What I Learned in My First Year as a Published Writer by Morgan L. Busse

Morgan L. Busse

Since this post was scheduled, I am so pleased to add that Morgan L. Busse's book, Daughter of Light, has been nominated for the Christy Award in the Visionary category. Please join us in congratulating Morgan on this awesome achievement! 

~ Angie

Three things I have learned my first year as a published writer

It’s hard to believe I’m approaching my first year as a published writer. This journey has felt like a roller coaster: with a lot of ups and downs, moments of panic, and wondering if the world will stop spinning. Looking back, here are three things I learned during the ride:

1. Not everyone is going to like your book. Ouch. I knew that, but it is different when you experience it. It took some time to get over the fact that not everyone would enjoy my work, whether because of style differences, genre differences, etc. But I learned to move on. After all, I don’t enjoy everything I read either, and I should allow people their differences.
2. Don’t read your reviews. That was a hard one for me to learn. I could have 12 positive reviews and one negative one and guess which one I would focus on? Yep. It’s like having a stain on your favorite shirt. No matter how much you try to ignore it and not let it get under your skin, your eyes keep coming back to it. Finally after a couple months, I decided not to look at my reviews at all. I figured reviews were there for the readers anyway, not for me. I had written the book to the best of my ability. That’s about all a person can do. Once I stopped looking at my reviews, I found peace.
3. It’s not so much about developing tough skin as it is about guarding your heart. I never liked the idea of developing tough skin. It felt like that I was hardening my heart as well. And since I write from my heart, I couldn’t let that grow hard or the soul of my writing would suffer. But in letting my heart remain soft, I allowed it to be hurt.

After months of hurting, I finally asked my husband how did he deal with all the negativity in his life? As a pastor he receives a lot of criticism and yet I hardly ever saw it affect him. So he shared with me how he guarded his heart.

He imagines his heart is a castle. He only allows two voices into that castle: God and me (since I am his wife). Then there is a wall, and within the courtyard he allows the voices of his most trusted friends. Then there is a moat and there he allows friends and acquaintances.

When he shared this with me, I realized how many voices I was allowing into the very heart of me, voices that really had no business being there. And by listening to all those voices, I wasn’t hearing the ones I needed to hear.

So I put his idea into action. One day I had someone tell me I wasn’t good at grammar. I’m not. It is one of the weakest areas in my writing. But then I imagined my heart. Her voice had no business inside my castle. Yes, she was right, but I already knew that. What I didn’t need is her voice echoing around inside my heart, reminding me over and over again of that fact. Instead, I needed to acknowledge the truth of her words, but not let her over the moat.

My heart remained soft, but not damaged.

Being a writer is the hardest thing I have ever done (apart from being a parent). I will confess that if I knew it would be this hard, I would have probably given up a long time ago. But I would have also missed the joy of being creative, of sharing my heart with people, and seeing a dream come true.

How about you? If you are a writer, what have you learned on your journey? What were the struggles? How did you overcome them?

About the Author

Morgan L. Busse writes speculative fiction for the adult market. She is the author of Daughter of Light and Son of Truth, the first two books in a series from Marcher Lord Press. Morgan lives in the Midwest with her husband and four children. You can find out more about Morgan at www.morganlbusse.com

Website: www.morganlbusse.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/morganlbusseauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MorganLBusse (@MorganLBusse)

Son of Truth

Son of Truth
by Morgan L. Busse

The war in the north is over, but the war for all the Lands has just begun. As the Shadonae solidify their hold on the city of Thyra, Rowen Mar, the last Eldaran and savior of the White City, awakens to find herself hunted by those she has saved. Meanwhile, the assassin Caleb Tala finds himself in the presence of the Word. The time of reckoning has come and he must pay the price for all the lives he has taken. But in his moment of judgment, Caleb is given a second chance to change his life. (Speculative Fiction from Marcher Lord Press).

Daughter of Light
What if with one touch you could see inside the soul?

Daughter of Light
by Morgan L. Busse

Rowen Mar finds a strange mark on her hand, and she is banished from her village as a witch. She covers the mark with a leather glove and seeks sanctuary in the White City. She lives in fear that if she touches another person, the power inside her will trigger again, a terrifying power that allows her to see the darkness inside the human heart . . .

But the mark is a summons, and those called cannot hide forever. For the salvation of her people lies within her hand. (Speculative Fiction from Marcher Lord Press).

A Christian Fantasy Writer's Journey to Publication by Morgan L. Busse

I started writing eight years ago. As I neared the completion of my first manuscript, I began to search for a publishing company. Through my research, I slowly realized something: none of the Christian publishing companies out there were interested in Christian fantasy.

I wondered what I should do next? Should I put my manuscript away and start on something new, something those companies would accept? Or should I try and find a secular company that wouldn’t mind my fantasy with a Christian worldview?

Then one day I read an interview over on Randy Ingermanson’s blog about some guy named Jeff Gerke who was starting a publishing company that would focus solely on Christian speculative fiction. The name? Marcher Lord Press.

I followed Marcher Lord Press and was impressed with the books put out. They were really good. I knew that when my manuscript was ready, I wanted to submit to Marcher Lord Press. 

I met Jeff Gerke at the Mt. Hermon Writing Conference in 2010. I told him about my book and he said to go ahead and send it to him. But he also warned me it would take 12-18 months for him to get to it (his slush pile was huge). I was fine with that. I would wait.

A few months later life came crashing down on my family. My husband lost his job. It soon became apparent that to help keep my family afloat financially, I would need to go back to work fulltime. And in order for me to work fulltime and take care of my family (which included four young children), I would have to give up writing.

That night I prayed and cried. I gave my writing over to God. I would walk away. I would not send out any more inquiries to publishers or agents. I would put my writing aside until the time came that my family no longer needed me to work. But there was just one catch: I had not heard back from Jeff. I told God that it was in His hands what He did with my book and Marcher Lord Press. The next day I started my new job.

Two weeks later, I received an email from Jeff Gerke asking if I wanted to be a Marcher Lord. I couldn’t believe it. After I had completely given up on writing, God gave me my dream back.

My first book, Daughter of Light, released this past month, with two more books to follow. 

How about you? Could you walk away from your writing? 

Morgan L. Busse is passionate about authentic Christianity and shares from her own life her fears and triumphs as a follower of Jesus Christ. The wife of a pastor and mother to four children, she has plenty of adventures to draw from. Along with blogging, Morgan also writes speculative fiction and released her debut book, Daughter of Light, with Marcher Lord Press. You can visit Morgan at www.morganlbusse.com

Daughter of Light
As the Shadonae rise in the west and war threatens the north, a young woman discovers she is not human . . .

Rowen Mar finds a strange mark on her hand, and she is banished from her village as a witch. She covers the mark with a leather glove and seeks sanctuary in the White City. She lives in fear that if she touches another person, the power inside her will trigger again, a terrifying power that allows her to see the darkness inside the human heart . . .

But the mark is a summons, and those called cannot hide forever. For the salvation of her people lies within her hand.