A CAREER IN WRITING ... AND I'M NOT STEPHEN KING!
by Jerri Lynn Ledford
I guess I’ve
always wanted to be a full time writer.
It just wasn’t always clear to me that it was a viable career path.
“Choose a real
career. Unless you’re Stephen King, you can’t make a living as a writer.”
Ok. I dropped
out of high school out of sheer boredom and tried on a few different careers. Dropped
out of college. And wrote stories when I had time. I didn’t really try
publishing until I was in my mid-20s. Even then I didn’t try real hard.
My thirties were
fast approaching before I decided I wanted get serious about writing. I had
sold my first non-fiction article a few years before. It didn’t count. At $25,
it sure couldn’t be considered a viable way to make a living.
Besides, I
really wanted to write fiction. I spent a couple of years writing, rewriting,
and submitting short stories. I attended online classes, joined a local writing
group and met a couple of great writing mentors. But my career went nowhere.
I also wrote my
first novel. Then I spent some time polishing it and put it in front of an
editor from Rutledge House at a conference. He loved the writing, but the
subject matter of the book was “too intense.”
So, I put it on
the shelf and went to work for a temp agency. They put me in a position working
a call center job that I despised. I had two young kids that I wanted to be at
home with but we needed the money. Even if most of what I made went to pay for
daycare.
That Christmas
season, my son came home from school the last day before Christmas Break with
Chicken Pox. I had to take off work. About the time he cleared up, my daughter
got them. More time off.
By the time the
kids got better, I’d spent some serious time trying to find places to sell my
writing. My desire to be a “real writer” was strong.
When I called to
let my bosses know I was coming back to work I was told, “Come on in on Monday
and we’ll let you know if you still have a job.” Uh, really?
I talked it over
with my husband and we decided I would stay home and try to make a living writing.
Non-fiction. Articles.
It took a couple
more years and a lot of determination, but I was bringing in enough along the
way to give us the little bump that we needed to keep our heads above water. We
were used to living paycheck to paycheck. My income was a bonus.
Then a friend
that I knew though an online message group needed help. She had more work than she could possibly
finish and she needed a strong writer that could write accurately and fast.
About technology. Could I help her?
Wow. Um. No.
I didn’t know
the first thing about technology. My computer skills were self-taught. And I
had no idea what she was talking about.
“Just do the
research. Call these people,” she named off a list of experts. “Ask questions.
They’ll explain it to you. Then write what you learn.”
I could do that.
I could learn anything. And that one little fact led me to a career with an
income that very quickly exceeded my husband’s. I’d done it. I’d become a “real
writer” with hundreds of articles published, and I was bored out of my mind,
and burning out very quickly.
Then I got
another call. “Jerri Lynn, I’ve signed a book contract and I don’t think I can
write the book. Will you co-author it
with me.”
Wow. Um. No.
I’d never
written a full-length book. I had no idea how to go about.
“The outline is
written. It’s like writing a collection of articles that all fit together. And
the money is pretty darned good for a first book.”
I could do that.
Three years later I’d written more than a dozen books, most of them without
co-authors.
During all of
this lots of “life stuff” was happening. My kids were growing up. I
homeschooled for a while. Got a divorce. Moved halfway across the country and
then moved a little further. Started a new life. And spent a lot of time
writing fiction that never saw the light of day.
Another of those
“and then” moments came along. I got a call, because my name was associated
with many articles and books related to Google. “Jerri Lynn, we’re redesigning
some training, can you do some work for us and what’s your hourly rate?”
I quoted high,
impressed them with my ability to write and understand what they needed, and I
landed the corporate contract of a lifetime. But the best part? It freed me up
to write fiction again. I was making enough money that I didn’t have to work
myself into the ground (most of the time). I had time to figure out where I
wanted my career to go next and how I planned to get there.
I dusted off the
old novel, read through it, scrapped the biggest part of it, and started over.
That novel ended up being Biloxi Sunrise,
the first in a trilogy. And by command decision (command being me), it was
released in digital format, self-published, in early October.
The next two
books in the trilogy are in the works. Biloxi
Sunrise will be out in print at the beginning of 2012. And I’m still
working the corporate contract.
The plan is to
be self-sufficient with fiction before that contract goes away. It’s been a
long journey, and one that I wouldn’t necessarily recommend for everyone. I
don’t even know yet what the outcome will be.
But I know a few things for certain. I’m not Stephen King. And it’s
completely possible to make a very nice living as a writer. If you’re willing
to do the hard work.
BILOXI SUNRISE
The Biloxi
Series
Debut
Novel by Jerri Lynn Ledford
Deep South
Press 2011
He hadn’t protected them.
When
Homicide Special Investigator Jack Roe’s daughter is killed in an auto accident
and his wife dies from a drug overdose, he abandons a promising career as a
Military Police Officer. If only he’d been there when they needed him, he could
have saved them both.
He didn’t protect her.
Six
years later, Jack is in Biloxi, Mississippi to be close to his sister and her
daughter, Lisa. As long as he’s around, nothing can happen to them. But then
he’s called to the hospital in the middle of the night and learns that Lisa has
been abused by her mother’s boyfriend. Jack must confront old wounds that never
healed, and a burning anger that’s been buried for far too long.
She can’t protect him.
The
same night, a woman’s body turns up on the beach. A few days later, so does
another one. Jack must deal with his past and his present while he and his
partner, Kate Giveans, race to find a killer before another woman dies. But
Kate harbors a secret that just might get Jack killed.
Jerri Ledford has been a
freelance business technology writer for nearly 20 years. During that
time, over 1500 of her articles, profiles, news stories and reports have
appeared online and in print. Her publishing credits include: Intelligent
Enterprise, Network World, Information Security Magazine, DCM Magazine, CRM
Magazine, IT Manager’s Journal.
She
develops and teaches technology training courses for both consumer and business
users including courses on security, customer service, career skills, and
various technologies for companies such as: Franklin Covey, IBT Financial,
Writer’s Village University, You Don’t Say, LLC., Hewlett Packard, Sony,
Gateway, Forbes and CNET.
When
she’s not writing for a consumer audience, Jerri also produces corporate
collateral–white papers, case studies, web content, templates, help documents,
and presentations. Her corporate clients include Franklin Covey,
Microsoft, Switch & Data, The World Health Organization, FujiFilm,
Coca-Cola, and NaviSite.
Fiction
is Jerri’s first love. Her first novel, Biloxi
Sunrise, released in most digital formats in October 2011, and will release
in paperback in early 2012. Biloxi
Sunrise is the first in the Biloxi series. The second book, Biloxi Blues, is due out in Spring 2012.
Important Note from Jerri:
I'm embarrassed to admit that there has been some kind of formatting glitch
with Biloxi Sunrise. At this time, there are numerous typos and errors in
the book. However, I'm working furiously to correct them and will re-upload the
book as soon as all of the corrections are made. These errors are entirely my
fault and were NOT introduced by the wonderful people that edited the
manuscript.
Biloxi Sunrise is available at the following retailers:
