Everyone wants to be a writer, to feel the heft of their book in print, meet with readers at a signing, do a tour like Angela Lansbury on the TV program“ Murder She Wrote.” But only a few are able to rise to the top of the competitive world of publishing, with its demanding combination of dedication and self-sacrifice, to see contracts signed, a new title published every year, and royalty checks endorsed.
Facing down the lonely endeavor of filling the blank page is just the beginning of the journey. And book in hand, there’ s still marketing and promotion and sales to consider. The process is daunting for any new writer, but it’ s comforting to know that even well-known authors were green in the beginning— and local writers who have trod the path to publication are reaching out to others hoping to follow in their footsteps.
One of the most famous local writers is Nora Roberts of Boonsboro, whose novels number more than 200 with sales in the stratosphere and continual appearances on the New York Times best-seller list. Perhaps less well-known is her passion for aiding up-and-coming local authors. She began the Nora Roberts Scholarship in 1994. The award is given to a Boonsboro High School senior who demonstrates a talent for creative writing and desire to teach or become a writer. And this year, in partnership with Hagerstown Community College( HCC), she established the Nora Roberts Writing Institute( NRWI), which will host its first two-day retreat in August.“ Writing is a solitary craft, so I know the value of finding the company of other writers,” says Nora of the institute’ s founding.“ The give and take of other perspectives brings on a renewed sense of excitement and enthusiasm about the craft.”
SOLVING THE MYSTERY Penn National-based author Victoria Thompson notes that,“ today there are tons of resources for writers, but [ there was ] nothing when I was coming up.” She didn’ t even know how many pages she should produce for her first book.“ I had written an historical romance set in the Old West. I went to the library and
Since the days when she was told her first novel needed 200 more pages and more sex, Penn National-based author Victoria Thompson has published 20 historical romances and 15 volumes in her Gas Light Mystery Series.
found the name of a publishing company. I contacted them and received a call saying they liked my book, but it needed to be 200 pages longer with more sex.” She revised her manuscript and has gone on to publish 20 historical romances and is releasing the 15 th volume of her Gas Light Mysteries series this year. Her latest,“ Murder on Fifth Avenue,” has been nominated for a 2013 Agatha Award for Best Historical Mystery.
Along the way, Victoria obtained her master’ s degree in popular fiction and later taught the same course at Seton Hall University. There she was a cofounder of the New Jersey Romance Writers.“ The state did not have a chapter. I was told the best way to join would be to start one.” She has also presented her“ How to Write Popular Fiction” seminar to writers’ groups throughout the U. S. and Canada.
Lauren Carr, who calls herself the mystery lady, found the same absence of help when her first book came out in 2004.“ I even received a two-page letter of rejection from an agent who told me how wonderful my book was but adding that he didn’ t know how to market me,” she recalls.“ I was so naive, I didn’ t even know you had to read the [ printer’ s ] proof.” After publishing two books the traditional way, she decided to draw on her background in editing and layout to self-publish. She also wanted to help others who were going through a similar situation, but soon realized that it would leave her with little time to write. To deal with the problem, she set up Acorn Book Services, a consulting and fullservice publishing company. Lauren also teaches adult community education classes on writing in both Jefferson and Berkeley counties in West Virginia where she lives. She is now publishing in e-book form the first anthology of a local group of writers who meet at the Desert Rose Café in Williamsport and who have adopted that name as the title for their first collaboration.
ON HUMOR AND HISTORY Herald-Mail humor columnist Tim Rowland also publishes, on average, a book a year on everything from his own version of animal farm to Civil War history. Though he has the distinct advantage that his wife, Beth, knows the publishing business and“ the tricks on how to get a book out there,” even Tim did not know how to tap into the local writers’ community when he began publishing. He did receive support from Turn The Page Bookstore, owned by Nora Roberts’ husband Bruce Wilder, and from John Frey and Pat Wishard at the Washington County Public Library.“ They have their ear to the ground on local authors,” he says. He also found moral support in an informal social network of people who write in certain genres, such as history, and through local book clubs. The English classes he teaches at HCC also have brought Tim into contact with students eager to pursue a writing career, enabling him to offer guidance and point them in the directon of support as well.
Dennis Frye is in a rather rarified world of publishing, as chief historian at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.“ I wanted to work for the Park Service as a ranger since I was 13,” he notes,“ and I published my first book when I was 23.” His first mentor was Trudy Shindle, his
48 May / June 2013 Hagerstown: The Best of Life in Washington County & Beyond