HOW I GOT A BOOK CONTRACT: One Step at a Time, Writing From the Heart and Pearls With a Little Black Dress

I think all writers hope to get published some day, and many readers are curious to know how that process works. So I’m going to step back and tell you how I got to the point where I have a book deal with a publisher.

First things first:

• I’ve done lots of writing for many years, decades in fact. I’ve written newsletters and business reports, short stories and novels, book reviews and magazine articles. Some for pay, some for free, some never seeing life beyond my desk drawer.
• I have a small group of trusted writers who critique my work and help me to get better.

These are the constants, for me and I think for most writers too. Lots of work and lots of help, for a long time.

Now I’ll fast-forward and take you through the steps that led me to the book contract. I did not set out with this book as a specific goal. Instead, I made a decision, took one step, made another decision and took another step.

In 2005, I decided to self-publish my mother’s family history, Strength Within: The Granger Chronicles. This book has brought me so much joy and opportunity! Not the least of which:

• the knowledge that I love bringing history alive through storytelling
• and a spin-off workshop series, which I still run and which gives me great confidence in myself as a writer.

In 2008, I decided to switch gears and focus on writing short stories. By the end of the year I had eight stories that I loved – but found myself completely exhausted.

• And I realized that for me, the process of creating something out of nothing (which is what fiction writing is), is exhilarating, magical, and well, exhausting.
• And I decided I don’t want to exhaust myself by writing. The fact is, writing non-fiction comes easier to me than fiction.

In 2009, I switched gears again and started writing non-fiction articles for magazines. One day I found this wonderful magazine called The Country Connection, which is a publication all about Ontario history, the environment and the arts. Is this me or what? Not only that, but it features a series on the colonization roads of Ontario. I was so excited when I found out there had not been an article on the Muskoka Road. Muskoka is an area that I know and love, so I proposed an article, and it was published in the Winter-Spring 2010 issue.

In April 2010 I was approached by Muskoka Books. The publisher had seen my article and wondered if I was interested in writing a book about it, since the story of the Muskoka Colonization Road has not been told in book form.

So. One step at a time brought me to the point where I was approached by a book publisher. But it goes much deeper than that. I think what really matters is:

1. Writing from the heart. Anything I have ever published, any contest I have ever won, any invitation I have ever had to speak or teach about writing came from a project I did because I was fascinated by it. This goes for the Muskoka Road book too. I love the Muskoka area where my family has had a cottage for over 40 years. Is this me or what?
2. Finding a publisher who publishes what you like to write. If you’re going the traditional publishing route (not self publishing) you need to find a match for your work. A match as good as pearls with a little  black dress, or a good cigar with a glass of port! I am writing this book for a publisher in Muskoka. Perfect match. This book expands on an article I submitted to a magazine that has a feature series on the colonization roads of Ontario. Another perfect match.

So that’s how it happened for me. Do any of you writers have a story of heart and hard work? What about you book readers? Does any of this surprise you?