Today, we're excited to have author Jessica Arnold join us to share her advice to writers still slogging their way through the trenches. Her latest book, THE LINGERING GRACE, is the second book in her THE LOOKING GLASS series. Don't forget to scroll to the bottom of the post for a chance to win your own copy of The Lingering Grace!
The question: What surprised you most about your path to publication, and what (if anything) would you do differently looking back?
The Lingering Grace is my second book to reach
publication. This newest book release will mark a full eight years since I
started writing my very first manuscript. It took me about a year to finish
that project, and what I created was, at best, unpublishable. But at the time I
didn’t know that. When I started querying agents about seven years ago, I
thought the journey to publication would take a year at most.
Looking
back, part of me wishes I could travel back in time and shatter my delusions
bat-on-glass style. But, on the other hand, I’m glad no one told me at the time
exactly how many years it would be before I got an agent, before I got a book
deal, before that book was released, and so on. Knowing the size of the hurdles
ahead is less important than knowing why you’re jumping them.
I get
asked sometimes what my advice is for writers fighting their way towards
publication. My answer usually is something along these lines: Write because
you love it and don’t give up.
Your
journey to publication might be shorter or longer than mine. But if you know
why you write—if you write because that’s what makes you happy—and if you
refuse to give up, you’ll get there.
One of
the biggest secrets I’ve learned as my friends have gotten book deals and as
I’ve seen my own books reach publication is that the hurdles don’t disappear.
Everyone still struggles with the same things—revisions, crises of confidence,
lacks of inspiration, and self doubt. Whether you’re just starting the querying
process or you’re looking a pub date in the face, it’s knowing why you’re doing
this crazy amazing difficult hard thing that keeps you going.
So keep
going! Say it to yourself when you’re pushing past writers block. Say it to
your friends when they’re trying to get up the courage to query again. Say it,
and we’ll all get there.
Good
luck and love to all of you!
More about Jessica and The Lingering Grace:
The Lingering Grace (The Looking Glass #2)by Jessica Arnold
Publisher: Month9Books
All magic comes with a price.
The new school year brings with it a welcome return to normalcy after Alice’s narrow escape from a cursed hotel while on summer vacation. But when a young girl drowns in a freak accident that seems eerily similar to her own near-death experience, Alice suspects there might be something going on that not even the police can't uncover.
The girl’s older sister, Eva attends Alice’s school, and Alice immediately befriends her. But things change when when Alice learns that Eva is determined to use magic to bring her sister back. She must decide whether to help Eva work the highly dangerous magic or stop her at all costs. After all, no one knows better than Alice the true price of magic.
The Lingering Grace (The Looking Glass #2) by Jessica Arnold:
by Jessica Arnold
Publisher: Month9Books
Find the diary, break the curse, step through The Looking Glass!
Fifteen-year-old Alice Montgomery wakes up in the lobby of the B&B where she has been vacationing with her family to a startling discovery: no one can see or hear her. The cheap desk lights have been replaced with gas lamps and the linoleum floor with hardwood and rich Oriental carpeting. Someone has replaced the artwork with eerie paintings of Elizabeth Blackwell, the insane actress and rumored witch who killed herself at the hotel in the 1880s. Alice watches from behind the looking glass where she is haunted by Elizabeth Blackwell. Trapped in the 19th-century version of the hotel,
Alice must figure out a way to break Elizabeth’s curse—with the help of Elizabeth's old diary and Tony, the son of a ghost hunter who is investigating the haunted B&B—before she becomes the inn's next victim.
Publisher: Month9Books
Find the diary, break the curse, step through The Looking Glass!
Fifteen-year-old Alice Montgomery wakes up in the lobby of the B&B where she has been vacationing with her family to a startling discovery: no one can see or hear her. The cheap desk lights have been replaced with gas lamps and the linoleum floor with hardwood and rich Oriental carpeting. Someone has replaced the artwork with eerie paintings of Elizabeth Blackwell, the insane actress and rumored witch who killed herself at the hotel in the 1880s. Alice watches from behind the looking glass where she is haunted by Elizabeth Blackwell. Trapped in the 19th-century version of the hotel,
Alice must figure out a way to break Elizabeth’s curse—with the help of Elizabeth's old diary and Tony, the son of a ghost hunter who is investigating the haunted B&B—before she becomes the inn's next victim.
The Looking Glass (The Looking Glass #1) by Jessica Arnold:
Jessica Arnold lives (in an apartment) and works (in a cubicle) in Boston, Massachusetts. She has a master‘s degree in publishing and writing from Emerson College.
Giveaway Information: Contest ends April 1, 2016
Five (5) winners will receive a digital copy of The Lingering Grace (The Looking Glass #2) by Jessica Arnold (INT)
Click here if rafflecopter doesn't appear
Wow! I can't wait for this beautiful book! The synopsis sounds so exciting and the author has thrown high stakes for the characters to deal with.
ReplyDeleteGreat encouragement! I've just started querying again and well...yeah. ;) Congrats on your newest release!
ReplyDelete