It’s been a little over a year since I published my first
book, Spilled, and my short story Everybody Loves Me and it seems like
it’s time for a little reflection. I’m not rich yet, in case anyone was
wondering, and I’m definitely not thinking about quitting my day job anytime
soon, which is fine because I actually love my day job. I had thought about
writing a book for years before I actually did it. I think I wrote and rewrote
the first chapter of my book at least a hundred times before I finally came to
my senses and realized that I just needed to plow through, write the whole damn
book, and then go back and edit it. To this day, there are still a lot of
things I wonder whether or not I should have changed, but it’s done now and out
there for all the world to see. I had a rather small goal when I published
Spilled, to sell at least one copy, and thanks to all my friends, family and
even complete strangers I far exceeded that goal. So, to all of you who bought
a copy of the book I say a very sincere and humble, “Thank you.”
If the book hadn’t sold any copies that might have stopped
my aspiring writing career right there, but fortunately for me it didn’t. My
modest success gave me the confidence to continue working on various writing
projects. I currently have a short story collection out for editing
by a few brave volunteers (Thanks to all of you) and hope to have it published
by January. I also just finished writing the first chapter of what I hope will
be my third book and have many more ideas waiting in the wings. I’m also going
to take credit for inspiring someone else I know to give his writing another
chance, which resulted in his work being accepted by a publisher. He seems to
have found the niche market for his work and I wish him much success. I’m also
very proud of the fact that my son was inspired to write his own book, which is
also out for editing at this time. When I was his age, I remember balking at
writing 5 pages let alone the 100 pages his book is up to as of this writing. I
think his concept is a good one and that young adult readers will enjoy the
story. It’s the type of book I enjoyed reading when I was young. T.K. Barrett,
if you’re reading this, you make me very proud of you every day and constantly
do things that amaze me.
I’ve learned a few things over the last year. I think my
writing has gotten better and the words seem to flow more freely. I’ve also
accepted that the best thing I can do is write what I want to write in my own
style and not worry about anything else. I’ve learned that not everyone is
going to like my work and some may not even understand it. One person
complained on Amazon that one of the reasons they didn’t like Spilled was
because one of the characters was unlikeable. Well, I wrote that particular
character that way for a reason; it was integral to the story. So, it’s like
the old saying, “You can’t please all the people all the time.” Hell, J. K.
Rowling was rejected by publishers something like 28 times before someone
agreed to publish the first Harry Potter
book. I bet there are quite a few people kicking themselves over that one right
about now.
