Writer Inspiration: Jessa Slade

by Marie-Claude Bourque

WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!! CONGRATULATION KERRI NELSON!!!

Hi everyone,

This business of writing, trying to get published and remain published can be quite daunting. That is why I started to ask authors how they do it, how they survive, what was their journey or just some tips to help us writers that are trying to get there. I am thrilled to have as a guest today, paranormal romance author Jessa Slade who will share some of her thoughts on writing and publication.

My thanks to Marie-Claude for allowing me to visit today.  Since my debut urban fantasy romance, SEDUCED BY SHADOWS, has been loose on the shelves of bookstores for three weeks now, I wanted to muse a little about the transition from writer to author.  

Weirdly enough, writers are not born knowing how to become authors.  You’d think it’d be instinctive, like it is for caterpillars. 

Not that a caterpillar can become an author, nor would it want to, but writers go through many of the same steps as caterpillars.  We munch our way through many leaves—words, in our case, words from books in our genre, bestselling books, craft books, submission guidelines, the Publishers Weekly deals column.  We crawl out onto the spindly branches of hope, pursuing every possible word and maybe soaking in a few rays of warm encouragement along the way.  We grow pudgy with the accumulated weight of our efforts, and finally we spin ourselves up in a tiny, isolated cocoon—whether it be a writer’s garret or some cheap coffee shop—weaving thread upon thread, struggling to become what we were meant to be….

 And then the cruel hands of fate rip off our little wings—not yet unfurled—and send us plummeting back to the dirt: “Regret to inform you… Not right for our line at this time… Wings don’t sell; quit while you still have the stubs, you fool.”

The pursuit of publication: Raid™ for the writer’s soul.

In the beginning, I read a lot of advice to writers about telling the story of my heart, about finding joy in my writing, about writing as a sacred calling.  That advice seemed as ephemeral to me as any butterfly, and I felt bad that I wasn’t one of those lilting creatures.  For me, writing wasn’t particularly joyful or fulfilling.  It was dirty, exhausting work, full of anguish and annoyance.  There were days I scrubbed toilets voluntarily rather than open my manuscript.  The beginning of it I avoided as long as possible; I trudged through the middle with weary resignation; and I charged the end with wild-eyed ineptitude.

I remember one piece of wisdom that suggested: “If you knew for a fact no one would ever read your stories, would you keep writing?  Then you are a true writer.”  And I thought: “No, then you are a lunatic.”

 But I had to acknowledge the core truth: I might never become a butterfly. 

So I stopped waiting for my writing to be transcendent and I just wrote.  I built up my immunity to toxic clouds of rejection; sure, my eyes still watered, but at least I kept breathing.  And writing.  I didn’t just give myself permission to write crap, I actually wrote crap.  A lot of it.  Because crap is more spectacularly offensive in large piles.  Oh, there were moments of flight… Usually right before I realized I’d tripped off the edge of a crap cliff.

I wish I could say then I got The Call and transformed into a glorious phoenix, rising from the ashes.

Tragically, this is not the case.  The only phoenix-like moments I’ve experienced are the crashing and burning ones.  I’m still grubbing.  Still writing.

Turns out, those grub skills (is a pathological unresponsive to painful stimuli actually a skill?) have served me well.  Not prettily, but well.  The ability to chow through endless reams; constantly climbing toward the sun, disregarding any fear of falling; staying hungry like any good caterpillar; relentlessly coming back from any attempt at eradication.  Always trundling onward, one leg in front of the other in front of the other in front of the other.

Maybe, not so weirdly, writers are born knowing how to become authors.  We write.  Turns out, wings just tend to snag under your butt when you sit down at the keyboard.  The glory of flight was always only in my mind, but I guess I can make my peace with that since the stories live there too.

What fantasies about publication do you have?  Do you think it’ll be easier or harder to write once you sell?  Published authors, feel free to burst our bubbles or let us in on all the secrets.

One random commenter will be drawn to win a signed copy of SEDUCED BY SHADOWS, a pair of freshwater pearl earrings inspired by the Marked Souls storyworld (don’t they look all demonically possessed?), and a custom temporary tattoo based on an in joke from the book.

~ Jessa Slade

Thank you so much for coming to Musetracks Jessa. You are very inspiring!

And please don’t forget to leave her comment so we can out you in her draw!