Keep Believing in Yourself
Mary Dombach October 11, 2007
For almost thirty-five years I worked with computers to make a living but in my heart I have always been a writer. It was my life-long dream to be published but for years I wrote only for myself and only sporadically. The responsibilities of raising a family and working full time left me little time to pursue my passion. When I was assigned a special project requiring a lot of time away from home and a lot of empty evenings in hotel rooms, I finally found the time to make my dream a reality.
The story rattled around in my brain for months. It was like a haunting I couldn’t escape. I felt both inspired and compelled all the time to get it down on paper. I would lie in bed at night and entire conversations between my characters played out in my mind as I drifted off to sleep. I carried a little notebook around with me because throughout the day, wisps of inspiration and ideas would fill my head. I’d jot them down so I wouldn’t forget them. At the end of the work day, I couldn’t wait to sit down at a keyboard. The words just flowed! It took almost a year to write the book and even longer to finally get it published.
I did a lot of research to understand the process of getting published, how to find an agent, what to look for and how to write query letters. There are a lot of forums and websites that carry a wealth of information for aspiring authors. Unfortunately I still got involved with an agency that didn’t do much for me. The time was not wasted, however, because it was through the agency that I found an excellent editor. It was she who encouraged me to find a publisher myself when my contract with the agency expired. She recommended a very good book called
The Sell Your Novel Toolkit by Elizabeth Lyon. I learned more about getting published from that little book than from all the research I did on the internet.
Getting published is tough, especially for new writers. I often think how sad it is that there are so many wonderful stories out there by really good writers we will never read because publishers avoid new writers like they are radioactive. I found a gentleman just starting up his own publishing company through my editor’s contacts. I am his first author and his first published book!
Marketing is key. You need to find a publisher, whether traditional or self-publishing that provides good marketing advice and assistance.
A good editor is absolutely essential to getting published. No matter how perfect you believe your manuscript is, you will be amazed at what a good editor can do to help you improve it. You have to be open to the advice and the encouragement he or she gives you because the rewards are unmistakable.
My editor sent me a quote recently that says professional writers are amateurs that never quit. If I had to give someone advice I’d say find yourself a good editor and never give up! Write, write and write some more. Keep writing. Keep dreaming. Keep believing in yourself and your art. If you have to, publish your book yourself. Many now-famous authors did just that and there is no shame in it. Look at what it did for Richard Paul Evans who wrote
The Christmas Box. He started out by printing less than a dozen copies and ended up with a multi-million dollar contract with a publisher!
About Mary Dombach
Mary Dombach, with a journalism major from Pennsylvania State University, has spent thirty years in the graphics arts supply business, writing occasional short stories to amuse herself, awaiting her retirement and time to “really write.” Perhaps Zeera exercised extraterrestrial talents to get her story told; whatever the case, Dombach couldn’t resist the story clamoring to be heard..
Only momentarily derailed by the publication of
Zeera and the time needed for its promotion, Dombach is now “halfway through” her second novel. Is it similar? “Not at all. This story is entirely about real people, while Zeera only partially is.”
Mary Dombach Profile at OnceWritten.com
