Hi everyone! I can't tell you how excited I am to be guest blogging here today. I'd like to start by thanking Denyse for the opportunity to come over here and speak with all you wonderful people. My name is Antonia Tiranth and I'm a 30 year old research technicia from Baltimore, Maryland, who's biggest dream has finally come true. I'm published! So I thought I'd talk today about how I got where I am, in hopes that I might encourage someone with a hidden talent to do the same.
How To Be A Writer
The simple answer to that is...to write! But I, and everyone else who fancies him or herself a writer, know its much more complicated than that. So how did I do it? For as long as I can remember I loved to write. I wrote little scripts for elementary school in my free time and I loved all my writing classes. In college I took several fiction writing classes for fun, almost giving myself a minor in English. I ended up failing a semester because a friend and I would cut class to plot the book we were working on, which is now collecting dust on an old 3/4 floppy. After college I fell out of writing, work got in the way plus my muse went on vacation. I started watching anime, found a discussion board of people I enjoyed talking with and wrote my first fan fiction in response to a challenge question from a lady who would become my very dear friend and earth bound muse, Delilah K. Stephens www.delilahkstephans.com. That was about five years ago. After that inital foray, I started doing something I'd never done before, showing my work to more than one or two people (even in class it was usually just the teacher and one other student reading it). I had good responses to most of it. I wrote a few things on my own and a few more things with Del, both fan fictions and originals.
Then in October of 2008, Del told me about NaNoWriMo, a writing challenge where you have to write 50k words in 30 days. I didn't really believe I would ever write anywhere NEAR 50k words but I figured what the heck. My muse, I have always seen as a tiny purple dragon who could shift into human form and his name was Shirak (I think he disappeared on me for so long because I thought he was a girl). So my idea for NaNo became based on him. I played around with the letters in his name and created a race of dragon shapshifters called the Rikashi. A little fiddling with an elven name generator and I got Aerandir. His fiery heroine, I based off my smart ass side and named her Josephine. At the end of 30 days, I was delighted and more than a little surprised to find I had met my 50k goal and with a few days to spare. Del had not yet read it, given the fact that she was working on her own project (which she completed) and when she did, she told me I HAD to send it somewhere for publishing. Of course, although I liked what I had written, I didn't believe that it would ever go anywhere. So I sat on it for about a year. Finally, Del put her foot in my rump and forwarded me a call for submissions from Lyrical Press www.lyrical.press.com and after seeing their logo was two dragons, I figured it was fate and with shaking fingers prepped my first novel for submission.
A short time later I got my acceptance letter and could NOT believe it. Even now I can't believe it. After the glowing reviews and the first royalty check I can't believe it. I don't think I'll ever really get the fact into my head that I am a published writer. So to make this already long story a touch shorter, if you want to be published...GO FOR IT! You won't get anywhere letting it rot on your harddrive. Take some classes, perfect your style, find what really inspires you and go for it. That is how you become a writer. That and a side of pain for all the times your characters won't do what you want them to do and chewing your nails waiting for replies. ^.^
Finally, swing on over to Lyrical and check out my first book http://www.lyricalpress.com/antonia_tiranth, the second in the series is coming out in July, and the third, co-authored by Del, I've just found out while writing this that my editor LOVED book three and is recommending a contract for it. Check out my blog www.antoniatiranth.blogspot.com for updates and also have a look at my two trailers that Del has made for me!
The Quickening http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnXaqLLG62s
The Gathering http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxQivdyJbSc
Thanks again to Denyse for letting me come over here and talk to you. See you soon!
How To Be A Writer
The simple answer to that is...to write! But I, and everyone else who fancies him or herself a writer, know its much more complicated than that. So how did I do it? For as long as I can remember I loved to write. I wrote little scripts for elementary school in my free time and I loved all my writing classes. In college I took several fiction writing classes for fun, almost giving myself a minor in English. I ended up failing a semester because a friend and I would cut class to plot the book we were working on, which is now collecting dust on an old 3/4 floppy. After college I fell out of writing, work got in the way plus my muse went on vacation. I started watching anime, found a discussion board of people I enjoyed talking with and wrote my first fan fiction in response to a challenge question from a lady who would become my very dear friend and earth bound muse, Delilah K. Stephens www.delilahkstephans.com. That was about five years ago. After that inital foray, I started doing something I'd never done before, showing my work to more than one or two people (even in class it was usually just the teacher and one other student reading it). I had good responses to most of it. I wrote a few things on my own and a few more things with Del, both fan fictions and originals.
Then in October of 2008, Del told me about NaNoWriMo, a writing challenge where you have to write 50k words in 30 days. I didn't really believe I would ever write anywhere NEAR 50k words but I figured what the heck. My muse, I have always seen as a tiny purple dragon who could shift into human form and his name was Shirak (I think he disappeared on me for so long because I thought he was a girl). So my idea for NaNo became based on him. I played around with the letters in his name and created a race of dragon shapshifters called the Rikashi. A little fiddling with an elven name generator and I got Aerandir. His fiery heroine, I based off my smart ass side and named her Josephine. At the end of 30 days, I was delighted and more than a little surprised to find I had met my 50k goal and with a few days to spare. Del had not yet read it, given the fact that she was working on her own project (which she completed) and when she did, she told me I HAD to send it somewhere for publishing. Of course, although I liked what I had written, I didn't believe that it would ever go anywhere. So I sat on it for about a year. Finally, Del put her foot in my rump and forwarded me a call for submissions from Lyrical Press www.lyrical.press.com and after seeing their logo was two dragons, I figured it was fate and with shaking fingers prepped my first novel for submission.
A short time later I got my acceptance letter and could NOT believe it. Even now I can't believe it. After the glowing reviews and the first royalty check I can't believe it. I don't think I'll ever really get the fact into my head that I am a published writer. So to make this already long story a touch shorter, if you want to be published...GO FOR IT! You won't get anywhere letting it rot on your harddrive. Take some classes, perfect your style, find what really inspires you and go for it. That is how you become a writer. That and a side of pain for all the times your characters won't do what you want them to do and chewing your nails waiting for replies. ^.^
Finally, swing on over to Lyrical and check out my first book http://www.lyricalpress.com/antonia_tiranth, the second in the series is coming out in July, and the third, co-authored by Del, I've just found out while writing this that my editor LOVED book three and is recommending a contract for it. Check out my blog www.antoniatiranth.blogspot.com for updates and also have a look at my two trailers that Del has made for me!
The Quickening http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnXaqLLG62s
The Gathering http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxQivdyJbSc
Thanks again to Denyse for letting me come over here and talk to you. See you soon!
Hey, congrats on the NaNo thing. I did it for the first time last year and contracted that book with an e-pub just a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, not with Lyrical since it's a historical novel. The bulk of my work is with Lyrical. :-)
ReplyDeleteCongrats!
Awesome Sissy!! You know of course I'm behind you all the way. Keep a writin!
ReplyDeleteAwesome Sandra, Congrats to you too and thank you!
ReplyDeleteSis...you know I love ya!
What a wonderful journey! I hope you never lose the joy you have found with having readers enjoy your stories!
ReplyDeleteWishing you much success and many sales! :)
Colleen
Congratulations on your first release!!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to my famous friend! I am so happy for you! You are the best and so very talented! I need to get someone to kick me in my butt!
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Tami
Thank you Colleen! I hope I never lose it either. I love the feeling.
ReplyDeleteThank you as well Elizabeth
Tami, I'm sure we can find someone to kick you in the rump ^.^
Antonia, thank you again for being my guest, and for such an interesting post!! I know you'll be a great success at all this, and it's a pleasure to know you and have a new friend in the business!!
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Denyse
Congrats on your success! It's a fairytale come true. For me it was 60 rejections from literary agents, about 10 rejections from publishers until LPI picked up Khepera Rising and I went on to nabbing my literary agent. Hard work pays off! And perseverence.
ReplyDelete