Since 2020, things have changed drastically when it comes to my writing. Before I was struggling to get anyone to read anything I wrote and now I’m only mildly struggling. But seriously though, things have changed and certainly for the better. In August of 2021, my first published novel Skadi came out and it was met with an overwhelming amount of support from family, friends and even strangers! I had a release party at Elementary Coffee and went on a nice book tour around Central PA and had two stops in Philly and NYC. The entire experience was honestly life changing. I don’t think I’m being dramatic here. Ever since I was a kid I wanted to write and publish a novel and finally having it happen made it real to me that if you truly commit yourself to something it can happen. I don’t think people really understand how tough it is to get a book published. Sunbury Press receives thousands of submissions a year and only publishes about 50 of them. I’m going to pat myself on the back for threading that needle. But I’m also going to say thank you to everyone who supported me because honestly without y’all none of this would be doable!! And Sunbury for sure would not have greenlit a second book if the first one flopped. So, thank you again!!!
Anyway, after Skadi came out and I wrapped up the book tour, I was on a call with this guy who I sort of work with, and he decided to get loud with me on the call over something stupid and I remember thinking that this dude was taking me out of my peace, and I hated that feeling. It reminded me not to rest on my laurels and to keep working on what was most important to me which was my writing. Before Skadi came out, I had already written a follow-up novel called Thyra and because I knew I had this book written and because this dude decided he wanted to get smart with me over the phone which I did not appreciate, I immediately got to work editing Thyra. I hadn’t read it in a while, so I was able to read it again with a bit of a disconnect from the plot which allowed me to be more objective in my criticism AND I had gone through the editing process with the first book so I had a better understanding of what sort of flaws an editor and a publisher would look for and it was through those lens that I started making changes. After I got the book to a place that I felt was significantly better than before, I reached out to some fellow authors I met during the book tour to see if they would read it and provide blurbs for the back cover. They agreed, but first before I sent them the book, I would need to get it even better so to do that, I inquired with various folks to see if they would be beta readers to give me their honest feedback. A few folks said yes and after a month or two they got back to me with their assessments. Their feedback was exactly what I needed because there were some flaws, I was blind to. Upon incorporating the beta reader feedback into Thyra, I was ready to send it to my fellow authors AND I was ready to query Sunbury Press. Just because Skadi did well did not mean Thyra would automatically get the greenlight.
I worked on my query letter for days and even sent it out to some friends for their feedback. Something you might notice about me is that I’m open to criticism, if it’s coming from a good place. Once I added their feedback to the query letter, I sent it to Sunbury Press and much quicker than before, they said “yes”. After that, I was off to the races.
When you’re a new author, there is thing you don’t really realize at first but quickly become privy to and that is that you have to market the hell out of your own work. You must carve out your own space in the world because no one else is going to do it for you. I realized that pretty quickly with Skadi and I brought that same energy into Thyra. That said, even though you need to lead the charge, there are so many people who are willing to help you!!! None of what I did last year with Skadi would have been possible without the support and help of everyone involved from editing to providing feedback, to creating awesome book-related art to letting me host book signings at their businesses. Skadi was a success because I was surrounded by a tribe of people who loved and supported me. I know that!!! And I’m doing my best to pay it forward. I’ve worked with folks on getting their own query letters to a place where they can submit to publishers and/or agents. I’ve talked to various writers about their own work and helped them with insights on how to market their books. I’ve promoted the hell out of the businesses that let me have book signings at their shops and even other small businesses that have nothing to do with my writing. But the biggest thing I did (at least I think so) was talk to a group of students about their writing and provide encouragement to each of them. And let me tell you this – some of the students had stronger story ideas than I think I will ever have.
Thyra is my second novel, but it will not be my last. This time I did not need some dude getting loud with me to remind me to keep working on that which makes me happiest!! At the beginning of 2022, I started plotting and then writing my third book. As of August 29th, when I’m writing this blog entry, I’m almost 45k words into the third book and nowhere near completion. Skadi and Thyra were both roughly 60k words so this latest novel will be the longest of the three. It continues to build upon the world established in the first two novels and further explores the personalities of some key characters. I won’t spoil anything now, but I think you’re all in for a treat.
I’m going to thank everyone one more time for helping me live out a dream of mine that I have had for so long!! This experience has opened so many doors, but it has closed some. I’ve learned some people aren’t always as supportive of your success and that hurts but that is also ok. Not everyone is going to get there with you and that is just something you must accept because those that keep elevating you – those are your real friends and family members!!
Love ya’ll!!
Steven Williams
Steven Williams is an avid traveler and amateur cook. He is a graduate of Northwestern University and lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania with his wife Danielle. Skadi is his debut novel.