A Letter To My Unpublished Self

Dear Andie,

Wow, who knew writing a letter to your unpublished self would be so hard? I’m feeling many things as I sit at my computer and think back on your life as an unpublished writer. Immediately I’m tearing up, and there’s a lump in my throat. Why? Because little one, the next ten years are going to be hard. Very hard. There’s nothing I can do to save you from the many obstacles you will HAVE to deal with while on your path to publication. I know you don’t want to hear this. Oh, how I know.

Would you like to know a few secrets that might make the journey easier? 

Of course you do.

It is October 3, 2009 and you are just now sitting down to write the first words of what will be your debut The Girl I Left Behind. Both your young sons are down for naps, and you have a whole hour to yourself. There will be days you won’t write at all. That is okay. But what you must do on these days is read. READ A LOT. Reading is actually an extension of your writing. Study what techniques other writers use, how they transition their scenes, and how they use hooks. You can still read for enjoyment, but you must also read for research.

Get a friend. Not just any kind of friend. A writing buddy. You will need this person sooner rather than later. You need someone to talk shop with, because your husband will be clueless about publishing and he can’t help you, even though he will try (I love him.) This person should have similar publishing goals. When they go on sub, you get to hear all about it. When you go on sub, they get to hear all about it. This back and forth will help you. You will be encouraged. You will share ideas. You will know you are not alone.

Write. In fact, you will need to write a lot. After you complete your first novel you will think it is awesome. And it isn’t that bad, honestly. You even get a few offers. But this book needs work. A lot of work. Someone will tell you to start that second book while you’re pitching your first, and you will laugh and think they are crazy. You will feel exhausted. You will feel like writing a second book is only possible if you sell your first, because why go through all that torture without tasting that pie in the sky? I get it.

But why did you finish writing that book in the first place? Oh, right, it’s because you love writing—you love telling stories. You can’t stay away from writing no matter how hard you try, and you will try. So just get over yourself and write that second book. What you don’t know is that your second book will actually save your first. That’s right. You have to write and complete a second novel and THIS is the book that will get you that publishing deal. Don’t worry. In ten years you will have written five novels and be jotting down notes for a sixth. You are not a one book wonder.

Write out of genre. Oh, now this is scary. Your kids will beg you to write a children’s book, and you will tell yourself that you only know how to write historical fiction. HA! Don’t delay on this! Get to it. You will find that writing out of genre is absolutely thrilling (you’ll be remined of why you love to write.) You’ll get to try out some new tricks and techniques, and you will actually be good at it. The feel-good feelings you get from writing this story will help you when the rejections start pouring in on your other books (remember, I told you the next ten years are going to be hard.)

Read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Now. The main character is asked to walk around a festive marketplace while holding a spoon of oil. He must take in all the sights of the bustling market without spilling that oil, which is very hard to do. This is also your lesson. You must write, you must put in the work, but don’t let it consume you, otherwise it will eat you alive. Learn to balance. Live your life. You will draw on your life moments when you write—you literally will write what you know in some way or another.

Oh, and that laundry? Forget about it. You’re a writer. Let it pile up and don’t feel guilty because that scene you just wrote was worth it.

Now, go kiss your kids. And your husband too. Because for the next ten years they will hear about “your book” more than 100,000 times. 

One last thing. That day you wrote your first words, October 3, 2009. Remember it. As strange as it sounds, October 3, 2019 is the day your debut is published. Funny how life is.

All the best,

Andie +10 years.

—

Andie is an American writer living in Washington State with her husband and two boys. She writes female-driven WWII historical fiction. Her debut novel, The Girl I Left Behind, was published by Aria Fiction in October 2019.

The Girl from Vichy, her second novel with Aria Fiction, will be released in July 2020 with a third untitled novel due to release in 2021. Andie holds a Bachelor’s degree in History from Washington State University and a Master in Teaching. Andie would love to say she spends her free time gardening and cooking, but she’s killed everything she’s ever planted and set off more fire alarms than she cares to admit. Andie does, however, love spending time with her family, trail running, traveling the world, and drinking copious amounts of coffee.

You can find discussion questions for Andie’s novels on her website www.andienewton.com. You can also find Andie on Twitter @andienewton and Facebook: fb.me/newtonauthor. If you would like to add The Girl I Left Behind to your Goodreads shelves, click here: http://bit.ly/2mGh6bF

Links to buy:

Amazon USA  https://amzn.to/2AU61Hj

Amazon UK https://amzn.to/2MmLsZv

KOBO: http://bit.ly/2m8DQAc

Apple: https://apple.co/2m6GU04

Google: http://bit.ly/2mq9UQk

THE GIRL I LEFT BEHIND

What would you risk to save your best friend?

As a young girl, Ella never considered that those around her weren’t as they appeared. But when her childhood best friend shows Ella that you can’t always believe what you see, Ella finds herself thrown into the world of the German Resistance.

On a dark night in 1941, Claudia is taken by the Gestapo, likely never to be seen again, unless Ella can save her. With the help of the man she loves, Ella must undertake her most dangerous mission yet and infiltrate the Nazi Party.

Selling secrets isn’t an easy job. In order to find Claudia, Ella must risk not only her life, but the lives of those she cares about.

Will Ella be able to leave behind the girl of her youth and step into the shoes of another? 

 

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Category: Contemporary Women Writers, How To and Tips