Category: writing

An Inside Look at Launching a Career

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

Insanity.

That would be the best word to describe what it’s like preparing for the release of my debut novel.

Sure, I’m also in the throes of planning a large fundraising event for our adoption, which is a whole other box of crazy. But still….

Insanity.

Completely fun, substantially stressful insanity.

Filled with highs….

  • Encouraging emails from readers 
  • Hearing that Wildflowers will be sold in select Sam’s Clubs
  • Sharing an incredibly exciting time with such a supportive group of friends and family
  • Emailing and chatting with my amazing marketing director, Amy Haddock 

A few lows….

  • Panicking about spoilers. I’m pretty much over this now, but it did induce hyperventilation at first.
  • Getting my first bad review. I thought I had thicker skin. But nope, I don’t. Being a people-pleaser and an author is not a good combination. I’ve never been too good at shaking things off. Especially words.
  • Total insecurity over book two. You’d think the positive reviews would boost my confidence, right? They do. I appreciate every single one. But they also totally wig me out. Because what if I let everybody down with my next book? 

And mostly, the daily grind…

  • Finishing book 2 so I could send it off to my fabulous editor
  • Writing blog posts and interviews and guest posts
  • Mailing out ARCs
  • Staying on top of emails and welcome pack sign ups (I love sending these out! You can sign up by scrolling down and looking left.)
  • Driving around to local bookstores and churches to hand out bookmarks and postcards
  • Preparing for a launch party at Books-A-Million 
  • Spreading the word about book signings in Minneapolis 

The other day, I was chatting online with Erica Vetsch about the craziness and she said:

All the details are like getting nibbled by ducks.

I had to laugh because it’s very true. I think I’m on top of everything and then all of sudden, it’s like, “Ow! Shoot, okay, I have to do that…” And then, “Ow! Shoot, okay, there’s that over there.” And then, “Ow! Dang it, I can’t forget about that.” 

It’s funny. I’m living my dream, you know? For so long, I’ve wanted to get a book published.

Now that it’s happening, I have to remind myself to take a deep breath and soak it in. 

The whole thing reminds me of this quote from Felicity (any old-school Felicity fans out there?).

She and Ruby are talking about this boy Felicity followed to New York City. His name’s Ben and he ends up falling in love with her.

Ruby says, “How many girls get to date their fantasy?”

And Felicity says, “Fantasies are beautiful and shallow. The actual relationship is a whole different thing.”

Me thinks those are some wise words.

Fantasy and reality are never the same.

Reality is deeper and better, but also….more real. 

With rough spots and low spots and inglorious spots interspersed with awesome spots and happy spots and a whole lot of this-is-hard-work spots.

It’s a crazy, sometimes overwhelming ride.

One that requires a large quantity of grace (I’m pretty good at extending grace toward others, not the best at extending it toward myself) and a large quantity of organization. 

A ride I wouldn’t trade for the world.

Let’s Talk: Give me an inside look at your life right now. What are some highs? What are some lows? What is your daily grind?

Dream Big or Stay Grounded

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

In 2009, I went to my very first writing conference. I sat in a banquet hall in Denver, surrounded by hundreds of other writers, listening to Debbie Macomber give the key note speech. She talked about dreaming big.

It was 100% inspiring. 

Now here I am, three years later, on the cusp of my first ever book release. Wildflowers from Winter hits shelves in twenty-one days (insert hyperventilation here). And most of the time, I find myself playing the part of a giant pendulum.

Swinging back and forth.

Picturing a career like Karen Kingsbury one minute. Grounding myself in reality the next. Climbing imaginary ladders that reach into the stars. Then curling up into a ball on the ground, afraid to dream of anything remotely grand.

I won’t lie. 

The balance between dreaming big and staying realistic is not an easy one to maintain. 

On one hand, it’s important to dream big.

Because big dreams inspire us to reach for something higher than ourselves. Big dreams motivate us to work hard. Big dreams fill us with excitement and possibility.

You don’t accomplish big things by dreaming small. 

But on the other hand, big dreams can be dangerous. 

Because those dreams can set us up for disappointment. They can lead to discontentment and disillusionment. They can become idols.  

So what’s a writer to do? 

Rachelle Gardner told me something once that really stuck with me. It was at the 2010 ACFW conference. We were having a little chat and I remember her saying this:

Big dreams are great. It’s when those dreams become expectations that we get ourselves into trouble.

Let’s Talk: How do you maintain this balance? Are you more prone to dreaming big or are you more prone to staying grounded?

Julie Cantrell is interviewing me on her blog today. Stop on over and leave a comment for a chance to win an advanced copy of my book!

A Different Take on Branding: Four Doorways

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

A friend shared this very enlightening article with me the other day and it made all kinds of light bulbs go off in my head.

Basically, the article discussed four doorways, or access points, of fiction:

  • Story
  • Character
  • Setting
  • Prose

As readers, we gravitate to certain doorways.

There are those who pick up a book, hoping for a page-turner. Story is their flavor of choice.

There are those who pick up a book, hoping to fall in love with the protagonist. Character is their flavor of choice.

There are those who pick up a book in hopes of being carried off to a different place, perhaps a different time. Setting is their flavor of choice.

And there are those who pick up a book, hoping for a well-turned phrase. Prose is their flavor of choice.

Nancy Pearl, the author of the article, thinks we often go about recommending books in the wrong way. We ask a person what genre they prefer. Or what topics interest them. But maybe, it’s all about the access point.

Nancy says, “When we want a book exactly like the one we just finished reading, what we really want is to recreate that pleasurable experience.”

How true is this?

She goes on to explain that every book has a prominent access point. The key is finding which access point a reader prefers and recommending books accordingly.

I found this all to be incredibly fascinating. Especially in light of the great branding debate. 

Rachelle Gardner recently wrote a post titled Can I Write in Multiple Genres? A very informative, helpful post about the importance of specializing, especially for those of us early in our careers.

I agree with everything she says. I don’t think any of us should aspire to become the jack of all trades.

But what if our brand is much less about genre, and much more about the experience we create for our readers? Maybe it doesn’t matter if we branch out a bit, so long as we keep our primary access point the same.

For all I know, this could be horrible advice. I just think it’s interesting thought fodder.

After reading the article, I asked my friend which doorway she gravitates toward. She said character. Then she said something else that really resonated:

The really great books? The ones we can’t put down. The ones we read over and over again. The ones we share with our friends. They excel in all four.

As authors, that should be our ultimate goal. 

It reminded me of the post I wrote on Rachelle’s blog last week, Finding the Sweet Spot. I talked about excelling with our prose and our story. But really, that’s only half of the equation. The super sweet spot comes when we master all four – story, prose, character, and setting. 

Let’s Talk: Which doorway do you gravitate toward? Have you read a book that combines the strengths of all four doorways? What do you think is more important when it comes to branding – doorway or genre?