QUIT ISN’T A WRITER’S WORD: How I Stayed on the Path to Publication and you can, too!

June 7, 2022 | By Women Writers Women Books | Reply More

QUIT ISN’T A WRITER’S WORD:

How I stayed on the path to publication and you can, too!

By Mindy Henderson

I’m a writer so of course I want you to read this essay until the very end, but I still decided not to “bury the lede” (lucky you!) so here, in this first sentence, is the lesson writing and publishing my first book taught me: no one can ever convince me we are not capable of accomplishing every single thing we set our minds to do in our one life.

As a woman with a disability, living life from a wheelchair, there are things in life I can’t do.

As a woman with a gigantic stubborn streak, with big dreams and ambitions, and a mission to leave the world a little better than how I found it, I don’t like the word “no.” I believe that these two facts created a healthy tension that serves me and propels me past the finish line so that I can prove to myself (and to you) that we are all capable of reaching our goals.

I’ve always been a writer. I love words and following the progression of a story. I like how the components of an article can manifest into something powerful. I wrote my first story when I was 11 on a typewriter in my bedroom. It was 1984 and I was a huge Beverly Cleary fan, gobbling up the Ramona books as quickly as I could. One day, I created “Bailey Carson,” a character who probably would have been Ramona’s best friend in real life, her mischief and pluckiness the yin to Ramona’s yang.

I enjoyed writing that first story and was proud when my mom seemed to like it, but no one else ever read the words. It was a creative exercise that planted a seed in me and the idea that I might want to be a writer and publish books when I grew up.

Throughout school, I enjoyed any assignment with a writing component, but it wasn’t until about 12 years ago that the dream of being a professional writer came back to me with a vengeance and I had my first idea to write a book. I’d always thought that if I wrote something for publication, it would be fiction, but in my adult life I am a fan of personal development and nonfiction “self-help” books – and I’m obsessed with setting goals and accomplishing them and one day I realized my own life experiences might help others.

I knew almost nothing about writing a nonfiction book, and so I did what any self-respecting aspiring author would do: I googled, “how to publish a nonfiction book.” It was in that first search that I learned that writing a nonfiction book proposal was step one, step two was shopping that proposal to agents and step three would culminate in a publishing contract secured by your agent with a publisher. Easy-Peazy! I figured I would have a book contract before the end of the year and proceeded to tell everyone I knew I was writing a book.

I spent six months writing that book proposal. Then I spent the next year pitching literary agents. I went to conferences. I networked. I re-wrote the book proposal three times, incorporating feedback from some highly interested, and very gracious agents who ultimately told me “no.”

I received 63 rejections from literary agents. There were more agents who never responded.

In the “positives” column, most of the feedback I received was that they could not sell a memoir-type nonfiction book proposal to a publisher written by an author who was not a famous person. I could live with that. It wasn’t personal, it was factual. I wasn’t famous – truth.

I was undeterred (disappointed yes, but undeterred). I shifted my focus to blog writing and spent several years writing and practicing my prose skills. Working a corporate job in high tech, plus being busy mom, I fit in as much writing as I could whenever I could. I had received enough encouragement along the way to hold fast to the dream, and I believed with all my heart that I would publish a book, eventually.

Then, in early 2019, I lost my job. It was the best thing that could have happened to me. I’d been working in high tech for 20 years, and when I received the news that the company I worked for had been acquired and they were moving much of our operations overseas, I wasn’t worried. With a strong background and lots of connections, I was sure I would land an even better job. I had no doubt that I would continue climbing the corporate ladder.

Ten months later, and 231 job applications under my belt, I had my “bathroom floor moment.” I realized I was at a crossroads and that I could continue on the path I was on, becoming angry and frustrated and bitter, OR I could hire myself. In addition to writing, I had ambitions to be a motivational speaker, too. I decided in that moment to pivot and to begin building a career as a speaker and a writer.

The word “quit” never, ever entered my mind or my laptop.

I took a course on writing a book proposal from a literary agent. Then, I wrote another book proposal. It still didn’t work, and I still wasn’t a famous person. Once again, I went back to the drawing board (keyboard). Quit? Never! One more time? Always!

I decided to interview as many people as I could about their own adversity in life, how they got through it, and what they learned from it. I had a psychologist friend who I met with several times to discuss the psychology of navigating adversity. And in a brilliant stroke of luck, I was granted an interview with New York Times best-selling author and Happiness Researcher, Shawn Achor, about one of my favorite topics – gratitude.

I’d found the loophole! If you are telling your own stories and sharing your own perspectives and learnings, while weaving them with other peoples’ stories and perspectives and some expert information, it was no longer a memoir. Et, voilà! Kind of.

I spent months talking to other people. I analyzed and summarized data from my interviews. I wrote my third book proposal. Then, I started sending it to agents – again. The rejections rolled in – again. Until finally, 11 years after chasing my dream of a book contract, this email arrived in my inbox, “This is well done, Mindy. Having one of our editors give me her thoughts. We’ll arrange a time to chat with you next week if that works for you.”

I signed a contract with a literary agent soon after that email.

I worked with my agent, and we tweaked and edited my book proposal and sent it to publishers. Today, 12 years and a handful of months later, my first book THE TRUTH ABOUT THINGS THAT SUCK (AND HOW TO MAKE THEM SUCK LESS) launches on June 7, 2022.

A coach once told me that the single common denominator between every person who ever accomplished a goal is that they did not quit. After navigating my publishing journey (and my entire life!) take my advice: I’m a published author and we are all capable of accomplishing every single thing we resolve to do in this one wonderful life.

Confession: yes, I did bury one lede – did you catch it? My “first” book?!

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About Mindy Henderson:

Mindy Henderson is the author of THE TRUTH ABOUT THINGS THAT SUCK (AND HOW TO MAKE THEM SUCK LESS), a Motivational Speaker, Writer, Coach, Host of The Truth About Things That Suck podcast, guest contributor of “Morning Motivations” on CBS Austin’s “We Are Austin” lifestyle morning show and was recently named an “Austin Woman to Watch” by Austin Woman Magazine. After a 20-year career in high-tech, Mindy shifted her focus toward helping others realize their potential and normalizing disability. Driven to build a world that welcomes and includes EVERYONE, Mindy advocates for universal design in air travel, architecture, and fashion.

Despite living life from a wheelchair, Mindy’s achievements include:

Bachelor and Master’s degrees
Multiple singing appearances on national television (plus a CD recording with George Strait’s guitar and bass players accompanying her!)
Public speaking addressing thousands of volunteers of the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) and addressing corporate executives for companies such as 7-11, VMware, NXP Semiconductors, 7-Up and Cisco

For more information about Mindy, and her writing, her speaking, and her podcasts please visit: www.mindyhendersonco.com.

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