What’s standing in your way?

This post is from October 3, 2022

Quote.
Update: Feedback.
Experimental new section: Highlight of the week.
Motivate: Don’t let anything stand in your way.
Book discussion: Outliers: The Story of Success
Book bonus: NaNoWriMo
Ask me anything!
Final thoughts.

Update:

Welcome to October and my fall-themed blog post. I decorate my house, why not this post?

Yesterday, I met with the 3 ladies who read my most recent novel, The Love Pentagon. We met over Zoom to discuss how they liked the book.

Saturday, one day before the meeting, I decided to write down my feelings/anticipations and see how it compared to real life events.

Here’s what I wrote Saturday (BEFORE the meeting):

I’m not nervous, but I’m also not super excited. My expectations are measured.

My plan is to sit quietly with a notebook and a pen and jot down every concern and recommendation. I will then mull over these suggestions and reactions, giving myself time to digest before I react. My hope is to really think before I speak and see everything that’s said as an opportunity.

These ladies are like sharpened files to a piece of soapstone. They will create definition, depth, and smoothness, taking the stone--my work--and refining it until it shines.

Let’s hope I maintain this attitude.

AFTER the meeting…

I can happily say that I did maintain that attitude, and the meeting went better than I had prepared myself for. Were there suggestions for improvement? Absolutely. But the general consensus was that I had written a good book, and I left feeling better than I ever have after a critique session.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the meeting:

“Un-put-down-able.”

“Your best yet, by far.”

“This book is going places.”

But even with the positive things, there are serious considerations I have to make, and the feedback I was given has made me realize: this book isn’t ready for a second set of readers…yet. Here’s why:

There’s too much going on in the novel, and I need to trim subplots, but I’ve tightly woven this thing. Everything is there for a reason and most things are interconnected. If I let some things go, they significantly effect others downstream.

What I let go/change depends on the genre of the book I’ve written, and I’ve written a book that straddles both the women’s fiction genre and the romance genre.

So, betas who were looking forward to reading this book…I’m going to have to wait to send it to you.

I will revise based on the feedback that’s clear to me. Then, I’m going to consult my agent on next steps. The 3 ladies were NOT unanimous in their feedback, and too many opinions at this point will only muddy the waters and confuse me. So, I’m going to gain some clarity from someone who knows the market and who can recommend a firm direction to take.

Maybe I can straddle both those lines, but I’m a nobody in the writing world right now, and I need some guidance.

As always, I’ll keep you posted.

Highlight of the week:

Here is my Brazilian Jiu Jitsu uniform (called a Gi)

I signed up for jiu jitsu.

If these blog posts suddenly stop, you’ll know why.

I have my second lesson on Tuesday night. Hopefully I still won’t be sore by then. (I’m still sore.)

Bonus moment: My daughter vomited in my car last week. I’m a medical professional, and I didn’t know how to handle that situation. It was happening and I was driving and there was nothing I could do about it.

Or maybe there was something I could’ve done about it, and I didn’t think of it. Pull over? Keep driving? Open the window? Preemptively hand her a plastic-lined vomit bag, not only anticipating this horror, but preparing for such occurrences? (Definitely not that last one.)

I still don’t know what the right thing was.

(Nobody’s stopping me with my experimental “Highlight of the week.” I should be stopped, right? Surely this isn’t newsletter appropriate stuff. I’m supposed to be a professional!)

Motivate:

Don’t let anything stop you.

Nothing.

Not your own fear and doubt or pride.

Not the lies you tell yourself about yourself.

Not the impossibility of it all.

Not the hard work (because you can break it down into small chunks).

Not the negativity of others.

Don’t let anyone stop you, even yourself, from being all that you want to be or doing what you want to do.

Book review:

Outliers: The Story of Success

by Malcolm Gladwell.

Venturing out of my usual fiction…this is a non-fiction work that I thoroughly enjoyed. It’s going to change the way I raise my kids, and it definitely makes you think about the world differently.

It deals with people and relationships and success. All the things I love and hold dear.

Amazon’s book summary:

Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers"--the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different?

His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. Along the way he explains the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, why Asians are good at math, and what made the Beatles the greatest rock band.
Brilliant and entertaining, Outliers is a landmark work that will simultaneously delight and illuminate.

If you’re looking for a thought-provoking, real-world educating, conversation-starting read, check this one out. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Next week, I’m delving into a work by an author I haven’t read before: Beth O’Leary. The interwebs have said that she is similar to authors I’ve previously enjoyed. So up next: The No-show.

What is NaNoWriMo?

November is National Novel Writing Month. I’m mentioning it now because it’s everywhere on the online writing communities, writers prepping for it, etc.

It began in 1999 as a challenge to write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days. Now, every November first, thousands of people around the world write together as a community in an effort to reach that 50,000 word goal.

NaNoWriMo (the website) “tracks words for writers like Fitbit tracks steps.” And there are apparently real-world writing events in cities around the world.

In 2021, 427, 653 writers participated in NaNoWriMo.

I know a lot of people who have done this. Most I’ve interacted with never make it to 50,000 words, but it helps jumpstart the process. There’s nothing like community and support to help you get the job done.

NaNoWriMo is responsible for the following novels:

Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants

Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus

Hugh Howey’s Wool

Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl

Jason Hough’s The Darwin Elevator

Marissa Meyer’s Cinder.

Am I going to do it? I’m thinking about it. Let’s see how edits go on this novel first. I’ll let you know. And if you plan to do NaNoWriMo, please let me know!

Ask me Anything!

With this blog, I want to serve you. You’re getting a sneak peek into my emotional turmoil as I attempt to publish a book, but I also hope you’re finding value in other ways. Motivation, education, or at least entertainment.

But is there a question you’d like to ask me? Something you’d like me to discuss in this blog? I want to make sure you find what you’re looking for. What can I provide that you’d like to see? Feel free to send me an email here.

Final thoughts:

Kick this week’s butt.

You can.

You should.

Don’t let anything stop you.

Until next week, much glitter,

Melissa

p.s. Loving this blog? Get my weekly content: timely updates, book reviews, book bonuses, essentially, ways to love yourself, others, and books! And get email-only specials. Sign up for my weekly newsletter.