Blog by VONNIE DAVIS -- International, Award-Winning Romance Author: Adventurous...Humorous...Amorous.

Saturday, November 15, 2014

How's Your Tree Growing? by Vonnie Davis

We all know the factions of publishing. They are like the branches of an old tree growing in their own way, in their own shape and size. The WILD part is, each writer has his/her own tree. Unique. Shaped and pruned the way we want it or the way the winds of a writer's life blew and bent it.

Some of us have bounced around from small ePubs to mid-size publishers to the Big Five. Some of us enjoy the safety and familiarity of staying with a smaller publisher where the editors and owners know us--a version of the big fish in the little pond theory. Some of us want to see if we're good enough for one of the Big Five, so we work like fools to learn our craft to become the small fish in the big ocean. More and more are going their own way by publishing independently. A few are going a combination trail of self and traditional publishing.

Which is right?

Which is wrong?

Which is most productive to our creative souls and our wallets?

No one can answer those questions, but ourselves. Only we know what is best for us, what works for us. And, let's face it, sometimes we just don't know. We try one thing with little success. Then we try something else with slightly more success, but still less than we'd hoped. It takes us several tries to hit on the right path. And, you know, I think that's okay. It's all a learning process. Right? Few of us are overnight successes. This business requires hard work...and sacrifice...and time...and, often, tears of frustration. These are the branches of our tree.

I started out with an agent I've since let go. In four years I've been fortunate to go from a smaller ePublisher, that treated me well, to larger publishers, just to see if I could make the grade. So, I am taking a more traditional route which doesn't work for everyone. We each have our own path to travel...and for our own reasons. Sometimes, we backtrack. We find what we thought we wanted wasn't so great, after all. It just wasn't for us. Why? Because we're all different with varying temperaments. And that's just fine!

I write for HarperImpulse and Random House Loveswept. This works for me--for now. Something else might work twenty times better for you. Having different goals is important, but not as vital as constantly working to become better writers.

For the learning curve of a good writer is eternal...and I'm about a third of the way there. I figure I must have a slow-growing tree.

4 comments:

Angela Adams said...

As I read this post, I thought of something my grandmother used to tell me, "Life is a learning process."

Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Author said...

It is, isn't it, Angela? I'm not sure we're teaching kids that...that their choices have consequences, so choose wisely. I hear my youngest son say that to his only child all the time. Mike just took Ryan to MIT this week for a college tour. Ryan called me from the airport, all excited. "Grandma, there were other math nerds there, just like me. Nerds rule!" We both laughed. Hey, writers rule, too!

Calisa Rhose said...

Such wisdom grows on our maturing trees as you prove here, V. It's all a learning curve that sometimes levels out and sometimes has sharp turns that throw us out of our comfort zone. The ones who make it are often the ones who grab onto their tree limb and let that sharp turn fling us hard into another direction. We ride that baby all the way, wherever it tosses us.

Great thoughtful post.

Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Author said...

Thanks, Calisa. Sometimes the choices we make are wrong. But we learn from it and make a change as soon as we can. A choice may work for us for five or more years and then we need to branch out into a different direction. The thing is not to be afraid. To be brave...think it through, use our righteous minds and be brave.