By Susan F. Craft
On an even happier note – I’m retiring in October
after a 45-year career working fulltime. I cannot wait to see what God has in
store for this next chapter of my life. I know He has plans to prosper me and
not to harm me, plans to give me hope and a future.
Susan F. Craft authored the SIBA Award-winning Revolutionary War novel, The Chamomile. The two sequels to The Chamomile, entitled Laurel and Cassia will be released January 12, 2015, and September 14, 2015, by Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. She is represented by Linda S. Glaz, Hartline Literary Agency.
I’m always hesitant when asked to talk about the process
of writing, because each author has his or her own way of going about it.
I’ve been writing professionally for over 45 years.
Granted, some of it was, I told myself at the time, not what I really wanted to
be writing—articles for agency publications, informational materials, speeches
for the agency director. It was “my day job” that I couldn’t quit because I
couldn’t get anyone interested in my novels.
Over the years, I have come to the realization that any
writing hones your craft—the thought processes required to come up with an
idea; the utilization of resources to research thoroughly; the time to learn
correct grammar and spelling; the willingness to learn from the masters; the
discipline to sit in the chair and work; the development of thick skin in order
to learn from, and not resent, criticism; the humility that comes with
rejection; and the absolute joy that comes when someone really likes what
you’ve written and says those magic words, “I couldn’t put it down.”
A speaker at a writers’ workshop I attended made the
statement, “Persistence trumps talent.”
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Well, brothers and sisters, I’m here to tell you that I
know a little bit about persistence. Over the past 35 years I’ve attended more
writers’ workshops and conferences than I can remember.
Sometimes the information would contradict something I
had just heard in a previous conference. This happened mostly in the area of
marketing—what genres were selling, what houses were looking for, what agents
wanted to see, the acquisitions editor who threw manuscripts into her sludge
pile because she had had a lousy breakfast. I listened and I learned to sift
through the “old hat” information and glean the good stuff, which I
incorporated into my writing.
The news in the past two years has been grim. A publisher
may LOVE your novel, but doesn’t think your platform is expansive enough. In other words, you don’t provide promise of
sales.
To offer you encouragement, many famous authors persisted
in the face of rejections. F. Scott Fitzgerald once received a rejection letter
for The Great Gatsby that read:
"You'd have a decent book if you'd get rid of that Gatsby character." Jack London’s estate “House of Happy Walls”
has a collection of nearly 600 rejection letters from his early years.
My own persistence was rewarded when in November 2011,
the Ingalls Publishing Group released my inspirational Revolutionary War
romantic suspense, The Chamomile.
The SC Book Festival invited me to be a guest panelist.
Over 6,000 people attended that event. When the wonderful reviews started
showing up on places like Amazon and Goodreads, I was truly amazed and so
excited. When The Chamomile won the
Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance Okra Pick award, I was over the moon.
The latest and best news -- Lighthouse Publishing of the
Carolinas will release two of my post-Revolutionary War novels next year. One
entitled Laurel will be released
January 12, and one entitled Cassia
will be released September 14.
