On Being A Published Author: The Fantasy Versus the Reality

The irony of releasing a second (or third, or fourth) book into the wild is that there is almost zero time left to create the words that allowed you to release a book. This is not something people tell you about in those blissfully ignorant unpublished years, when your fantasies about being published may include the following.

1. Fantasy. You will have endless satisfying conversations with readers about your characters and how much they liked your book.

Reality. You have some conversations, and they’re deeply precious. You hold them to your heart like gold medals. You’re too much of an introvert to strike up very many conversations with readers.

2 Fantasy. Once you reach the hallowed threshold of authordom, you’ve arrived and can relax, enjoy the accolades and watch it all unfold.

Reality. You can’t relax, you have three different social media platforms to keep spinning, like plates on a stick. You have another book going through structural edits with a publisher as you write the next. In between, you organise some events, do the occasional interview and try to manage the magic mountain laundry pile that replenishes itself instantly no matter how much washing you do.

3 Fantasy. You will keep writing short stories and getting them published, just as you did before.

Reality. You write one short story in a year, show it to your writing group who are underwhelmed. You give it a vague polish before hurriedly sending it to a lit mag. They decline.

4 Fantasy. You’ll quickly master public speaking and conquer your nerves.

Reality. Before events or interviews you spend hours reading through notes, listening to binaural beats, do deep breathing, power poses, and take beta blockers. And you’re still nervous. Yet slowly but surely, you do gain some confidence. It’s just not in the least bit fast.

5 Fantasy. Your family and friends won’t mind hearing about every small milestone and concern. They’re so patient!

Reality. It gets tired. Your children tell you all you talk about is books and writing. They sigh and ask if you have other topics of conversation. Your husband becomes adept at the ‘listening face’ as he tunes out and watches the US masters on TV. Your bestie is a saint, but you get the feeling she’d like some more airtime.

6 Fantasy. You’ll be the same person.

Reality. You change, because in order to do these things, you need to overcome your reticence and heal some wounds you didn’t realise you had until you tripped over them one hundred times whilst putting yourself out there. One day, you realise you’ve travelled an emotional journey that never would have happened if your book had remained unpublished. You’ve met other authors who are on your wavelength and whose grit, determination and brilliance leaves you in awe. You understand it’s all been worth it for your growth, both as a creator and as a person.

—

Kate Murdoch is the author of Stone Circle. She exhibited widely as a painter both in Australia and internationally before turning her hand to writing. In between writing historical fiction, she enjoys writing short stories and flash fiction.

Her short-form fiction has been published in various literary journals in Australia, UK, US and Canada.

Stone Circle is a historical fantasy novel set in Renaissance Italy. It was released by Fireship Press December 1st 2017. Stone Circle was a First in Category winner in the Chaucer Awards 2018 for pre-1750’s historical fiction.

Kate has been awarded a KSP Fellowship at the KSP Writers’ Centre in 2019 to develop her third novel,
The Glasshouse.

 

THE ORANGE GROVE

Blois, 1705. The château of Duc Hugo d’Amboise simmers with rivalry and intrigue. Henriette d’Augustin, one of five mistresses of the duc, lives at the château with her daughter. When the duc’s wife, Duchesse Charlotte, maliciously undermines a new mistress, Letitia, Henriette is forced to choose between position and morality. She fights to maintain her status whilst targeted by the duchesse who will do anything to harm her enemies. The arrival of charismatic tarot reader, Romain de Villiers, further escalates tensions as rivals in love and domestic politics strive for supremacy.

In a society where status is a matter of life and death, Henriette must stay true to herself, her daughter, and her heart, all the while hiding a painful secret of her own.

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