I wrote my first novel in 2000, when I was a newly married Orthodox wife hopeful about the future and my commitment to religion.
At 7 a.m., MWF, I took my laptop to a cafe in Ferndale, Michigan, ordered a milky coffee and wrote. I had no plan, no idea of where my characters would end up, but I wrote and they talked to me and sometimes, they slipped inside my fingers and took over and later, I’d look at the pages and wonder when I had created such interesting scenes.
That novel was about three Jewish young women who made aliyah to Israel and became friends. They were based on people and places I knew. It took nine months to write the first draft, and I asked five friends to read it and offer feedback. Five years later, I revised it and asked for more feedback, but nothing ever came of this novel.
In 2011, newly married again and no longer Orthodox, I started writing another novel, the book that would become Woman of Valor. I was three-years divorced and while tI loved so much about being Orthodox, many friends dropped me when I divorced, even before I stopped being religious.
I was surprised by the back-turning and outright rejection. And hurt. So the first 60 pages that I hammered out revealed a young woman who chose to be Orthodox and hated it. Not sure where the book was going to go, I went on to other things.
Years passed. I focused on my blended family, my new marriage, my marketing company. And then, approaching midlife, I wanted to fulfill my self-definition of Writer. Focus on the craft and talent that I’d loved so much. Write books. Get them published. Shift from Marketing all the time to Author.
So I pulled out those 60 pages. I liked the main character, but not the premise. After all, there are plenty of books about people dissatisfied with the religious world who leave it. And plenty of books about cranky complaining characters. I wanted to write a book that would show challenges, yes, even conflict, but where the characters delight in their commitment to religion.
I finished writing the first draft of Woman of Valor in 2021, did a thorough revision in early 2022, then hired an editor, and edited some more based on her feedback. And while I queried agents and presses who gave great feedback, I knew in my gut I was going to publish this my way. So I launched Scotia Road Books as a hybrid press for women over 40 with strong voices that need to be heard, and that’s the publisher that’s releasing Woman of Valor to the world on September 26th.
I don’t have to wait years to see my book come to life. I don’t have to compromise characters or cut scenes to make other people money, and I got to pick my cover designers (Thanks, Paddy and Su!!) and work closely with them.
And while I’m doing all this - planning the book tour, working on launch events, chipping away at the marketing strategy - I am writing the next novel. Because the best way to build an author career is to write book after book after book.
But this time around, I planned out the book in-depth. In a coming Substack, I’ll tell you all about that book, as I’m heading to Scotland this month to research one of the locations where it’s set. Stay tuned for pictures and updates!!
If you’ve written a book, what was your process? I’d love to hear!! Did you experience the saggy middle? Did you stall because you didn’t know where the story was going? (Use a beat sheet to map it out.)
If you’ve always wanted to write a book, do it. Write the book you want to read.
Thanks for reading! With love, Lynne