My Writing Journey

It was in 2017 when I felt incomplete in my professional medical career and sensed a deep resentment to where I was in life. You see, writing had been a part of my life until I started college and pursued medicine. My creative literary side was put on hold—for what seemed to be indefinitely—in order to become a doctor. Luckily, my sister noticed my disdain and flat affect towards my life and she reminded me that I once had a passion for writing. In that revelation, I decided to seriously pursue my writing career and I placed medicine on a brief hold. 

But there was a glaring problem—I didn’t know how and where to begin writing. I had spent the previous fourteen years of my life pursuing a career in medicine and I felt lost in the writing world. I decided to take my first writing step by participating in a MasterClass presented by the one-and-only, Judy Blume. 

Judy Blume was incredibly inspirational. She emphasized reading, and reading a lot for the purpose of research. She talked about writing, and writing a lot to improve your craft. She motivated me to trust myself, to persevere, to strive to improve, and to stay determined. She dispelled the rumors of the infamous “writer’s block” and explained it simply: There’s good days and not so good days in writing. Her words of encouragement propelled me into writing my first manuscript, and I naturally gravitated to writing a picture book.  

Once my first picture book was written, I was unsure of how to proceed. My husband suggested that I visit our local children’s bookstore (Roundabout Books) and ask if they knew of any editors in town. They handed me the business card of Julie Swearingen. I emailed Julie and shortly thereafter we met in person. Julie introduced me to Twitter, encouraged me to participate in pitch events, and connected me with the writing community. Thanks, Julie, for opening this door of numerous possibilities!

It was through the writing community on Twitter that I learned how to research agents. I made many connections with fellow writers and I was inspired by them all to jump into the querying trenches. However, I began the querying process rather naively. I was an inexperienced writer who needed to improve her craft. But at this point, I was deep in the querying trenches, and received rejection after rejection after rejection…with no explanation of why I was rejected. 

UNTIL, Jennifer March Soloway with Andrea Brown Literary Agency.  Jennifer was the first literary agent to give me specific feedback on my manuscript. How thankful I am for her! Jennifer’s comments provided me with hope for future manuscripts and specifically inspired a picture book series idea. I eventually met Jennifer at a writer’s conference and I’m so incredibly thankful for the feedback she provided me.  

I also became a member of SCBWI (which I highly  recommend for any writer in the kidlit world). In addition, I took writing courses, participated in numerous Twitter pitch events, and applied to kidlit writing contests and scholarships. I won one of those contests, #PBCritqueFest hosted by Brian Gehrlein. The award was to have a manuscript critique by a literary agent. I was partnered up with Adria Goetz from P.S. Literary Agency. Adria provided me a glimpse of what agents in the writing industry want and need. Most importantly, she told me the following: “Lean into your lyrical language more! That’s where your writing shines.” And so, I did. I leaned hard into learning and improving my writing craft with a focus on writing rich, layered, and descriptive picture books.

I continued to read for research and write as often as I could. Then, I made the most crucial connection in my writing career. It was through the writing community on Twitter that I sought to hire a freelance editor and I came across Jaime Dill. Jaime and I first began working together in a professional capacity—she critiqued the heck out of my manuscripts (check out her Polish and Pitch editorial services. She is amazing!) Jaime critiques with a kind heart yet with a firm voice. She knows her stuff and she’s an incredible writing coach! Before I knew it, my relationship with Jaime changed from a professional relationship to a friendship that I hold dear to my heart. Over the years we have challenged each other and held one another accountable in our writing endeavors. I will forever be thankful for Jaime!

I continued participating in writing courses, I joined an incredibly supportive critique group, I attended conferences, I revised manuscripts, and I queried aggressively. Then the pandemic hit. But in the midst of that sorrow, James McGowan from BookEnds Literary Agency gave me incentive. James had specific supportive comments regarding a particular manuscript and ultimately, I felt inspired to create my own website and identify my brand. It was such a fun creative project to do. If you haven’t identified your brand yet, I recommend that you do. 

My brand was inspired by the ancient symbol, the Triquetra. For me, each “arm” of the triquetra represents my love of travel, science, and literature. All three components are linked and overlap with one another, influencing and shaping childhood experiences.