I was well into my 40s.
I’d always been able to write, but never really tried my hand at fiction. When I was in high school, I was “ghostwriting” term papers for $50.00 a pop. In fact, I was so good at it that my high school art teacher was going to write a letter of recommendation to a company that did that for college level writing.
And then it became illegal to do that.
A budding career died on the vine.
When I was in my mid 40s a coworker pulled me aside and told me that the reason my boss had me writing so much stuff for him was because he couldn’t write. She stressed that I was making him look good to his boss.
I realized I had a superpower.
And then the unthinkable happened.
A reporter I knew was bemoaning how difficult it was to write a novel. I tried to be supportive. In his frustration, he told me that it would be nearly impossible for someone like me (a business writer) to write fiction, let alone get it published. With his encouragement, I did both. I also discovered I liked it.
My first attempt, “Rylee Rising,” garnered several really bad reviews, one of which was particularly brutal. I got to admit I cried. But on the upside, I wrote a novel and got it published by someone other than me. I consider that a win.
Next book, “Souvenirs,” didn’t make any sales or get any reviews, but I figured out how to self-publish. I liked the process, so another win for me.
“Zombie Moose of West Bath Maine,” came after my oldest kid told me I needed to write to my strength. I did. It’s self-published, had moderate sales, got some really great reviews, and was on the Books-A-Million physical shelves for about 18 months. That’s a big win.
About that same time, I had a crazy idea to make a podcast soap opera. For the next four years, I produced, wrote scripts, occasionally recorded when they let me touch the mixer, and sometimes acted in “Restless Shores, ” probably the first podcast of its type. It was kind of all-consuming, garnered some great reviews, and it did really well. I never figured out how to make money with it, but over two-thirds of the countries in the world were listening. That’s also a huge win.
I think it’s time to continue showing my unnamed sports reporter that someone like me can still write fiction.
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