Five ways to become a braver writer, by Deborah Jenkins

'Hello' I said shyly, 'Such a lovely shop!' The woman behind the desk smiled and reached for my bookmarks.

'Thank you,' she said.

'Actually...' I stopped, embarrassed. She paused, putting the bookmarks down, perhaps assuming I'd changed my mind.

'Yes?' She had green eyes and lightly freckled skin and was wearing a badge that said THIS GIRL CAN.   I took it as a sign.

'Actually, I said,' rummaging in my bag, 'I'm a writer and my debut novel comes out in June. Would you accept a proof copy just in case...' I tailed off, forgetting the script I'd rehearsed in the bathroom mirror, '...in case you'd like to...buy it?' I winced. What a loser!

She gave me a proper smile then, with teeth and dimples.

'Oh how lovely!' she said, 'Congratulations!' She took it, looked at the cover, turned it over. There was an excruciating silence while she read the blurb. I could have cooked a meal in it.

She looked up. 'This looks great. I'll have a read. Do leave your email so I can get in touch with you.'

I thanked her, wrote down my email, paid for my bookmarks, left the shop. As the door closed behind me, I remembered how to breathe. I said Thank you! out loud, to God and a man wheeling a bike, who immediately looked behind him.

That was a few months ago. Now I've done this several times and am much braver. What changed?

It seems to me that writers, if they pursue their calling, need an extraordinary amount of courage. From the moment we begin to type, to the final signed copy at the book launch, and beyond, if we pursue the publication route, we need bravery in buckets. At times, it all feels too heavy to bear. 

When you read social media posts by writers mentioning their books, they sound so assured and successful. But I wouldn't mind betting that inside every writer, even the well known, there's a child screwing up her face while muttering desperately, This girl can...What helps you to be a braver writer? Here's what helps me: -

  • Keep a diary - I record every writing success however small and reread them when I need encouragement. It reminds me how far I've come since those heady days of early publication in the school newsletter
  • Build a tribe - Find a few like-minded writers with whom you can share writing journeys. There's nothing quite like fellow creatives who will celebrate with you in success, comfort you in failure and buoy you up with satisfyingly fierce outrage at bad reviews. I'm often surprised at the numbers of writers who don't have writing buddies. It's rare that a day goes by when I don't talk to at least one of mine. Without them, I'd find it hard to keep going
  • If you're working with a publisher or agent, communicate often. I'm blessed to be working directly with a publisher and as we share the different things we're doing for the book, it makes me braver. This is a team effort; I'm not alone; with others, this girl can...
  • Go to writers' days, seminars, conferences, workshops, anything writerly you can think of. Being with other writers is emboldening. I've just come back from the most amazing conference in Derbyshire, the Worth Our Weight In Gold (WOWIG) 50th celebration weekend of ACW. I heard so many inspiring speakers and met so many wonderful writers, I feel I could take on the world now, book in hand
  • Act brave, even if you don't feel it. It's amazing how the smallest acts of courage go on to make us feel braver.

Perhaps, at the end of the day, the journey's not really about the book at all.


Braver will be published by Fairlight Books on 30th June 2022. You can read more about it and pre-order at Waterstones , Blackwell's and Amazon worldwide.

Deborah Jenkins is the author of textbooks,  educational articles and a novella, The Evenness of Things, available in both paperback and e-book versions.

Deborah wonders aloud about the crazy, inspiring and inappropriate on her blog stillwonderinghere.net 


 








Comments

  1. What a truly inspiring post! I can't wait to rush out to our local book shop to try what you did! It's also a great idea to buy a diary for recording progess on each book! I had never thought about that before. It has also never occured to me to still keep in touch with the the publishers of some of my books.Now I have jotted that down on my to do list! Thanks so much for sharing your experiences as they come like precious marketing nuggets! I actually didn't know an author could walk in to a book shop without first phoning up the manager and making an appointment[which I haven't even tried]. Beautiful and encouring post. Thanks . Blessings.

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    1. Thank you, Amy. I think I'm slowly learning to be!

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  3. I do enjoy your writing, Deborah. One of our writing tribe who helps us to be braver is Annmarie with her radio show - the Writer's Trail.

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    1. Thank you, Susan! Oh I haven't listened to that one of hers. Thanks for the tip

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  4. 'I could have cooked a meal in it.' That's such a great line - I wish I'd written it. As for courage ... I mean ... we were with friends yesterday and I gave them a couple of my 'Incomprehensible' bookmarks because they'd expressed interest and STILL I felt as though I was press-ganging them. Arrrggh.

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    1. But you did it! Maybe a couple of years ago, you wouldn't even have tried? #Braver!

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  5. Feeling stirred and encouraged already! That reminds me, I need to approach my local Waterstones... x

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  6. Yes you are so right, Deborah the writing and publishing journey is one small brave step at a time. I have had times when I feel like a homeless person in the street being passed by and ignored by everyone - for the honour of having written a book. At other times there have been astonishing moments of encouragement.

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    1. It's extraordinary isn't it? The old cliche about it being a roller-coaster really is true. Wonderful too though (but maybe that's mainly in retrospect!)

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  7. Well done, Deborah (and many thanks for your kind words about the WOWIG weekend).

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    1. Thank you Allison. It's my pleasure. It was so wonderful 🙂

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  8. Lovely, encouraging post Deborah! Being brave is so hard, isn't it?

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  9. That is such a good post and sums it up so well... From one of those children who 'screws up their face', and takes a deep breath, every time she posts on social media, or tries to promote her books. Thank you Deborah! O brave one!

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  10. Joy, I'm exactly the same! Not brave at all most of the time. It really helps to talk about these things, doesn't it? It makes us feel more normal.

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  11. What I find is, in today's world, everyone seems to sound not only super-confident but also a bit 'OTT', (and they are expected to) whereas growing up it was thought to be rather better to be unassuming... and to be honest, the over-confidence is actually very hard to imitate - whether or not one 'believes in' one's book , it just sounds false - it probably has a language all its own, and places not to go as well as what one is meant to say... does anyone else find this?

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    1. I think it can come across like that Clare, yes, until you are the person trying to promote the book. Then you realise just how difficult it is to help sell a product (your work) just as a plumber or designer might, without making it look as though you're bigging yourself up. It's so hard to get the balance right but unfortunately, as writers helping to sell our books, we don't really have a choice these days. And that's where the support and encouragement of others comes in, I suppose :)

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  12. This is magnificent! What an encouraging tale of bravery. People love writers. They love it when we say "I'm a writer" in response to the usual question. God is smiling on you as you do this for Him.

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