Guest Post from Fiona Robyn, author of 'The Letters': The Icing on the Cake

Fiona Robyn is a Writing Coach Consultant whose first novel 'The Letters'
has recently been published by Snowbooks. 

I asked Fiona to write a piece for the Writing Coach blog that would give some indication of how publication of her novels has changed her experience as a writer.

Here's Fiona's response:

"One of the things people have been asking me over the past month is how my life has changed now I'm a published author and my books are in the shops.  Good question.  I've been working towards publication for the past six years, and now it is finally here.  My debut novel The Letters IS in Waterstones, and my friends keep writing to tell me where they've spotted it.  Who knows how many strangers currently have my book on their bedside tables - maybe someone I've never met is reading about my character, Violet, RIGHT NOW.  Is it a dream come true?

The answer is yes, and no. Let's take the 'yes' first.  It has been a great privilege to work with my publisher, Snowbooks.  They've polished my words and turned them into a real live book.  They've arranged for it to be on sale up and down the country.  They've done it because they hope to make some money, but they had thousands of books to choose from - they chose mine.  It also makes me very happy to know that people are reading and enjoying Violet's story and maybe even learning something about themselves.  I'm looking forward to making a wee bit of money, too!

The other part of being a published writer is - my life hasn't changed. I still have to make my breakfast and then do the washing up.  I still feel the same insecurities about the novel I'm currently working on.  I still have the same troubles I had before being published.  It really doesn't fix anything. 

I do count myself as lucky, as I had a long time to 'prepare' for being a published writer.  I read Anne Lammot's advice about making the process of writing an end in itself, and cultivated this.  I got support and learnt to deal with rejection (an ongoing project!).  I worked on the part of me that feeds on praise like sugar, with its empty buzz followed by a need for more, more, more.

Publication has always been an important goal for me - how else will people get to read my stories?  But it also brings its own difficulties.  Even lottery winners get to keep the same problems they had before.  What I CAN do is continue to work on my writing, and continue to practice paying attention.  This all helps me to take any praise that comes my way as gravy, rather than the meat and veg.  The good stuff that comes from being published is the icing on the cake.  Not the cake."

     
 

Comments

[jem]

Sound advice there. At the start of Fiona's answer I started thinking 'it's a bit like winning the lottery' exciting and terrifying at the same time, and I get to the end where she makes the same comparison. I think many to be or newly published authors could learn a lot from seeing how others who've gone before them have coped. As such thanks for sharing this.

[Jacqui Lofthouse]

I'm so glad it was useful to you Jem and I look forward to sharing my own experience of the process here also.