Meet Author Sherri Wilson Johnson!

I’m excited to have my fellow OakTara author, Sherri Wilson Johnson, author of To Dance Once More, on the blog today! Sherri writes historical romance, and she’s here to tell us all about her journey to publication!

My Road to Publication

I have been writing for as long as I can remember—probably for as long as I have been reading. When I was around the age of eight, I wrote my first short story and have been addicted to writing ever since. My family could not afford a writing school, but that didn’t stop me from dreaming of becoming a Pulitzer Prize winner one day.

In high school, I wrote continuously and took as many writing and literature classes as my school offered. I had high aspirations of becoming a journalist of some kind. I wanted to be the woman sitting in front of the camera doing the evening news or the woman with her own newspaper column. My dream was to go away to a college that had a superior journalism department. Because of my poor grades and a few other issues, I did not attend college though.

Immediately after graduating high school, I began to work in an office as a secretary. I became a fan of romance novels. The problem was: there weren’t very many clean reads out there at the time so I filled my mind with things that it didn’t need to be filled with.

So I decided to write a Christian romance. I wrote on my typewriter at work when there was free time. Somehow I managed to produce a 500-page novel. I guess I wasn’t very busy at work, huh? I sent the novel off to a friend who thought I had a good story so I began the process of polishing it to prepare it for the publisher who would, of course, knock down my door to publish it. After reading a few books on how to write a novel, I decided my novel was no good. So I burned it in the fireplace at home. This was before the days of home computers and none of what I had written was saved on disk. The story was lost forever and I gave up on becoming an author. I consider this one of my greatest professional learning experiences.

I married a few years later, and then had my first child a few years after that. I began writing again while my husband worked at night. Submitting manuscripts or even simple proposals was a time-consuming and expensive hobby. So I shelved my story ideas and concentrated on being a mommy after the birth of my second child in 1994. However, my mind never stopped spinning tales. These ideas gathered in file folders and patiently waited to come out when my children went to school.

Then, God called me to homeschool in 1997 and suddenly my plans were postponed for just a little while longer. Don’t you just love God’s sense of humor? After I got accustomed to the routine of homeschooling, the writing bug bit me again. Instead of fiction, I wrote articles for homeschool magazines and finally got my first phone call from an editor. I was now a published author.

I kept at the writing and got a few more articles published. I took a two-year writer’s course through the Christian Writers Guild and eventually wrote a few Bible studies, which I taught for groups at church. Then I wrote a devotional for homeschool moms, which I self-published.

God used the teaching of my children to refine my writing skills. He opened my eyes to things that needed to be perfected in my works. I wrote several more Bible studies. And eventually wrote three novels—and re-wrote those three novels. Because of easier submissions procedures, I submitted proposals constantly. But the ever-coveted contract never came. I tried to quit writing quite often, but had no success at that either.

I attended my first writer’s conference in 2003 and met several editors, who requested to see manuscripts. I had been told that this was the way to go. For me, this was a one-time luxury because we were a one-income family. I could not attend conferences every year in hopes of finding a publisher. I had to give it my all and leave my writing career right where it needed to be—in the hands of God!

In 2008, I received a contract from OakTara for my novel To Dance Once More (my second “first” novel). After a long and arduous process, it came out in September 2011. My second novel, Song of the Meadowlark, will be coming in June. My third novel, After the Raging Storm, is still in the crock pot and I am writing the sequel to To Dance Once More, entitled To Laugh Once More, at this time. I am actively seeking agent representation and praying God will “enlarge my territory”.

The process for me began in 1974 with that first children’s story. 1985 marked the year of the first full-length manuscript, which perished in the fire. 1993 birthed To Dance Once More. 1997 began my journey through homeschooling and 2011 will forever go down in history as the year that I completed one calling (homeschooling) and launched the ever-awaited career as a writer – I mean, AUTHOR! God has indeed enlarged my territory. I am now a blogger, interviewer, book reviewer, social media coordinator, and novelist! My goal in becoming published was about more than having my book on a bookstore shelf. It was about spreading the news of God’s great love to my readers. Of course, winning the Pulitzer would be fine, too!

About To Dance Once More

April 1886

Debutante Lydia Jane Barrington lives a carefree, protected existence on Live Oaks Plantation in Florida. But while her sisters happily learn the traditional tasks of women and talk of courting, Lydia dreams of adventure and independence. Even her friendship with handsome Hamilton Scarbrough isn’t enough to hold her back.

Then one day Hamilton opens Lydia’s eyes and her heart to love. But before they can receive permission to court, Lydia overhears a secret conversation about an unscrupulous business deal. Worse, it has everything to do with her and her future. Now she’s faced with the biggest decision of her life—to concede or to fight. Either choice will require great sacrifice…and, perhaps, countless rewards.

Passion. Friendship. A bitter enemy. A life-changing decision.
Set in Victorian-era Florida.

Watch the trailer!

 About Sherri

Sherri Wilson Johnson is the author of To Dance Once More (Sept 2011) and Song of the Meadowlark (June 2012). She is from Georgia, has been married since 1988, and is a former homeschooling mom. She loves to write, read, and make people laugh. She loves Jesus and hopes to spread His love to the whole world through her writing.

Connect With Sherri!

Blog

Website

Twitter

Where Are You Going?

And how are you going to get there?

It’s so easy to get frustrated with the writing life. Some days it feels like this picture. A long, dusty road, no end in sight. You get thirsty. Lonely. And oh, so tired. The great misconception among unpublished authors is that publication is The Promised Land. You live for that day. All the waiting is over. You’ve finally made it. You’ve achieved your dream…cue sappy music and children dancing through corn fields…oh, wait. Yeah. Never mind.

Cue sappy music and Julie Andrews running up a mountain wearing an apron. There. Much better.

The truth is, as sad as it may be, publication is NOT the end. As wonderful as it is, my experience has been that it’s just the beginning. And being a published author is far more stressful than not being published.

What’s that?  Nope, that wasn’t a typo. But that’s another post. Today I want to talk about The Road. (And not the awful movie).

If you’re reading this blog, I’m assuming you have some interest in writing. You’re a published author, a soon to be published author or a reader who loves connecting with authors. Because I want this to be an interactive blog and not just me blathering nonsense at you, I’m going to ask some questions so we can get to know each other. If you’d be so kind as to answer them for me, I’ll know where you are on your journey and create future posts that you’ll find helpful.

1. Who Are You? (Yes, if you read my Friday Featured Author posts, these questions will be familiar. ).

2. Where Are You Now?

3. Where Are You Going?

It’s only fair that I go first, right?

Well, you know the answer to #1. If you don’t, check out the About Cathy section at the top of the page.

#2. This one cracks me up. I love the answers that go something like this: I’m sitting at my kitchen table, enjoying my second cup of Emiril’s Big Bold, staring out at the choppy ocean, coming up with a blog post that will blow your socks off…

Yeah. That may be exactly where I am at this minute, but who cares? I love it when authors think outside the box on this one. Where are you now? Are you in a good place with your writing? A hard place? Are you in the prime of your life or facing some dark days? We can go anywhere with this question. Hint: It’s also a great one to ask your characters.

#3. I think the third question is the toughest for any author or hopeful author to answer. We don’t know where we’re going because we’re really not sure where the publishing business is going. Editors come and go. Agents switch agencies or stop taking new clients. Publishing houses are being bought and sold like Whitney albums. Everything seems to be in a constant state of change. And it is. For me, it’s pretty stupid to dig my heels in and refuse to change along with the business. I may as well pack it in right now. I think we’ll all have a different answer to this question, but mine is this:

“I don’t know. And I’m okay with that.”

So what about you? Will you play my game? And here’s a final question for you:

What writing related topics would you like to chat about on Wednesdays? 

 

So You Want To Be A Writer?

Over the last few years, I posted a fair bit about the writing life on my other blog. Since this is now my primary blog, I thought some of those posts might fit here on Wednesdays, when we discuss writing. I hope they’ll be helpful to you wherever you are on your journey.

November 2010.

Isn’t this a fabulous picture? Apparently it was taken in Tuscany. If I ever go there, I must find this spot. It’s hard to imagine the necessity for so many signs in one place. One envisions a rather treacherous road ahead and may opt to find another way to get to their destination.

This picture, for me, personifies this thing we call The Writing Life.

Since announcing that I am, at long last, stepping over into Published Land, I’ve been asked two questions with alarming frequency.
The first is, of course, “When is the book coming out?” My answer: “You will know when I know.”
The second is, “How long did it take?” Or “How did you do it?”
Okay, that’s three questions.
But the last two are both how questions, and kind of interrelated, so let’s discuss the how.
One thing I say often, mostly when I’m muttering to myself over having started the tenth revision on a manuscript, is that I wish I had known then what I know now.

* If you want to be a writer you must must MUST be willing to learn. *

But, you say, my mother, cousins and aunties all read my book and loved it! They cried.
Yeah, bully for you. You’re going to be crying in a few months when you get your first rejection.
Harsh? Maybe, but don’t take my word for it. Go ahead and send out that query letter with an unpolished manuscript and see what happens. Unless of course you’re a literary genius (In which case, I hate you), I can pretty much guarantee that you’re setting yourself up for a good old-fashioned pity party.

“But how do you know this?” I’m glad you asked. I know this because I did it. Several times over. I knew my writing was good. The stories were amazing, honest. I cried while I wrote them.

Did I read one single book on craft apart from Writers Digest Guide to Literary Agents and Publishers? No. I did not.
Did I belong to a critique group, online or otherwise? No, I did not.
Did I know what passive writing, deep pov or head-hopping were? NO. I did not.
See a pattern here?
Listen, you don’t just wake up one day and decide to be a brain surgeon, pluck some poor schmuck off the street and do a frontal lobe lobotomy on him. Well, you could try, but methinks it would end badly for both of you. No, you go to university. Then you go to medical school. Then you do your internship, then a fellowship. And a hundred years later, you’re a brain surgeon.
So it is with writing.

It is one thing to want to be a writer. It is a wonderful thing. A beautiful dream. But one that takes time, energy, fortitude and a certain amount of humility.

If you seriously intend to make that dream a reality you must be willing to make the investment.

If you know without a doubt that you are willing to follow that dream, whatever the cost, wherever it takes you, great.
Here’s some free advice for you. Take it. You’ll be glad you did.

1. No pain, no gain. Find a writers group near you and join. Immediately. Then enroll in a critique group. Immediately.
If you have never, ever let anyone read your work because you’re embarrassed or it’s not good enough, get over it. If you want to be a writer you must be willing to subject yourself to criticism. Yes, sometimes it will hurt. You will bleed. But you will learn.
I belong to two. American Christian Fiction Writers - they have zones all over the US. Likewise with Romance Writers of America. If you belong to one or the other or both, you’re well on your way to rubbing shoulders with those who have paved the way and are more than willing to help, teach and advise. Take full advantage of this. In the nicest, politest way possible of course.

2. Read to Learn. Do you know what genre you write in? Do you know what genre is? Arm yourself with a library of how-to books on writing. There are literally dozens to choose from. Do a search on Amazon and see for yourself. I recommend Anne Lammot, Dwight Swain, James Scott Bell and Donald Maas, just for starters.

3. Read for pleasure. If you’re a writer, this is a no brainer. You love to read. Do. I often find it very difficult to read while I’m writing, but I force myself. There is no better way to learn your craft than to read published books. Whatever those authors are doing, it’s working. I tend to read in my genre, but I think if you can step outside the box and read a bit of everything, you’ll be ahead of the game. Okay. a warning here. As you grow as a writer, you will quickly develop a pain in the butt thing called The Internal Editor. It’s that little voice inside your head that starts pitching a fit when you’re in the middle of that bestseller and heads are hopping all over town, with the wases and the just as and the thens and you just can’t stand it anymore because this crap is published and your brilliant novel has just been rejected again. For the tenth time.
I get this.
However, said author with the head-hopping issues is #1 on the NYT Best Seller list and is making a bajillion dollars a year churning out the same stuff. You are not. Get over it.
The biggest trap for a writer is to start comparing yourself to somebody else. I have done this too many times. I’ll say, “Oh, I just love her stuff. I want to write like her.” Uh. Good for me, but I’m not her. I’m me. I have learned to be satisfied with that. I will write like myself, thank you very much.

4. Go to writers conferences. Seriously. I know it is a lot of money. I know it’s scary, especially if you’re new at this and you don’t know anyone. But it is so worth it. If you are serious about becoming a published author – find the money. Decide which conference you want to attend (do the research), start saving, find your babysitters or dogsitters or whatever, and just do it. You won’t regret it. There is nothing like sitting in a room with several hundred other people who don’t think you’re weird. They’re weird too. Go be weird together. Be writers.

5. Support System. You might say this does not apply to you. Your spouse is amazing, fully supportive in whatever you do. Your friends love you, they think it’s cool that you’re doing this writing thing, and your family is always asking when that book is coming out.
Awesome. However. Once you have been at this for oh, five or ten years, and you’re still not published, they might not be so supportive. Now I’m not saying they’re going to call you an idiot behind your back or anything, but you know… This is a long, hard road. You may be one of the fortunate few who lands that agent and publishing contract within a year or two, and if so, great. Chances are, it’ll take a lot longer than that. Surround yourself with like-minded individuals who can support you along the way, no matter what. Writing is, for the most part, a solitary occupation. Well, you know. As solitary as it can get with five or six people talking to you inside your head, sometimes all at once.
There will be times when you’ll want to give up. You will want to rant and wail when you receive a no that you were pretty a hundred percent sure was going to be a yes. It’s a tough gig. Family and friends are great, but sometimes they just don’t ‘get it’ like another writer will.

6. Believe in yourself. You must believe you can do this. If you don’t, why should anyone else? Find your faith, spit polish it every day and smile at yourself. You can do this. It will not be easy, but if you want it, you must be willing to go after it.

So that’s probably more than enough to get you started. I’m sure those reading who are writers and have been at this a while can add to my comments. What resounds with you? What do you want to talk about? Open mike time.

Realizing The Dream – Some Unsolicited Advice On Getting From A to B

 

I apologize for not posting on Monday, but I’ve been getting over a stomach virus. Laying on my back immobilized is a great opportunity for pondering, thinking of things past, dreaming of things to come. Lately I’ve been remembering things about my journey to publication. Things that might be helpful to share here. I think we’re all at different stages in our writing journeys, but I hope that someone out there may benefit from this.

When I began writing in earnest, I honestly had no idea what I was in for. All I knew was that I loved to create stories, and some said they were good. Good enough to be published. And so I stepped, or rather, plunged, head first into the vast and choppy seas of publishing. And wouldn’t you know it, that darn lifejacket was sitting on the shore.

I laugh now when I think back to those days and how clueless I actually was about the whole thing. Naive might be a better description. I began querying editors before I even belonged to a writers group. I didn’t know what a critique partner was and I certainly didn’t have one or know why I needed one. All I really had going for me was a pinch of self-confidence and a passion to see my dreams come true.

Fortunately for me, several people entered my life around that time. One of them had recently moved to Bermuda, but used to be a literary agent back in the US. Go figure. Yes, she read my stuff. Yes, she laughed. Well, not to my face but I’m sure she did. Although she dealt with non-fiction, she knew enough about writing to point out a few major flaws in my manuscript. The neck-collar she was wearing gave testimony to the extraneous amount of head-hopping she endured during her hours of torturous reading. But she kindly pointed me down the right path and her advice was solid. I now knew what I needed to do. I had a plan.

I found a writers group. Several actually, but since I was writing romance, I joined Romance Writers of America. Later, when I decided I wanted to write for the Christian market, I joined American Christian Fiction Writers. And then I began the quest for a literary agent.

This is where those groups come in handy. If you’ve checked any market guides lately, you’ll see hundreds and hundreds of literary agencies out there. It’s mind boggling. Tempting to skip the step entirely and go it alone. Unfortunately you will find that most large publishers will not look at your stuff unless you have an agent. So this is your first step. Do your homework. Ask questions. A lot of questions. Of course if you’re already involved in a writing community you know who the good agents are. And you’ve probably heard about the bad ones.

Go to writers conferences. This was honestly the best money I ever spent on my writing career. It’s great to network over the internet, and these days its incredibly easy, but nothing beats a face-to-face meeting with that agent you’re hoping to acquire or the editor at that publishing house you’d just love to write for.

Some dreams come true very quickly. Mine took about twenty years, give or take a few years when I wasn’t doing much writing due to being knee deep in diapers and then toddlers and…well, life in general. Kudos to you if you’re trying to do this with young kids in the house! I tried and failed too many times. Eventually I realized my dream could wait.

As a published author, I’m often asked what the hardest part about getting published was. I’d like to say all of it, but that’s not entirely true. The hardest part for me was believing in myself. Even after I had an agent. Even after countless writer friends and published authors told me I was good enough, that I could do this, that it would happen, I didn’t quite believe them. Oh, I wanted to. Desperately. But there was that small part of me, still suffering from personal and professional rejections over the years, that said it wasn’t true. Even today with one book on the shelf and doing reasonably well for a debut novel, another book contracted and another manuscript completed and in the hands of my agent, I still don’t quite believe it. I’m still tempted to give in to that thought that I’m going to wake up and realize they were all wrong. I’ll be that one-hit wonder, never to be heard from again.

Some days I need a little chutzpah. And on those days, I’m ever so grateful for you, my friends. My community of writers and readers who’ve been there too. What would we do without each other?

There is so much more that could go into this post, but I thought I’d leave off here and maybe we can have some discussion about it all. Where are you in your writing journey? What are you struggling with right now? Do you have any questions I can maybe help answer for you?

Remember, we’re all in this together.