Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Jennifer Hillier: Defining Your Writing Career

All---

First of all, I'd like to announce that Roberta Walker won last week's contest hosted by guest author Deborah Swift.  Roberta, as a reminder to never give up on your publication path, Deborah would like to send you a signed copy of her book, The Lady's Slipper.  Please visit Deborah Swift's website to get her e-mail address and contact her to arrange for shipping.  Congratulations!

Now, on to this week's profile.

Every author can relate to this: you're written a project, you believe in it, and you hope with everything you've got that it's going to be accepted.  If you're not self-publishing, you hope it's accepted by someone who wants to publish it.  And you hope and hope and hope until you're going to bust.  Debut author of psychological suspense Jennifer Hillier reminds us that any one project does not define a career.



I experienced a few dark weeks while I was on submission last spring.  My agent started subbing to a handful of editors last May, and by mid-June, three rejections had come in.  I thought I'd be a pro at handling them, because after all, I'd survived Query Hell (where I racked up 48 rejections from agents), but I wasn't prepared for what it would feel like to be rejected by big-name editors at big-name publishing houses.  Unlike agents, who mainly rejected my queries, these editors were rejecting my book.  And while their rejections were kind and personal, they were also very specific, and they really, really stung.

Intellectually I knew not to take it to heart, but every time someone rejects you – for any reason – it sort of chips away at your self-esteem.  I knew the odds of selling a debut novel in this market were slim – my agent had made damned sure my expectations were realistic – but still, I hoped.  And with hope comes disappointment.

Then one day, after a particularly great writing session on a new novel, it suddenly hit me that whether CREEP got published or not, I was still a writer.  I had as many chances at this as I was willing to write books.  And I did want to write books – lots of them – because that's what writers do.  We write.  This realization made me feel so much better.  I felt like a weight had been lifted.  No matter what, I was going to be okay.

Two weeks later, my book sold.

Jennifer Hillier

Jennifer Hillier's debut novel Creep will be published by Simon & Schuster in July 2011.  Best-selling author Jeffrey Deaver says, "Jennifer Hillier's Creep is top-of-the-line thriller writing. You better call in sick, because you're not going anywhere until you finish reading. Oh, and you might want to lock the door too. Just to be safe."



28 comments:

  1. Another of those great boosts!

    Thank you Jennifer and Nevets!

    I am a writer because I write crime fiction - and a few people (even some I don´t know at all) have paid money to read my stories!

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  2. That is a great boost for writers, gives us our own kind of hope. Thank you Jennifer. Great job C.N. You picked a good one to share

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  3. Inspiring! Plus YAY! I won a copy of The Lady's Slipper. Thanks very much!

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  4. Jennifer, thanks so much for taking the time to write this up. I know you were in the middle of finishing up Creep and working on your next book and all kinds of things, so your time is very appreciated! This message really hit home for me, too.

    @Dorte - Exactly! You're a writer because you write!

    @Summer - Glad you thought so, as well!

    @Roberta - It's a doubly good day, then!

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  5. Love the new design. Jennifer's words really hit home. I'm currently in Query Hell, and through it all I got a great idea for a new book and eeked out the first page. It felt so, so good, and I realized that even if this one doesn't hit, the next one very well might. No matter what, you keep going.

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  6. It's funny how we (or many of us) rely on others for our writerly self-esteem. There's nothing quite like the imprimatur of a publisher to reassure us that what we've written is good. And yet...Haven't we all written things we thought were good - or quite good - and nobody's agreed? (The converse can also be true. I've sold one or two stories in the past which, looking back, were so bad I can't believe anyone wanted them at all!)But as writers, we spend so much time waiting for someone's approval. Firstly, the agent. Then, the publisher. And lastly (and most importantly) the reading public.

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  7. @Elena - I feel really fortunate, that I already have two more books I'm excited to write. I'm hopeful that will help minimize the sting once Sublimation is out on query.

    @Frances - You're exactly right. Even most of the authors I know who are quite vocal that they're only writing for themselves and don't care two wits how many readers they ever have -- even they usually start to get bummed if their story is only panned or (perhaps worse) ignored.

    I wonder why we care quite as much as we do.

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  8. I love it. You show the passion of a writer and that's the one thing you need to be successful!

    I am currently waiting with a publishing house praying they love my work. But you're right, whether or not they accept or not I'm still a writer and one day, one book will be sold. Hard work comes equals success!!

    Great job Jennifer!

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  9. Over from Jennifer's blog. Hi!!

    Wow, that is a really really important thing to remember, no matter what happens! What a great, inspirational success story! Thank you both for sharing!

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  10. Came by way of Jennifer's blog. Great guest post. I love what she said about being a writer even if your book doesn't sell. That is something we all need to remember.

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  11. Great post! Editor rejections sting, for sure. But you're right, it didn't change the fact that you're a writer! And obviously, a good one. ;)

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  12. @Jen - What a fantastic attitude! I hope to have the same strength of determine once I start querying my novel.

    @Colene - Thanks so much for coming by, and I'm glad you enjoyed Jennifer's message.

    @Lisa - Thanks for clicking over! And I agree it's critical. I'm guilty of defining my role by my success. It's good to be reminded that that's not the case.

    For those of you coming over from Jennifer's blog, you might want to also check out some of the other great posts we've had from authors about how they've overcome struggles to achieve publication success.

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  13. @Amanda - Yes! You're a writer because you write, not because a particular editor likes what you write!

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  14. Thanks so much for the opportunity to talk about this, Nevets! I really do feel strongly that we're writers because we write, not because we get published. Every day that I manage to remember that is a good day.

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  15. "We write." Simple, yet profound. It's what we do, regardless of the rejection letters.

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  16. I actually have been feeling hopeless about my current book, so thanks for posting this hopeful reminder--mostly the part about why we write, though the getting published bit is nice, too...

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  17. Awesome post. Thanks for reminding me that no matter how long or how many manuscripts it takes, I am a writer. =o)

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  18. "I had as many chances at this as I was willing to write books." My soul fuel for the day. :)

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  19. @Milo - Don't you love it when the profound stuff is also simple???

    @Bridget - Yay! I love it when one of these pieces hits the right note at the right time for someone. Goof luck with the book!

    @BE - Writing is in the writing!

    @Samantha - All need a little soul fuel in the post-David Tennant era don't we?

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  20. This was truly wonderful and very inspiring :)... What a great reminder to never give up on your dreams.

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  21. @WriNu - I'm glad you found it to be so, as well!

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  22. Awww, what a great story! It's so true that one book doesn't define us as writers nor our careers. This is a great comfort to me, actually. Thanks to both of you for putting this up! And congrats, Jennifer!

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  23. @Michelle - I'm glad it helped you to. It was definitely a good reminder to me to not worry that one book defines my career.

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  24. Awesome as usual, Jennifer! This is really uplifting :)

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  25. @Alexia - Glad you found it to be so, as well!

    Everyone who popped over for the first time for Jennifer's post, please be sure to check out the other Profiles in Authors' Overcoming in the sidebar. A lot of great stories from fabulous authors and how they faced down and overcome some real challenged to find success.

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