My Publishing Journey: Part 1
I thought it might be fun to take a walk down memory lane this week.
Not the memory lane where you cringe at the clothes you wore in high school, or the way you styled your hair during the 90s.
Nope.
I’m going to take you through my publishing journey!
I used to write I was young, but I put it down for a long time until I was in my late 20s. A friend started a writing group, I joined, and I’ve been telling stories ever since.
Mind you most of them were terrible, but I was writing, which is the key.
After I attended my first real writing conference I decided that, in a year, I would have a finished YA novel to pitch to an editor.
I accomplished that goal, but that novel wasn’t the first thing I published.
A friend told me about an online platform, which is long gone, that was looking for serialized fiction. An episode a week for a 12 week season. She wanted me to cowrite with her, which I declined, because, honestly, I don’t always share well with others.
So instead, I decided to write something of my own. Something silly and fun and not stressful.
This is where Babes in Spyland came to life!
Babes is a world that some friends and I created as a joke, and I took it over! (Buhahahaha)
Fine, I asked first.
Anyway, this is where it all started!
I published five seasons of Babes. At one point it was bundled into a book. I still have a handful of copies of that, and when I become a super famous author I’ll sell them for lots of money.
Right now you can get a copy of it on Amazon for just $99.00. What a bargain!
(Just kidding. Call me and I’ll make you a better deal.)
Is Babes in Spyland a good book?
Well, it’s not my best writing, obviously, because it’s my first published work. However, it is hilarious. Super Secret Agents battle ridiculous villains all while making smart remarks and looking fabulous.
The Super Secret Agency battles crime on a level that shouldn’t exist.
Agents Milkshakes and Sugar Lips, Agents Amphibian Queen and Bunnynose face off against the likes of mimes, Homebase Security, the lines at the porta potties, exploding puzzle boxes, baseball fanatics, a zombie flash mob, and the fish that got away, to name a few.
Follow these lovely girls of mystery as they are called on to escort a tanker of ‘happy’ milk to Billy Bonka’s chocolate factory. Or their task to infiltrate the mysterious island posing as free range chicken specialists — Chicktopia.
Not to mention, the perfect storm of trouble that lies in red light districts, a run through “The Pen,” cock fights, and a betrayal they never saw coming. All while looking good.
Someday I’ll get back to this world. I love the characters and the silly, yet serious, tone of the stories.
This is where it all began! The first week this gem hit the internet I was technically a published author!
A big thanks to the friend who begged me to write with her and then challenged me to submit a story so she wouldn’t feel so afraid to submit her own. We both got accepted. We both wrote several seasons on this platform. Since then we’ve both gone on to publish a LOT of books.
It just goes to show you that your first steps aren’t always what you think they will be.
