Fourteen Positives, Five Demerits

I’ve been writing fiction for 39 years. It took me 23 years to get published.

I thought I would always write crime fiction. Now, after five novels out in one mystery series, I have a regular old novel coming out on January 1 from Lake Union. It’s called The Fireballer.

Of course I have no idea how it’s going to do, but I think it’s a click up from what I’ve written before.

(Key word: think.)

So allow me to pass along some reflections. That is, if the insights from a slow learner might help you.

Here are fourteen things I did right:

1. Kept writing.
2. Kept learning.
3. Kept reading—lots. Of every variety.
4. Built an ever-expanding circle of writer friends.
5. Joined writing groups.
6. Started teaching what I’d learned about writing. (It’s amazing how teaching something helps you organize your thoughts. And helps you take your own work more seriously.)
7. Attended conferences.
8. Made friends.
9. Took leadership roles in writing organizations when it worked, which added to building the ever-expanding circle of writing pals.
10. Rooted for others whose careers were getting off the ground. And veterans, too.
11. Celebrated their success.
12. Wrote reviews of nearly every book I read. (It’s amazing how writing reviews will help you read more critically.) But did not trash a book I hated.
13. Judged contests when asked to do so.. Again, any chance to deploy your critical faculties is a good thing.
14. Listened when a nifty idea for a novel fell into my lap four years ago. And, because of all those steps above, felt like I could take it on. Had I not been prepared , I wouldn’t have been ready to hear the idea. Or do anything with it.

Five things I could have done better:

1. I should have written more.
2. I should have made a serious point of learning more—earlier. I should have been more analytical. What skills did I need to improve? Dialogue? Structure? Character development? I should have made a list of things to improve and I should have worked on those skills.
3. I should have treated writing fiction less like a hobby and more like a profession. I landed a good literary agent for my first novel but I still don’t think I took it seriously enough. I landed a good literary agent for my second novel but I still don’t think I took it all seriously enough.
4. I should have joined writing groups much earlier. I bet it took me 15 years. I didn’t really understand their power. Or the benefit of volunteering.
5. I should have made a point of going to conferences much earlier, too, to really immerse myself among friends who cared about writing. Sure, I made a few writer friends without going to conferences, but it was hit-and-miss. I had a mentor who was well-published. He was great, but it wasn’t the same thing as developing a whole network of like-minded folks.

Final thought: Are you signed up for Colorado Gold?  Hmmm? Sept. 9 – 11. Why not?

(And … sorry I’ll miss you.  I’ll be at Bouchercon, a conference for crime fiction writers and fans, in Minneapolis that same weekend. It was a very difficult decision. I’ll miss being at Gold for sure.).