I had one friend that sat across from me. We talked now and again. Joyce was a bit older and a lot of fun to talk to. She had a story about everything and the stories would have me laughing so hard, we usually got in trouble for talking instead of working. I told her she should write a book. She said she did. She brought in a book that her sister had given to her. Each page had a pre-printed heading on it, to stir memories and help the writer pen things that happened during their life. Joyce let me take the book home and read through it. I couldn't believe the things that happened to her, each story funnier than the last. I'm still trying to get her to write a real book.

She asked if she could read what I had written while I was off. I was reluctant to show her. I'd never let anyone read my writing. She fussed at me for about a week, so I broke down and brought it in. It wasn't polished up but only the first draft with a bit of touch up here and there. She took it home and read it… that same night. The next night at work, she couldn't stop raving about it. I was flattered but didn't think about it going any further. Joyce raved so much she caught the attention of Brandi.

Brandi doesn't spend much time reading. She's a wife and mother working a night job and, at that time, driving an hour each way from home to work. She wanted to read the book, too. Another ShadowsForge fan was born. Over the next couple of months nine people read the book. Only one didn't care for it but said it was because she didn’t like romances in the first place. I can live with that. I was happy to have a small audience.

Then they began to ask, "What happened next?" Before long I added "ShadowsForge 1:" to Three Times a Hero and began writing ShadowsForge 2: Retaking America. I took it to work twelve or so pages at a time and several people read it as I wrote it, making comments and asking questions. They became my beta readers. Joyce and Brandi still read for me, along with Brandi's mother Diana.

Joyce asked when I was going to find a publisher for Three Times a Hero. I said probably never. She kept pushing the idea but I didn't know anything about publishing. I was ignorant of the whole business and didn't know about "vanity" publishing.

Pay special attention here if you are new to the writing business. I wish someone had told me this when I started out. It would have saved me a lot of disappointment and a lot of money. I found a company that would, for a fee, print my book and list it on the Internet. They would do the editing and design a cover. I could have all this for a tidy sum that I will not mention because I'm embarrassed to think what a sucker I was. All sales income would come to me to reimburse the money I paid them, so they said. After I recouped my "investment", I would get 20% or something like that. Sounded good to me. What did I know? (Read as "Sucker!")

When I received the first galley, the editing was so sub-standard I think my (at the time) kindergarten-aged daughter could have done better. I did the read through of the "edited" galley and found over twenty mistakes. I was told I had to pay for any corrections. It took me a while to come up with the money but I did it. They designed a cover that looked like it belonged on a child's book, very misleading for a story about a rock star stranded in a cabin with a woman. I mentioned that fact and was told I could have it changed… for a fee of about $100. I stuck with the horrid cover. Long story short, I was embarrassed when the book was released. I didn't market it much at all. I think I sold five copies all together, including one to my mother, one to Joyce and one to Diana, Brandi's mom. I was so disappointed I knew I'd never try to publish another book.

I contacted the "publisher" and told them to pull the book. They said no problem. All rights reverted to me. I locked it up and left it alone. Of course, the horrid copy can still be found listed on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I've written to the "publisher" more than once to pull the old version but they don't even answer my emails. I've put a review on each place I find it, telling prospective readers that it was good but the new version is better and direct them to the current release.

I continued to write the adventures of ShadowsForge in a soap-opera format for the people I worked with, and gave them installments about twice a week. They were happy. I was happy. I had nearly finished Retaking America but needed a story in between the two books to fill in the gap, to set up situations and to introduce new characters. I stopped working on Retaking America, told my readers we were going to back track a bit and started Trials on Tour. Since it was a filler it was short in comparison to the other two but my readers continued to applaud my work. Joyce started asking when I would find a real publisher for my series. I wanted to throttle her. lol.

April 2005

By this time I was a reviewer for Novelspot.net and noticed the ebooks that were being published by Whiskey Creek Press. Good quality stories, non-existant editorial mistakes, and beautiful cover art. Ty Synclair kept knocking at my scull, wanting to share his story with the world. I must have read the submission guidelines a dozen times, and looked for a reason not to do it. I didn’t want to have the same heartaches and headaches as the last time. I saw WCP would release the book as an ebook and not charge me a dime. I could test the waters and see if I could actually sell it to the world.

I pulled out the original manuscript, made a few adjustments, re-wrote most of it, changed the POV in several scenes, and gave it a good polishing with the help of my readers. Once I had it all together as befit the submission guidelines, I sent it off, expecting to never see it again.

It's a hard thing not to think about your first "real" submission. Since I had joined a few writers' groups by then, I learned a few things. Like never pay to be published. I was also told to send a submission off, and go write something else. Send the second work off and start the third project before worrying about hearing back on the first one. Good advice.

You can all laugh now at my early foolishness but "don't try this at home!" I'd hate to see you as disappointed,and broke, as I was. I didn't know that the cake and icing were just around the corner…

See you tomorrow!
Jena'
Believe in Dreams!
http://jenagalifany.bravehost.com

Link to part 3
Link to part 5