Thrill Me, Baby
And now for a dose of positive writing stuff. What's your best writing thrill?
I mean, yes, definitely, the first time I saw a poster at Red Dress Ink's party . . . with Spanish Disco on it . . . big thrill. The first time I held my first novel in my hand? Thrill. In print! First time I saw one of my books in Cosmopolitan? Thrill. US Weekly? Thrill.
But, in all honesty, if I think of my biggest thrill, it's actually something kind of small, kind of quiet. I remember the first time I talked to my editor at Red Dress Ink after she bought Spanish Disco. And she said, "I love your book." And then we DISCUSSED it--characters, which scenes she liked, and so on. And I realized, for the first time, SOMEONE had read my book. I mean, not my writers' group, not my sister or my best friend. Some stranger I had never met had READ it and was discussing my "work" like it was a REAL book. Heck, she had BOUGHT it. By the time I got off the phone, I felt numb with joy.
So I've had a lot of thrills, a lot of fun memories. But it was that small one that really still stays with me. It was the first time I felt like an AUTHOR.
Everyone has different thrills. So I just want to have a party. Tell me about your thrills, gang. Pubbed or unpubbed . . . doesn't matter. We all have some moment that was a WOW as a writer. What was yours?
I mean, yes, definitely, the first time I saw a poster at Red Dress Ink's party . . . with Spanish Disco on it . . . big thrill. The first time I held my first novel in my hand? Thrill. In print! First time I saw one of my books in Cosmopolitan? Thrill. US Weekly? Thrill.
But, in all honesty, if I think of my biggest thrill, it's actually something kind of small, kind of quiet. I remember the first time I talked to my editor at Red Dress Ink after she bought Spanish Disco. And she said, "I love your book." And then we DISCUSSED it--characters, which scenes she liked, and so on. And I realized, for the first time, SOMEONE had read my book. I mean, not my writers' group, not my sister or my best friend. Some stranger I had never met had READ it and was discussing my "work" like it was a REAL book. Heck, she had BOUGHT it. By the time I got off the phone, I felt numb with joy.
So I've had a lot of thrills, a lot of fun memories. But it was that small one that really still stays with me. It was the first time I felt like an AUTHOR.
Everyone has different thrills. So I just want to have a party. Tell me about your thrills, gang. Pubbed or unpubbed . . . doesn't matter. We all have some moment that was a WOW as a writer. What was yours?
Labels: writing joys
posted by Erica Orloff at 4:36 PM
29 Comments:
I went to the RT con last year for the first time. Standing in a group of people, someone mentioned my name and another woman turned to look at me and said, "Liz Wolfe? Oh, I love your books."
I almost peed my pants in excitement...LOL.
Liz:
How wonderful!!!! I have met some very, very nice readers over the years and gotten fan mail I treasure. But my favorite was from the mother of an inmate who said my books gave her daughter hope.
E
When a writer friend of mine gushed over something I wrote and I knew it wasn't because she was my friend.
Heather:
Very neat. I often think it's the things that seem a little quieter from the outside of things that touch us most. All my magazine mentions have been thrilling--but felt "surreal," whereas my talk with my editor was very real.
E
Seeing my real name in print at Borders was pretty cool. (Okay, for three seconds, and then I was so embarrassed I wouldn't let Glenn tell anyone in the store, since it's my little place to write every day, LOL.)
But you're right. Moments like that are fleeting.
Probably my favorite thrills are quieter, mornings like today, when I go to the other side of Cleveland and sit in front of the fireplace and write, with my pot of green tea and a stack of books beside me. (Fridays when I have all day are even better!)
spy:
I have to admit . . . I am sometimes jealous when I hear about your days. It has been almost 18 years since I've had a day that was utterly my own, no Mommy duties. I have been away, without my kids, two nights in the last 12 years. Sometimes I get nights away in NYC for business, so I guess that counts, but those days are packed with meetings, nights with dinners with editors and so on . . . and fun, yes, but not a pot of green tea, books, and writing.
E
I am a freelance writer in Chicago - and someone came up to me at a community event and said, "I was telling my friend about this article I read by Amy Nathan - and she said 'YOU KNOW HER' - and she told me who you were. I love your articles!" I go by a hypenated name in real life, so not everyone puts it together. Another time a friend of mine said a friend of hers talked about my article and she said proudly, "She's my friend!"
I drool at the thought of someone reading my book. Sigh!
Hi Amy:
Fan email or meeting people who read your stuff is inspiring--it's making a connection through your art.
E
My greatest thrill was with my very first manuscript, which I submitted to the now defunct Silhouette Bombshell. The editor who read it emailed me, telling me she loved it and was presenting it to the senior editor as a buy. Well, it never happened but that's another story. I printed the email out and have kept it. When I read it now, it is bitter sweet but if I try hard I can still feel that initial thrill.
My first offer from an agent. I didn't open the email right away (I didn't know which way it would go), instead I spent a few minutes with the memory of my mom, who steered me toward novels. The email began, "I just finished your ms. And I LOVED it."
Those were the days. I didn't accept the offer but it sure made me feel good and boosted my confidence.
They are a treasure. But I'm often jealous of your days, too. :-)
Back a few years ago (more like a dozen or more) when I used to co-host a poetry slam in Long Beach, I was sitting in the restaurant part of our venue before the show having a drink with one of the guest judges for that evening. We had spoken a few times before, but I couldn't remember what her connections were that my partner had he be a guest judge.
We started talking about poetry (of course) and poetic theory and literary theory. It was highly esoteric, but I used one of my poems to make a point about how theory and practice can intersect in different ways. We finished our conversation and she asked to see the poem I used as an example. After she read it she asked to keep the copy she was holding. I was delighted that she liked it, but I honestly thought no more about it.
A few months passed and I got a letter from her letting me know that her magazine wanted to publish my poem and would I please sign their release form and send in a short bio to go with it.
I think I fell over. Even now it still feels surreal.
Suzanne:
I still miss that line! :-(
E
Stephen:
That "first" anything--agent acceptance, sale, non-form rejection . . . all have a thrill. I always say Spanish Disco was my first novel, but I wrote one at 22 or 23, and sent out queries to four places (roughly). I got three form rejections (two were that I hadn't done my "homework" basically and they didn't publish mysteries), and one handwritten note from St. Martin's--I remember being stunned and excited, and they asked for a "full." I was so new/green I didn't even know much about the whole process.
E
ewoh:
That's a totally cool story!
E
Still the WRR for me. =)
Hi Lainey:
:-)
That was a LOT of fun!
E
In high school ... I was an inactive kid (to put it mildly) and wasn't involved in anything in my school. My senior year, my English teacher approached me and asked if I would be willing to enter a writing competition in downtown Detroit. It meant a day off school, so I said, "Sure. I'll do it." At the time, I thought it was odd that she didn't pick any kids from the newspaper or yearbook committee--a very excitable crowd--but like I said, it was a day off school.
The gig was pretty simple. High school journalism students from across the state went to a factory downtown. We watched a video from the factory owner (all the factory employees were recovering addicts and convicted criminals--it was a rehab type thing). Then we were supposed to fan out through the factory and "find a story." We had the complete run of the place and could interview anybody we wanted.
Not me. Ha ha. I watched the video, wrote my article based on the video alone, and left half an hour later. I had the rest of the day to myself. I was stoked. When I got back to school, my teacher asked me how it went. I said, "It went pretty good. I changed my mind when I got there and didn't write about what I expected, but still, it was pretty cool." She gave me A LOOK and said, "That's great! No one can beat you when you're fired up."
Long story short ... I won. I couldn't believe it. And it turns out I had WAY underestimated how big of a deal this thing was. I won a scholarship, and there was a televised award ceremony MCed by the biggest news anchor in Detroit at the time. Back at school, during the senior class assembly, my English teacher presented me with a certificate in front of the whole school. To introduce me, she said, "This is a young man who writes with an insight far beyond his years."
I'll never forget those words. That was the first moment I realized I could write for a living.
I got a request for revisions from an agent about two months ago, that started with a full page of praise for my submission. She didn't know me, she had no reason to be nice, she wasn't a crit partner, and she LOVED it. Thrill time!
Jon:
I got goosebumps.
TOTALLY, totally, totally amazing story.
E
Michelle:
Awesome. Like my editor story . . . it's like . . . a STRANGER read my stuff and likes it.
:-)
E
I get a thrill from fan e-mail, somebody who read a book and e-mailed me to tell me. I still like seeing my byline or my name on a book. I have to say that seeing my book in the bookstore sometimes is NOT thrilling, partly because the weight of how difficult it is for it to sell is on my shoulders.
And yes, call me crass and commercial, but I still get a thrill from seeing a check with my name on it. The larger the better.
Mark:
I have four kids to support. Nothing crass about checks. :-)
E
Hey Erica, the one that comes to mind is when my publisher sent me an attachment with my bookcover. The reality hit me then, that I had a book coming out. Seeing my name across the cover moved me to tears. I think I was in a fog during the contract process. The actual look at my cover did it.
ladonna:
Gosh . . . I still get a thrill seeing the unveiling of cover concepts. :-)
E
Always holding that first copy of the book (no matter how books you've published previously) is a thrill. Seeing your name at Amazon with a new title. Getting that first royalty statement (whether you earned out or not, it feels official then). Seeing your cover art for the first time. And when your editor calls you to say "I thought of you for this project" that is a major thrill.
Michele:
Thanks for sharing. :-) All of those are great.
E
When Jessica Faust at Bookends told me I had a winning idea for my pitch. It felt quite good. Too bad my book doesn't yet match up to my pitch, but I'll have to work on that!
Hi Ello:
One thrill at a time. I am postive that day is coming.
:-)
E
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