What is the most pivotal point of an author’s life? l Dorothy Thompson
thewriterslife
6:10 PM
0 Comments
Nothing compares to that euphoria one feels when they see
their published book for the first time. There are many exhilaring points of
being an author. That’s only one of them. From the time our words are put on
paper to the time when our book is published and all the trials and
tribulations that go along with it, nothing compares to it.
There have been many pivotal points in my own writing career
– too many to remember – but I do recall one time when I was working and all I
could do was talk about my upcoming release. After it was published, I carried
my books with me everywhere, selling them to whoever was interested. But maybe the
most pivotal point in my whole writing career was when one of the editors
of OK! Magazine contacted me by email to arrange a phone interview about
Jennifer Anniston and Vince Vaughn’s failing relationship. I had established
myself as a relationship expert at the time and that’s how the editor found me –
Google. Isn’t that the neatest thing? God love the Internet. A week after he
took my quotes, it appeared in the next OK! Magazine in grocery stores all over
the country. I’ll never forget it. It was definitely one of my best pivotal
moments.
I asked other authors what was their most pivotal point in
their writing career as published authors. Maybe you can relate?
“The first time I signed a copy of a book for somebody.”
“The day that my book was published so I can finally
share my story with the world.”
“I think it was getting published after the many
rejections.”
“When I really learned what a “flat character” meant.
Good writing is so much about character development and finding ways to make
readers fall in love with a character was what really changed my writing.”
“It was actually a letter I wrote to a girl who I was
interested in, while I was in college.
It was a long, rambling, comic description of a train ride I was on, and
it was something of an aha moment about how to inject life and wit into
descriptions of the everyday world around you - the little overheard snippets
of conversation, the passing daydreams, the petty annoyance of your neighbor’s
snoring. Thinking back, it is not really
surprising that my first passably decent bit of writing was born of an effort
to impress a girl.”
“In my mid 20’s I was fortunate
enough to be accepted as a Scholar into Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf Conference where I met the late novelist,
John Gardner. John became my mentor and
over the next few years I returned to Bread Loaf as a scholar two more
times. There I worked with other greats
of that era, John Irving, Toni Morrison and Tim O’Brien. I also studied with
John back in DC and Virginia.
Gardner was hands down the best teacher I have ever had for any
subject ever. It was through my work with
him that I found my essential voice and truly began my career as a writer.”
“I think I’d say when I
discovered that I actually had a talent to write in a way that people wanted to
read me and were affected meaningfully by what I wrote.”
“Actually holding a physical copy of the book in my hands
after working towards that moment for so long was very emotional for me, and
almost surreal. It was the culmination of countless hours of writing, rereading
and rewriting, editing, the queries, and back and forth between me and the
publisher, so it was really a great relief to have the final result in my
bookshelf.”
“I think the first time I met with an agent. That first
time was really scary because I had no idea what to expect. But now it’s over
and I rarely get nervous pitching to agents these days. They are usually very
pleasant and helpful…unlike that mean gatekeeper image we often picture in our
minds.”
“Getting
stopped in a restaurant by someone who recognized me from a magazine bio
picture. That was a pure ego rush for a
struggling grad student.”
Interesting how many different kinds of pivotal points there
is in an author’s life. What’s your most pivotal moment as an author so far?
Dorothy has appeared on Lifetime Radio with Donna Britt and the Around2It radio show with Delores Thornton at ArtistFirst Radio, as well as being featured in the Spring ’03 issue of Pleasant Living Magazine and has been quoted in the supermarket tabloid, OK! Magazine. Aside from writing and speaking, Dorothy is a book publicist and founder/owner of Pump Up Your Book, an award winning public relations company promoting authors, publicists and publishers on the web. Dorothy has represented such celebrities as Paula Deen and Judge Glenda Hatchett, as well as representing other critically acclaimed authors such as John Locke, Claire Cook, Caridad Pineiro, Cody McFayden, Lisa Jackson, Ray Comfort, Jane Green and hundreds more.
Ms. Thompson resides on the beautiful island of Chincoteague, Virginia. She enjoys biking, traveling and spoiling her beloved Maltese, Cody (aka Booder) and her high-spirited Sheltie, Khloe. Never a dull moment!
Follow her on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/pumpupyourbook.
