Be Willing to Heed the Advice of Publishing Professionals …. And Be Patient

by Julie Lavender @JLavenderWrites

In less than two months, my parenting book, 365 Ways to Love Your Child: Turning Little Moments Into Lasting Memories, will celebrate a book birthday. My labor of love really is a labor of love … four labors to be exact and is a collection of many ideas and activities I carried out with my four children as they were growing up.

The idea-collecting spanned more than twenty years, and the road to publication took over three years. 

 

Writing isn’t for the faint of heart, is it? 

 

Conference season awaits just weeks from now. Well, thanks to Covid-19, postponed-Spring, now-fall conferences are around the corner, at least. I want to encourage you to attend conferences with a spirit of patience and perseverance and a willingness to heed the advice of professionals in the writing industry. 

I’ll share my personal story as an example. 

At the 2017 Blue Ridge Mountains Writing Conference, I made my selection of one-on-one appointments with ideas in hand. I was thrilled when Cyle Young, Hartline Literary Agency, took a look at my bio and some of my proposals and extended the offer to sign with the agency. With great wisdom, he told me take some time to decide, discuss the contract with my husband, and get back with him.

 

I met next with Vicki Crumpton, editor with Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group. I shared a couple of ideas with her, using my one-sheets I’d prepared under the guidance of previous conference instructors, and mentioned Cyle’s offer to represent me. Vicki pointed to one of the sheets and said, “I like this idea, minus the holiday theme, and if Cyle signs you, have him send it to me.” She followed that with the necessity to engage with readers through blogging – I hadn’t entered those waters yet – and social media. 

 

I did sign with Cyle, just a couple of weeks after the conference, and I took Vicki’s advice and entered the blogging world. I waded into other social media platforms besides Facebook. I reworked my proposal to exclude the holiday theme in my manuscript, and I relished every piece of publishing advice that Cyle offered. 

 

When BRMCWC 2018 rolled around, I grabbed a slot with Vicki again. We talked about my blogspot site and various newspaper and magazine publications I’d secured since the last conference. She kindly suggested that my social media numbers needed work and reminded me to grow my platform. 

I followed Vicki’s advice (as well as that of other speakers at the conference who gave similar bits of advice) and worked diligently to connect and engage with others, which inadvertently grew my numbers in the process. 

 

Vicki Crumpton represented Revell at the Florida Christian Writers Conference in 2019, and again, I grabbed a slot for a one-on-one session. In addition to my updated one-sheet, I showed Vicki the stats for the parenting and homeschooling websites that I contributed to, and I also pointed out the growth of my social media interactions through consistent engagement.

 

Perhaps the “third time really was the charm” for me, because I welcomed Vicki’s words, “Tell Cyle to send me that proposal again.” But guess what? It was another six months before I signed a contract with Revell! (Cyle reminded me often, “It’ll happen; just be patient.”)

 

And actually due to some publishing changes, I had a shorter deadline to complete the manuscript than originally planned. Which meant my book would release in the fall of 2020, instead of the spring of 2021. 

 

The writing voyage isn’t for the fair-weathered sailor, no doubt, but the journey is so worth it. Heed the advice of those experienced professionals in the industry – they really do know what they’re talking about. And move forward with lots of patience and a hefty amount of perseverance. You’re gonna need both! 

TWEETABLE

Be Willing to Heed the Advice of Publishing Professionals …. And Be Patient - @JLavenderWrites on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Julie Lavender is looking forward to attending the Florida Christian Writers Conference in October and the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writing Conference in November. Both conferences played a huge role in her newest book, 365 Ways To Love Your Child: Turning Little Moments Into Lasting Memories, and Julie will always be grateful for the publishing opportunities that the conferences afforded her. Julie is married to her high school and college sweetheart and is the mom of four, mother-in-law of one, and grandmommy to a precious, almost-two-year-old. Julie would love to connect with you at julielavenderwrites.com or on her Facebook group page, 365 Ways To Love Your Child.