Garrett Calloway

18 October 2006

My Wife the Author

Have you ever wondered what an author has to go through to be accepted, recognized and published? As the husband of one, I do not think I could bear what my wife does. Consider the ideas that need to be faced to make her work become more than just words. Her work is like an essay somewhere between 5,000 and 200,000 words. Her work is full of ideas and scribbled words she has to twist, shift and rearrange without losing the plot or character. Nothing is done until all the editing is complete. I have seen my wife work on a story line anywhere from a few weeks to numerous months just to get it correct. In addition, the more supportive I am, the more she works on her books. I am very proud of my wife and all the hard work she accomplishes as an Author.

My wife, Paula, has been writing for about five years and has three books published to date with several novels accepted. She has three series of books, all consisting of novels between 90,000 and 180,000 words, on the way. One series has four parts, another has two parts with a spin-off series of short novellas while the third has fourteen parts. The type of books she writes is sensual romance, meaning she uses a more gentle language than those who write erotica, but is also expanding into erotic romance. Her genres are fantasy, paranormal and sci-fi. She claims it is difficult for her to write a short story as she is unable to take the time to really show the character’s qualities and faults.

Her writing is very good. Yes, I do read my wife’s books. I think she is very patient when it comes to writing. She has taken so much time trying to get the words she needs to make the story come out just right. I have seen her shove aside a non-working version and start fresh.

When a story is submitted and accepted, it is given to an editor. Some editors at some publishers are callous and rip scenes while other are wrong and add scenes. My wife endured an editor who had more important things to do than deal with her book. While her other editors took the time to explain ‘show not tell’, ‘active verses passive’ and other publisher tricks. Each publisher has standards, but there is a general set for most to follow. Once published, one has to deal with the publicity. That means promos on the internet and if one gets into hard print, public relations at the local book stores for signings.

Originally, my wife had two editors with the company she writes for. When she started, they were very aggressive with her work, but she said they needed to be. Her editors sent back her books with so many corrections that I felt they were rewriting her work. However, after reading the finished product, I found her work was still there and stood out to shine. The aggressiveness in her writing is worth the corrections no matter how much work it is. She is improving as the past three manuscripts she sent have come back with only a few minor errors. She has at last been matched with a new editor who understands her way of writing and works with and not against her.

My wife is even hard on herself when it comes to writing. I have seen her change how her books read after being published. She has changed all three so far to add depth, meaning and clarify incidents readers brought to her attention. One of her books is in a contest with EPIC, Electronic Published Internet Connection, who holds an annual competition for an award called an Eppie.

My wife is a hardworking person. She is at her desk on a daily basis typing on her keyboard. I have seen her work from dawn until dusk, and she still maintains the entire house. She keeps the house in great order even on bad days for her. There are days that she may seem to be lazy, but everyone has those days. She has a job like everyone else, and it is no different except she works at home.

I can remember when Paula sent in her first book to the editor. She spent weeks on it just trying to print it all out. In 1995, all manuscripts had to be in hard copy to be accepted. It took two reams of paper and I do not know how much ink she used. I remember how nervous she was. She would ask me to feel her hands and they would be all clammy and unsteady. She feared rejection. When the first book came back turned down it took her days to get over it. To my surprise, several turned it down. It took her it seemed like forever to be accepted, and the day she did was a very happy day for her. To me the companies that turned her away lost, because they missed a great writer.

 In the years that I have been around my wife while she has been writing, I have found myself being very argumentative about how must time she takes on her books. At times, I feel there is no end. She stays up late and works while I am in the bed trying to sleep. At times, I feel her work is more important, but I know this is not true. Time for Carole, Logan and I are very important to her. With all this in mind, I find it is worth the time and effort it takes for her to write a book.

My wife has spent a lot of time with her writing. I feel a big congratulations is in store for her from me. I would also like to take the time to say read her books and find out for yourself that her work is worth all the effort she has put into it.