One of their titles is A Journey into Michelangelo's Rome, written by first-time author Angela K. Nickerson. Today, Nickerson talks with us about her writing success.
"Greetings, fellow Midlisters! Sean has graciously asked me to regale you with the story of my modest beginnings as a Midlist writer, and I am happy to oblige.
"My literary life began modestly. When I was a student, I loved to write. And I truly loved research. I also loved to travel, a passion ignited early (I blogged about my first European trip here). However, I really didn’t translate that into a career path. In my mind writers worked at newspapers or wrote fiction or poetry. I knew that I didn’t have the news bug. I was not prepared to be a starving novelist (kudos to you guys!). And there are even fewer jobs for poets. So, I became a teacher – and my students did a lot of research!
"However, teaching others to write just didn’t satisfy my own desire to write. I found myself doing more and more journaling and fantasizing about 'becoming' a writer. In reality I already was. I was writing all the time. I just wasn’t earning any money doing it.
"Over the course of a few years I transitioned out of the physical classroom (though I still teach writing privately) and started with small, local publications. I ended up with a column in a monthly magazine as well as several other publications that regularly featured my work…and then I got a book deal.
"I came upon a call for proposals. Roaring Forties Press had begun a new series of books, the ArtPlace books, and they were looking for writers. Immediately I knew that Michelangelo and Rome (both of which I know very well) would be the perfect fit. I wrote the book proposal, and it took about a year to hammer out the details and sign a contract. But now, three years later, the book is on the shelves!
I'll be posting a review of A Journey into Michelangelo's Rome along with some of Angela's stunning photographs, on my other blog, Grizzled Old Traveler, on June 12. Also, don't forget to check out Angela's website.
1 comment:
Yes, Angela's work is wonderful! And she's learned what I remind my author clients to keep in mind-- writing the book was the first mountain, publishing it was the second, and marketing the book is the third. It's a big job, but can be so much fun!
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