Have Passion for What You Write: Author T.K. Chapin

My interview today is with a prolific author who writes Christian Romance stories designed to inspire and tug on your heart strings. He believes that telling stories of faith, love and family help build the faith of Christians and help non-believers see how God can work in the life of believers. Read on to learn how his writing career began and prospers.

Most guys gravitate to writing action adventure or fantasy writing. What drew you to writing romance?

When I started writing fiction, I tried a little bit of a few different genres -- fantasy, science fiction and then ultimately Christian romance.  Out of the three genres I tried, I saw the most success in romance and so I went for it. Initially the draw was romance sold books. Ultimately though I realized it was the infusion of faith and God into the stories that drives the sales and is the real draw to why I write what I write today.

 

What made you decide to write that first novel?

I am an entrepreneur at heart, and I saw an opportunity to cut the ties from my 9-5 if I were able to write and sell stories for a living. What started as just a way to make money and not had a job eventually led me to writing stories that put Jesus Christ at the center and showing how people can overcome anything when they’re in relationship with their Creator.

 

Are you active with any writing critique groups?

No. What I did for critiques was use beta readers and read the bad reviews on early titles to get ideas on how to improve. I also have a developmental editor that helps critique my stories.

 

What made you decide to indie-publish?

I was seeking a way to replace my income from a job more than anything else. As the years go on, I do think from time to time about possibly seeking a traditional publisher for a story, but I haven’t decided to launch into that.

 

Did you first seek out a traditional publisher?

Nope. I do have one title that is technically traditionally published. It’s entitled, “If Only” and it’s published by an Amazon imprint.

 

What is the hardest part of writing for you?

The hardest part of writing is probably just sitting down to write. I have two boys who are 7 and 8 and a 12-year-old girl. They take a lot of time to parent efficiently and to invest in. I also have an amazing wife who I love to spend time with. All four draw on that time to write.

 

As for difficulties when it comes to the actual mechanics of writing I would say it varies from book to book. If the story isn’t what God wants me to write, I struggle with everything and inevitably have to ditch it entirely. I just did that this past July. I had rewritten it multiple times and it just was not working. Ultimately, it wasn’t going to be a good story and wasn’t going to be one that honored God.

 

What does your editor remind you to do most often?

I have two editors. A developmental and a line editor. My developmental editor reminds me that I’m writing romance. Working in more romance is something that comes up more frequently than anything else. As for my line editor, she doesn’t tell me much of anything. She just does the line edit.

What’s the best encouragement you’ve had in your writing?

The emails from readers. They seem to hit the inbox at just the right time. Writing is a lonely job at times and when someone drops a line from across the globe just to share with me the fact a story touched their life it means a lot. God’s using these stories and that’s the best feeling in the world to know.

 

We have all experienced rejection. How you learned to write past it?

Early on, and even still today, I’ll get those fun one-star reviews that can sting a little. These rejections are minor, but they are the only rejections I have dealt with for the most part. I think it’s because I don’t get out much! Haha.

 

Anyways, some of the one-star reviews are constructive criticism that helps me as a writer. Others, like a recent one I got, are just a reminder I’m doing things right. The recent one-star I read mentioned how forgiveness in the real world doesn’t happen immediately. While this is true in the real world, in a Biblical sense, it’s exactly how it happens. Forgiveness isn’t about being okay with what the person did, it’s not even about trusting or allowing that person in your life. It’s about releasing that individual from payment of that debt. Not because they deserve it, but because God has forgiven us of so much. I won’t go on about forgiveness, but the point is, keeping things in perspective is important in my ability to keep writing.

 

The reality is it doesn’t matter if someone doesn’t like a book I wrote. They could have a heart problem, or they could not like the style of my writing, or something else! Whatever it is, it doesn’t really matter. I write for God and I desire to please Him with the work I do while spreading the good news of Jesus Christ. One-star reviews happen, and I keep writing.

 

What has surprised you the most in writing/publishing?

What surprised me the most was with enough practice, it gets easier. When I was first starting out writing novels it was a complicated mess! I felt like I was on an emotional roller coaster that both excited me and terrified me at the same time. Trying to remember all of these writing rules about tension, pace, beats, early in and early exit, and the list goes on! Now that I’ve written over 50 titles, I don’t feel as overwhelmed in the writing.

 

What frustrates you the most?

Consistency when it comes to income is a little frustrating.

What do you know now about writing you wished you had known sooner?

I would’ve appreciated knowing early about how important it is to just write the first draft. I spent way too much time rewriting entire chapters without finishing stories. It was a dumb cycle that could’ve been avoided.

 

What is the best writing advice you’ve received or could give?

Exact same answer as previous.

Are there any other points about writing you would like to add?

I would recommend to anyone wanting to write to be sure you’re writing what you’re passionate about and nothing less. If you care about what you’re doing, you’ll go far. Your passion is what gets you through the back-to-back 14-hour edit days and keeps you pushing through on weekends and holidays.

 

What is the next book coming out? Can you give me a short synopsis?

The next book set to come out is One Trusting Heart. It’s a story that starts out with Ashley, a divorcee, who is relocating from Los Angeles to Lincoln City, Oregon. She’s tired of the fast-paced city life and wants to take it easy for a while. A storm moves into the area and the beach house she is staying in is damaged. This sets Ashley on a path to rediscovering her faith in God and ultimately falling in love unexpectedly.

 

That’s all for today’s interview. Hope this interview encourages you to reach out and try a new author. And to make it easier for you, he’s offering you a free book. rthe link to get it. https://offer.tkchapin.com/

 

Website: www.tkchapin.com

Persevering Beyond Rejections: Guest Blog by Natasha Yim

As authors one of the biggest writer's block we have to deal with is handling rejections from publishers. Nothing can kill a creative spirit quicker than being told your writing isn't 'good enough' whether its in the actual written form or a lack of response at all. Today I'm turning over my blog over to one specific writer who knows how to go beyond rejection to acceptance.  

Natasha Yim is the author of Otto's Rainy Day (Charlesbridge Publishing, 2000), Cixi, The Dragon Empress (Goosebottom Books, 2011), and Sacajawea of the Shoshone (Goosebottom Books, Oct. 2012) and Goldy Luck and the Three Chans (Charlesbridge Publishing, 2014). She has also been published in the children's magazines, "Highlights for Children", "Appleseeds", and "Faces", as well as in adult local and regional magazines and newspapers. Her ten-minute plays have been performed in venues around Northern California, Los Angeles, and at the Short+Sweet Ten Minute Theatre Festival in Sydney, Australia. 

With all those wonderful writing credits, you might think she is now immune to the dreaded rejection. However, that is not the case. Read on to learn from her experiences.

                       ON REJECTIONS—AND OTHER LITERARY DISASTERS
We’ve all heard those success stories, right? The ones where debut authors wrote their 300 page novels in 6 weeks, sent their manuscripts to the first agent they found in the Writer’s Market, got a response in two days, and an offer for acquisition a week later. The stories that make you want to gag, cry, rip your hair out in frustration as you continue to labor over Chapter Three in a novel that’s taken 5 years out of your life. And if that success story belonged to a friend, you battle the demons of ambivalence as you graciously congratulate your friend and wish her the best of luck, while behind closed doors, you scream, “Why couldn’t it have been me???” at the writing Gods for all the literary injustice that you—and only you—have suffered.

Well, I’m here to tell you I’ve been there. And back. I’ve tumbled into the black hole of despair when it seemed like my writing was on the train to nowhere, and obsessively checked my email 20 times a day in the hopes that today was the day I got a positive response from an editor or agent (waiting for the mailman is soooo last decade). But perseverance is the name of the game in this business, and all good things can come to those who wait.

Take my picture book, Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas, for instance. It’s a multi-cultural twist on the Goldilocks tale. I first began writing the story in 2005, and revised and re-revised it for over a year until I felt confident enough to send it out to 5 different publishers. A couple rejected me rather quickly, two others made me wait 3 months, and the 5th, Tricycle Press, I never heard back from. Finally, after 7 months, I wrote a letter of inquiry to the editor, and received a fairly quick response from another editor that Editor 1 had left the company, but had passed on my manuscript before she left. Editor 2 really liked it and wanted to take it to acquisitions. I was on Cloud 9. Somebody liked my work! She had some great editorial suggestions, and we made several rounds of revisions. We revised, we emailed back and forth, then...nothing. My emails went unanswered. No more communication. I panicked. Did my last revision suck? Did she hate it so much she couldn’t bear to tell me, and decided that if she just ignored me, I’d go away?

Then one day, while considering whether I should attend the Book Passage Children’s Writer’s Conference in Corte Madera, California, I noticed that Editor 2 was on the faculty list. That was it. I was going to the conference. I was going to find out what happened to my manuscript. I was going to hulk around in dark shadows and stalk this editor. As it turned out, I didn’t have to be the creepy writer trapping the hapless editor inside a bathroom stall while she made empty promises to get me a contract so she could escape back into the Land of the Living. Coincidentally, she sat at my table for lunch and we got to chatting about Goldy Luck. She was really nice...and warm...and generous. She spent an hour with me giving me line by line feedback, and invited me to re-submit to her when I was done with revisions. See, it pays to go to writers’ conferences. I was back on Cloud 9. Three months later, I sent her my revisions. Then...nothing. I emailed to ask if she had received my manuscript, and got a quick response from the publisher’s assistant. Editor 2 had also left the company. Crap. And Double Crap. All that work! All that time!

However, not to be deterred, I asked for the name of another editor. I emailed Editor 3. Had she heard about Goldy Luck? Tricycle Press was, after all, a small publishing house. Editor 3 wrote back. Yes, she had. She was at the acquisitions meeting when it was presented. And Editor 3 was interested. But nobody could find the manuscript, so could I send another copy?

To make a long story—well, not quite as long—Editor 3 and I worked on the manuscript for another year and a half, then in August 2010, I finally got the phone call every writer dreams about. I got to hear those beautiful words, “We want to publish your book!” By this time, Tricycle Press and it’s parent company, Ten Speed Press, had been purchased by Random House, so it was now an imprint of RH. Not only was I getting a contract, I was thrilled to say I was going to be published by Random House, one of the Big 6 publishers! How exciting was that!

Not exciting enough, the literary gods decided. We’ll just throw a few more bumps her way so she’ll really appreciate what it takes to get published. A week after I signed my contract, RH decided to close down Tricycle Press. My path to publication suddenly stalled Big Time. Contract cancelled. End of story. Well, I could have let it end there. But I didn’t. Did I wallow in drink? Hemingway would have. Tennessee Williams would have. But I’m a teetotaler. So, I did what any sober writer in her right mind would do. I sent the manuscript back out. This time to my former editor at Charlesbridge Publishing who had published my first book, Otto’s Rainy Day. Editor 4. Charlesbridge doesn’t publish many folk or fairy tales, but the editor was intrigued by the multi-cultural angle.

Two months later, in March 2011, Editor 5 (Editor 4 had now become head honcho since I’ve worked with her so passed the story on to Editor 5), contacted me. She loved the story. More revisions. Another acquisitions meeting. Another stall. Now, it’s the Marketing Department. Folk and fairy tales aren’t usually Charlesbridge’s thing. Do they want to take Charlesbridge into a different realm? Oh, to be a fly on the wall of that discussion. In the end, they decided to table any decisions till the fall. Another 3 months of waiting!

Finally, in October 2011 (Oct. 5, at 8:05 am. to be specific—you tend to remember these things), my agent Karen Grencik (Red Fox Literary Agency) called and told me Charlesbridge wanted to publish the book! The book is now scheduled to be published in 2014.

The moral of the story: Believe in yourself as a writer, believe in your story, and never give up. I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Richard Bach, “A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.” Enjoy the journey!

If you would like to learn more about Natasha and her wonderful books, here are some options...

natashayim@natashayim.com
www.natashayim.com
www.natashayim.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/natashayim.author

This guest blog post is a reprint of a post that originally ran in bananapeelin.blogspot.com. It is being reprinted under the express permission of Natasha Yim as well as Elizabeth Stevens Omlor who is the owner of that blog. Drop by her blog as well for an interesting read.