I’m so proud of my girl. On August 9, Julia’s mentor hooded her in a private ceremony attended by family members only and introduced her as Dr. Grove. After seven years of college, my 24-year-old daughter had graduated with a PhD in Industrial Organizational Psychology from Auburn University.
As she began work on her master’s degree, we had a conversation about submitting a thesis to her review committee. She explained the process: write a topic proposal, obtain approval, conduct research, write the paper, edit it until her eyes crossed, have me proof it, make my suggested revisions, send it to her mentor for proofing, and incorporate her recommendations. Then, with prayers and thanksgiving, present it in person with a Powerpoint slideshow to her review committee.
What a long, tedious process . . . which she repeated for her doctorate dissertation. Except she had to present via Zoom because of COVID-19 restrictions. I can’t imagine the stress of dealing with that extra layer of technology. But my girl did it!
While she wrote her master’s thesis and doctoral dissertation, I pecked away on my keyboard, too, creating a 357-page young adult speculative fiction book. Novel writing is similar to academic writing; the process is a bit different, but no less tedious. I’m a plotter, not a pantster, which means I outline my manuscripts before I write them. Pantsters launch into their books and let the characters take them through the stories.
So, my publication journey looks kind of like this: conjure a story idea, outline it, write it, edit it until my eyes cross, send it through a critique process (in my case, twice), update it, send it through an editor, update it, run the first few chapters by a diverse group of teens, update it, submit it to a few contests and receive feedback, update it, interview with publishers and submit it to them, along with a detailed proposal and marketing plan. Then wait.
I kinda feel like my long-suffering husband and I both merit some sort of hood.
But that’s the nature of the publishing business. It takes a lot of hard work, patience and belief in yourself to receive a publishing contract—all the characteristics Julia exemplified when she drove toward her degrees. I look forward to the day when I graduate from writer to author.
How about you? Do you have any writing journey stories to share?