How Sinara Got Her Groove Back

My writing career was never anything to crow about. It’s been a roller-coaster ride from day one. I have had more than my fair share of crippling anxiety, fear of failure, and highs brought about by fans over the last decade and then some.

I am not ashamed to say I have almost thrown in the towel occasionally because the writing came easy, but selling myself to agents was hard.

In 2009, I self-published out of desperation, not because I wanted to.

I found a publisher in 2011, but that ended with poor sales, and I was ultimately dropped after two books. I was then forced to purchase my rights back to both stories.

With rejections from agents piled high and my spirits dragging the ground, I still wrote because the voices of various characters wouldn’t let me be. No, I’m not entirely off my rocker. If you’re a writer, you’ll understand.

Then, one day, while walking down the Artists Row of the Columbus Comic Con, I found my writing home. Amongst the gaggle of writers was a publishing CEO. We chatted, and she was willing to look at my work. Then I saw she had a Drinking With Authors meet and greet. She checked all my boxes and then asked me to submit my work.

Never, ever do this while you are drunk using a cell phone at 2 a.m. (to be fair, and technically speaking, she did get me drunk first). I sent a six-year-old file because I forgot to update my work to the cloud. Oops.

Sadly, this ended in rejection a few days later. I was told the story seemed promising, so I was asked to resubmit when my writing improved. I banged my head on the wall, momentarily cursing myself in silence for such an amateur move.

After I got home from the con, I apologized profusely for my error and submitted two novels, and several weeks later, I got a yes. A month after that, I was sent a 10-book contract to sign. Was I cheering from the rooftops? Of course!

Then, reality struck like the waves on Bells Beach during a storm. I had to produce work, my work. That doesn’t seem like a big deal if you have 17 complete novels, but my OCD caught fire, and suddenly nothing was good enough. I had to rewrite it all! I am working on the 5th novel under contract, and writing is fun again.

And that’s how it happened. After a few Tito’s and cranberry drinks being at the right place at the right time, and after a few hiccups, I finally found a publisher with faith in my work and a solid reputation.