one still scares me. There will always be a human falling for vamp story. There will be similarities. But my job as an author is to craft that story with at least one very distinct and original plot or characteristic. Say this human wasn't human, but a reborn version of the lover the vampire had as a human. Looks and all. Oh but that sounds like ___...
I've learned to just write. I've learned to just make it my own and hope that the stories aren't too similar. It's still hard, considering I overthink so much.
So, I embarked on my next journey - NaNoWrMo (national novel writing month) a challenge to all writers to write 50k words of their story in 30 days. I completed said challenge and finished the book in 2 months with a total of 108k words. I was so over the moon, I began seeking a publisher and sent to about 30. Maybe more. After three months of waiting, I was offered a contract with a small vanity press. They were great. I had a few things I wish had been different, but I was new and knew nothing about publishing or being an author - that was obvious since I sent the publishers rough drafts! 🤣
I was published for three years before they closed their doors and went out of business. I was given the right back to the story but not the cover art. So, I thought I'd send it again. Surely if it was published once it could be again. After many submissions I stopped sending them and gave up. Maybe I just wasnt good enough. By this time, I entered the work force again and now had less time to write. I dedicated most of my free time to working out and in two years time lost 100 pounds. It was an amazing accomplishment.
I wrote another 50k words for nano in 2014 and set it aside after submitting to publishers but getting no bites. I continued with life and forgot how happy writing made me. After a long four years of ups, downs, twists and turns I decided to get back to following MY dream. So I did. I republished (with a new cover) Circle of Secrets and set out to edit and polish The Awakening. In May of 2018 I gave myself a birthday gift of believing I can do anything i set my mind to. Here we are almost 2019 and for the first time ever, I'm excited to make a vision board. I'm looking forward to making a 2019 business budget. I am not only an author, I am a business owner. Writing is my business and no one can take that from me. With time, connections grow. Audiences grow. Anticipation for your next novel grows. Before you know it, you're being talked about by everyone.
It's not about the fame or fortune, although dancing with Ellen and being on Oprah's book club is something on my list. It's about hearing from real people I don't know that they loved my book and couldn't put it down. I swear the reviews I've received thus far make me feel like I'm on nick sparks level, y'all. 🤣😂 #goals
#onedaymybookwillbeamovie
But anyway, I just wanted to share that. Sometimes your dreams are an accident. Embrace it. Run with it. Go for it!!! I'll be here rooting for you.
Thanks for reading!
