by Peter Leavell, @PeterLeavell
I was a junior in high school and my mom still made me eat my peas. Sure, I was a pretty good kid, but this one request I refused every time. Dinner at 5:00 PM turned into Teenager Pete at 8:00PM sitting at the table until he ate a bite of peas.
Bits of life passed me by because of my obstinate stance.
Now that I’m an experienced author, I see beginning writers sitting at the table to eat but refusing to finish because they’ll have to do something distasteful. Here’s a few items holding them back.
- Marketing. Some writers refuse to start a facebook page and connect with the public. They have good reasons.
- Editing. Many writers are concerned that a publisher will change their work, and their concern is legitimate. Publishers will change the manuscript.
- Plot lines. A handful of writers have edgy plots that are not formulaic. That’s cool. The audience will be niche. Complaining about the small audience holds this author back, however.
- Gendered Novels. Some dudes grumble the market is full of female readers who are looking for romantic plot lines. Rather than celebrate women’s voices and either joining them or encouraging men to buy books, they are on the outside looking in.
- All the Feels. Some folks are angry, hurt, frustrated, unhappy, broken, and more. They cannot connect with the public. Of course, the opposite is true as well. They’re too optimistic, happy, and giddy to be understood in print. They need to write from a good place, or give some distance with events to give them scope.
There are many more, but I hope you understand the point.
When I let go of a few of my hang ups about the writing world, opportunities opened up (like the amount of time it takes to go to print).
Growing up, all I had to do was eat a bite of peas, and I would have been about my business hours sooner. Sometimes, you have to eat your peas. And once you do, you’ll grow up a bit. And eventually, you’ll have more options to make the changes necessary to right the publishing industry and all the things that once were upsetting.
Philip Anderson keeps his past close to the vest. Haunted by the murder of his parents as they traveled West in their covered wagon, his many unanswered questions about that night still torment him.
His only desire is to live quietly on his homestead and raise horses. He meets Anna, a beautiful young woman with secrets of her own. Falling in love was not part of his plan. Can Philip tell her how he feels before it’s too late?
With Anna a pawn in the corrupt schemes brewing in the nearby Dakota town, Philip is forced to become a reluctant gunslinger. Will Philip’s uncannily trained horses and unsurpassed sharpshooting skills help him free Anna and find out what really happened to his family in the wilderness?
Peter Leavell, a 2007/2020 graduate of Boise State University with a degree in history and a MA in English Literature, was the 2011 winner of Christian Writers Guild’s Operation First Novel contest, and 2013 Christian Retailing’s Best award for First-Time Author, along with multiple other awards. An author, blogger, teacher, ghostwriter, jogger, biker, husband and father, Peter and his family live in Boise, Idaho. Learn more about Peter’s books, research, and family adventures at www.peterleavell.com