J.K. Rowling – Write 2 Be

Worth Its Wait

May 22, 2014 jcladyluv

I have been writing for years now. Technically, if you want to count the budding stages of my writing I have been writing (I mean really formulating good sentence structure) since I was 10. I can’t even say that I’ve only made this my career choice for the last several years because I knew at the age of 6 that this was what I was going to do with my life. However, in terms of really making a go at maintaining a living as a writer without the distraction of a regular job, I’ve been at this for quite a number of years.

I can say that I was a little naïve to just assume that because I had outstanding talent in my writing and the fact that I considered myself, not necessarily the best writer, but certainly I was head and shoulders above the vast majority. Out of all the things I have ever doubted when it comes to being a writer, one thing that I have never doubted was my ability to write well. I was naïve in thinking that sleepless nights and talent were the main things that you needed in this line of work. I somehow took for granted the need for confidence and most importantly, patience.

Not every writer can be an overnight success and have the following that J.K. Rowling, James Patterson, Steven King, or Terry McMillan has. In fact I am pretty sure that they have all been rejected far more times than they would care to go back and count. And yes it is frustrating to see some writers come on the scene, with not quite as much talent as I have, but because they are better at selling themselves (that’s where the confidence comes in handy) and marketing and promoting their work, they make a bigger splash in the literary world.

I suppose when I first decided to be a writer I thought that if I write one really engaging, well written novel that it was inevitable that I would have that seemingly overnight success happen for me. But then I look at stories like Tyler Perry’s and J.K. Rowling, in which they went through many years of struggling to get their work out there and to be accepted before actually seeing that level of success. It makes those thoughts that I have of giving up and throwing in the towel vanish, and quickly.

I’m not saying that I want the same exact level of success in my work as Tyler Perry or J.K. Rowling (not that I would mind it) but I know that any level that is near to theirs takes time if I want it to last and not be a fleeting moment. There is no dream that one could have, if it is something they are truly passionate about and really want to make happen, that isn’t worth waiting to see it through. I’ve been waiting this long for things to come together, why would I ever give up now.

If you are in that place where you’re not sure you made the right move pursuing your dream full time or where you are feeling that it should’ve happened by now and that if it hasn’t yet then it probably isn’t going to. Don’t allow those negative thoughts to seep into your dreams and corrupt all of the hard work that you have put in thus far. Stay persistent and stay motivated, but more importantly, stay patient. Every dream is worth waiting for but you can’t give up before you reach them.

Jimmetta Carpenter

My Write 2 Be is…

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What’s in a Name?

July 18, 2013 jcladyluv

Apparently it is not always about the talent that you have but just the name that you possess. By now most of the literary world knows that J.K. Rowling (famed writer of the Harry Potter Series) has written a book under a pseudonym, Robert Galbraith, called ‘The Cuckoo’s Calling’. Now this book was released in April of this year and it received positive reviews, however, it didn’t do so well in the sales department. I’m sure it wasn’t what J.K. Rowling was used to. Of course that was before it was ‘accidentally’ leaked that the true author of the book was in fact J.K. Rowling.

Now the book has sailed to best-seller status and number one on the Amazon for hardcover and ebook. We all know how talented J.K. Rowling’s writing is and while her name does carry a lot of weight, she actually has the talent to back it up. But when that same talented writer wrote a book under another name, a virtual nobody, no one was looking for the talent, but rather a name that they could recognize.

Proof that you can be the most talented writer but if no one knows who you are and your name hasn’t become a household name, then you have almost no chance (I said almost) of making it as a successful novelist. It’s a little disheartening to be a writer who hasn’t quite made it yet and have that fear hanging overhead that you may not get there simply because no one knows who you are already.

So what that means for all of you unknown authors or one’s who have not yet made the best-seller’s list (that includes me) is that you have to start getting your name out there, even (and preferably) before the book that you are writing comes out. If your name is already buzzing all over the internet and people already know who you are and already are tuned in to the talent that you have it gives you a head start to that best-seller’s list.

Talent is no longer everything that you need to make it. It’s about how well you can sell your product, how much people want to read what it is that you have written, and yes, about whether your name means anything to anyone. So to answer my question in the title of this blog post, what’s in a name, the answer is….EVERYTHING!!!

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

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Write 2 Be Magazine is now out so please go check it out at http://write2bemagazine.com/. Also please go and join the magazine on twitter https://twitter.com/write2bemag, join the email listing for the magazine or submit a request for an author interview at Write2bemagazine@yahoo.com, and also like the Write 2 Be Magazine fan page https://www.facebook.com/Write2BeMagazine. Please help support my endeavor and my new journey and help me spread the word about Write 2 Be and its meaning.

My Younger Writer Fantasies

March 27, 2013 jcladyluv

I was reading an email ezine that I subscribe to from Christina Katz this morning that got me thinking about the side of writing that I don’t often like to think about. That would be the business side of being a writer. It’s the side that has to eventually kick in if you really want to turn your creativity into your source of income and have the ability to make a living doing something that you love to do. Apparently it is the side that I haven’t figured out how to turn all the way on yet.

There are those who can manage being the creative person for a designated period of time and then switch on the business person when necessary for a separate length of time. Then there is me, and other writers like me, who just simply are not born business people. I am the creative person, not the business person. For as long as I can remember I never liked to deal with the business side of anything. But I think that was the fantasies of my younger writer self that just didn’t know any better.

Christina Katz spoke about writers who, when they are younger, have this big idea of being discovered and turned into an overnight success, living an ideal life free from all daily trials and tribulations. I was that writer. I didn’t think so then but looking back on that time now I can see that there were a lot of things about being a writer that I wasn’t factoring in. Things like hard work (on the business end), extreme work ethic, determination, and patience. One more thing I didn’t factor in was confidence. Not necessarily confidence in my writing (because I always knew that writing was what I was born to do) but confidence in the person writing those words, confidence in me.

I thought that I would just be discovered one day, that someone would read my words and feel that they had to be the one who discovered me. I thought that I would be under the umbrella of a major publishing house with a publicists and a person who did marketing professionally so that someone who knew what they were doing could get my name out there.

I imagined living in New York (Manhattan at that) at a young age, working for national magazines and newspapers, and being on the New York Time’s Bestsellers list. I imagined that by the age of 30 I would already have had a dozen or so books out, on bookshelves, or whatever else there was that sold books. What I didn’t imagine, was having to be the publisher, and the publicist, and the marketer, all for myself.

I mean you see it happen to other writers (or so you think because that’s how things appear) and you think why can’t that be me. The truth is that just because it seems like people such as Steven King, or J.K. Rowling, or Tyler Perry were overnight successes with no obstacles in their way, doesn’t mean that there wasn’t a great deal of the other side that went into that success. At some point there is a need to tap into that business side of the writer self.

I’ve been trying to avoid it for years now and it may have just been to my detriment but I have to stop fighting the business side of being a writer. In a perfect world I would love to just focus on my creativity and have my talent be able to stand for itself and propel me forward but that just isn’t a realistic ideal to cling to. I can’t just worry about figuring in time for writing and all of the creative projects I have in the works. I have to figure in the time to be my publisher, and my publicist, as well as my marketer. I have to be realistic in the fact that I can not be the writer who solely focuses on the creativity of it all without fully committing to the business of it all as well. Time to dismantle those younger writer fantasies I once had! Did you fantasize up the writer life in your mind?

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

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Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

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NaNoWriMo Day 13: The Harry Potter Distraction

November 13, 2011 jcladyluv

Today was another struggle to write but it wasn’t because Mackenzie wasn’t talking to me or having some kind of dramatic meltdown, but rather it was due to the distractions that life holds, especially on the weekend. My daughter was quite upset that I couldn’t play with her for the majority of the day because I was writing but what was really distracting me was this movie on T.V. Actually it was not just one movie, but rather a particular series of movies. I hope no one laughs when I say this but I was caught up in the Harry Potter movies. I had tried to read the book several times but I could never really get into them and every time the movie would come on before I had always caught it in the middle and I just couldn’t catch on. I can usually get hooked to a movie even coming in the middle but for some reason not Harry Potter.

So I had just dismissed it as maybe it just wasn’t my cup of tea and that even though I am a huge fan of J.K. Rowling and her story, maybe I just could not catch on to it. But just as I was wrong with dismissing Twilight (which I came to love a lot later on), I was also wrong with dismissing Harry Potter. There has been a Harry Potter marathon on the ABC Family network all weekend and as soon as I started watching the first one from the absolute beginning I was hooked. However, it is literally one of those movies where if you miss even one scene you miss a lot and luckily for me I have the feature on my T.V. where I can rewind if I come back from a commercial too late because otherwise I would’ve gotten lost even after finding a love for it. I started with the first one and am up to the fourth one (although I’m using the DVR for 4 and 5 to watch later). Needless to say, I’m hooked. It’s a shame too because now after the last one, there will be no more. So Harry Potter was my distraction today, but a good one.

Movies that draw me in like that and keep me on the edge of my seat make me think a lot about my writing and my stories. Now I’m no science fiction writer (not saying I would ever dismiss the possibility) and I don’t generally watch movies about vampires and werewolves or witches and wizards but what captivated me about Twilight and Harry Potter is the back story, that mixed in with the intrigue of being able to have the ability to come up with a completely different world apart from the real one that already exist. I watch these movies and think about how I want to (and hope that I do) make stories that draw people in like that and have them sitting on the edge of their seats (or bed in my case) wondering what’s going to happen next and leaving them wanting more of that story. You empathize with them, and you are scared right along with them. You want to help them and you want them to be okay (or in the cases of the villains you want them to get what’s coming to them). I may have been a bit distracted by Harry Potter this weekend but I was also incredibly inspired. I hope to draw my readers in like that and I’m going to work really hard to do that. Until next time…What stories or movies inspire you to be a better writer?

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

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Lessons In Failure

January 26, 2011February 8, 2011 jcladyluv

“Some failure in life is inevitable; it is impossible to live without failing at something unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you fail by default.”

~ J.K. Rowling

The fear of failure is paralyzing. It is much like a parasite that sucks all of the hope, determination, and courage out of you; chipping away at your will to succeed little by little, day by day, obstacle by obstacle. But much like any debilitating illness that takes a hold of your body, there is a recovery process. It may take longer than you think to get there but the key is wanting it bad enough and keeping your eye on the light at the end of the tunnel.

It is safe to say that we are all going to fail at some point in our lives. It is both what we do with, and how we chose to perceive that failure that determines whether it will cripple us or make us stronger. Where some people get off track is in perceiving any moment of failure as anything but a much needed step forward in our road to success. If we never fail it means we have never taken any risk and that we have always played things safe. But playing it safe isn’t really living.

We need failure. Yes it causes us to doubt ourselves, to lose sight of our purpose, even to think about giving up altogether. But it also brings about a realization. It humbles us while strengthening us. It breaks us down and then builds us back up. It renews our fight and determination to achieve the things that we really want out of life. Without our failures we might never truly appreciate or grasps the depths of our successes. If you are afraid to fail then you are essentially afraid to live because in living your life to its fullest potential, failure is inevitable.

For a large part of my life I have let the fear of failure immobilize me. Always trying to remain cautious; using the excuse of maintaining a routine as a reason to ward off change, all the while staying stuck in the same place because of it. From here on out I am not going to be so afraid to fail that I never even try to succeed. Instead I plan to embrace my failures, every single one of them, because they all mean something. Whether it is something good or something bad, it is a lesson nonetheless. Our failures show us what we did wrong so that we can finally get it right. If anyone reading this is struggling with this same fear, let go of it right now. It is that fear of failure that is killing your opportunity for success. Take a risk today, and if you fail, take another one tomorrow. What else do have to lose? Think about what you stand to gain.

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

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