How I began to write the Faery Academy of QuillSnap
This is an article I wrote for the Harlan Newspaper 11/29/24
It started with an idea when my granddaughter asked me if there were faeries in my “Enchanted Forest.” I told her, “Of course there are, and right over here is….” This led to a creative spark. One idea led to a story—a story that led into a chapter, a chapter that led to a novel. That is how my book The Fairy Academy of QuillSnap, The Night of the Purple Moon, began. I began writing the stories in the evenings while sitting on my patio or in my Enchanted Forest with my laptop after working as a clinic nurse during the day. I just wrote what came to mind. There were no chapters, and there was not a book. I just wrote.
When I reached 60,000 words, this became much bigger than I thought. I needed to break it up into chapters, maybe a book. Right now, it was a hodge-podge of stories with a common thread. I was using Word 2007 and going back in time, trying to organize a long document where my story is kind of here, there, and everywhere. A lesson was learned, and a dissection and rewrite were done.
According to my research about writers, there are two kinds of writers. There are plotters or pantsers. Plotters make an outline, follow it diligently, and write a book. Pantsers fly by the seat of their pants. I’ve tried hard to be a plotter, but it doesn’t work out for me.
I recently discovered my kindergarten report card from Mrs. Doris Klein, an excellent teacher loved by all her students. On it, she wrote, “Jackie is sometimes scatterbrained.” I was stunned! Mrs. Klein thought I was scatterbrained? I had always believed I was just creative and good at multitasking. Perhaps Mrs. Klein recognized something about me that I hadn’t realized back in kindergarten.
They laughed when I shared this with my kindergarten friends, who I still see today. I have to admit that I must have been a bit scatterbrained, and I’ve learned to embrace it.
I wrote my first thirteen-page novel in Sue McCarthy Assmann’s 6th-grade English class. My first Woodman of the World winning speech was in Mrs. Betty Foxhoven’s 8th-grade class. 9th grade found me on the Whirlwind Middle School newspaper staff.
In writing this story, if I got “stuck” looking for a scathingly brilliant idea, I would think back to the days of being a creative problem-solving coach for Middle and High School Odyssey of the Mind/ Destination Imagination teams under the guidance of Nancy Ludwig. My husband and I coached a winning team to the global finals. We taught the kids how to solve problems creatively. During my writing, I frequently referred back to those days.
I found a writing program for my computer that was easier for me to use and could make my paragraphs movable and color-coded. I was ecstatic! When the manuscript was finished, and I tried to export it for editing, it would not budge. The Novel Pad support team asked me what programs I used: Windows (11), browser (Chrome), and Word 2007. The response was, “Whoa, Word 2007 is a dinosaur. You need a new word program.”
Getting a new Word program is like getting a new cell phone. I don’t like change; I want it to work!
In an excerpt from my novel, I felt like my character, Tansy, did.
“Tansy was on the brink of a meltdown. I’m finished, she thought. The manual is missing, and the satchel won’t work. I’m the queen of the klutzes. I might as well apply to join the Zeenies. I don’t want to go back home to Merkel. I wish I could find Mama or Mimi.
She felt like her guardian angel had faery-slapped her at that moment—and hard!”……. “She had to quit feeling sorry for herself and strive to succeed. She looked around at her beautiful surroundings. She was thankful for the faery-slap epiphany and realized she was finally where she wanted to be and doing what she had always wanted to do.
With newfound confidence, she thought, Nope, not ever going back!”
I felt like that! Learning outside my comfort zone has been challenging, but I persevered because quitting was not an option. I knew I needed an editor from the beginning. After extensive research, I found a reliable company that hires freelance editors. However, getting my manuscript back with very little feedback was a four-month struggle. That small feedback was valuable but several months overdue; do not write in the first person.
During the four-month wait, I studied and took numerous classes on how to pitch my story to an agent and learned the process. Only 1 in 6,000 writers will secure an agent, although the numbers can vary depending on the source.
Everything is done online. Despite using filters to find agents interested in the genre I write, each one required at least two hours of research. Every electronic form, questionnaire, and requirement was different. Some agents wanted only a synopsis; others requested three chapters, the first five pages, or a query letter. I also had to tell them where my book would sit in a bookstore and by which other author. Ninety-two rejections ranging from a turnaround time of ten minutes to one year for a generalized rejection email.
Another total rewrite was done. Research for a company that can do everything from the beginning to the final project and walk me through the process was done.
The editing process is arduous. My first round returned looking like a Sally Claussen senior English paper: solid, red, Sharpie-covered! It was back in two months, which was very fast. I was told to expect 3-6 months. In the electronic world, it’s still all red, with lines and dots leading to each change, addition, and recommendation.
I spent thirty-one straight days, 10-16 hours a day, making revisions to send back. I was expecting another 3-6 months in downtime, so I continued to work on the sequel.
I had a polished manuscript in June 2024! All I needed was a cover and for the manuscript to be formatted. I had a mockup ready in February, but I had to follow their timeline….It seemed like I would not have a published novel until 2025. The wait has been frustrating.
I had a deadline I wanted to make: my granddaughter’s tenth birthday in November. Persistence and talking to the right people got this project completed and in my hands by 10/15/24, and I made my deadline. I saw it on Amazon and Archway before I had a copy in my hand. I will never forget that day or the day the first book arrived when I got to hold it in my hand.
Write! Everyone has a story! Hopefully, you realize yours, even if it takes a guardian angel faery-slap epiphany to know it.
Jacqueline Reinig
