Writing, after drawing, had quickly become a lifeline for me. It’s odd to write out but while I was busy escaping in fantasy, and taking notes of the wondrous places I visited, that act, is how I stayed grounded. This coping skill is something that would develop later during my college years as more of a hobby, and post graduation something that I learned, the dream of being an author, could be something tangible if I put in the work.
Starting a book was never a problem, for me, the problem at the time was finishing one. Countless stories were started and stopped, but in November of 2019 something magical happened. I had found the online writing community known as Authortube. It was great to finally connect with others who had the same passion for stories, and shared interest in the same niche topics I liked. This bit of socializing for me was also vital in staying sane. During 2019 the world was just sounding the alarm bells of an impending pandemic, and while I didn’t know it at the time, I was suffering from post-partum depression. A silent agony that many mothers know, but seldom gets talked about. With all of these factors at play writing was a much needed escape once again in my life.
As I was getting close to finishing my first manuscript, I did what most ambitious writers do, something else. I began researching the world of the publishing industry and what to expect. The first thing was figuring out which publishing path I wanted to go down. Both are good options, and each have their own pros and cons. What ultimately worked for me was to pursue traditional publishing. Opposed to indie as I did not feel comfortable with all the hats I’d have to wear in addition to the funds in my pocket were lacking. I told myself that as a reward for and continued motivation to finish my first manuscript I could practice query letters for agents. Again, being on an online community really helped push me to finish as it felt like while we were all working on our own stories we were also all gonna cross the finish line together. Once I had finished the story, the first draft of what would later become Down The Well. I began looking at places like manuscript wishlists as well as some authortubers that had ‘How I got an agent’ videos. On top of the wonderful circle of friends I had cultivated I felt confident about editing my story while also drafting some query letters. As much as I’d love to get into the knitty gritty of how Down The Well made it to publication, that may be a future blog post as right now I need to reign back and stay on topic, and keep this short and sweet. So, that is how my writing origin story came to be Dear Reader. From the escapism of a rather turbulent childhood to a hobby of a young college adult, and now at the beginning of twenty nine everything feels like it’s just getting started.
Veronica King 