Today's Friday Friend - Kathryn Jones

Please welcome today's Friday Friend, Kathryn Jones.

Kathryn has been a published writer since 1987. She has published various newspaper stories, magazine articles, essays and short stories for teens and adults.  She is the author of: “A River of Stones,” a young adult fiction novel dealing with divorce, published in 2002, and “Conquering your Goliaths—A Parable of the Five Stones,” a Christian novel published in January of 2012. Her newest creation, a “Conquering your Goliaths—Guidebook,” was published February of 2012.
Kathryn graduated from the University of Utah with a B.S. in Mass Communication and a minor in Creative Writing. Her studies included work in creative writing, public relations and journalism.

6 Things I Wish I Knew about Publishing When I First Started Writing

Something funny happened to me on my way to getting published; I realized that writing was like anything else that I truly wanted in life. It was hard work.

Writing didn’t come easy to me and that made me angry. I wanted to prove it wrong; kind of like when you know your husband is right about something but you want to prove him wrong just so you can hold your ground.

Like a stubborn wife, I am also a stubborn writer. I want to write perfectly the first time. I want to sell everything that I put my pen to. I want my stuff to be like those great, flowing and insightful words of C.S. Lewis.

You know the guy. He could write fiction and non-fiction and could get you thinking about stuff that had never entered your brain before. And I wanted to be like that.

I have learned since then that I’ll never be like C.S. Lewis, and that’s more than great with me. (Especially since he’s dead now and he’s a man anyway). I’ve learned some things too, about writing and publishing and what it really means to be an author. Stick with me and I’ll tell you what I’ve learned about publishing in the form of a list.

Here goes:

1.      Writing actually takes work. It takes time to get your words on paper, even longer to find your voice. Finding my voice was kind of like finding that straight pin I’d just dropped on the carpet. Publishing didn’t come easy and it took a lot of writing to find it.

2.      Editing is never going to be any fun. You just do it, or you have your sister do it for you. Or you pay someone to do it for you. I have also asked friends and other writers to help me out. And bless their hearts, they have.

3.      Just because I have a superior product, doesn’t mean a superior editor is going to notice. It’s tough to get published (though not impossible) and starting out small usually works better for most of us. That means, instead of writing a book FIRST, I focused my attention on articles, short stories and poems.

4.      I don’t have to publish with a mainstream publisher for my work to be good. Yes, publishing on your own through self-publishing or POD publishing wasn’t looked very highly upon, once upon a time, but things, shall we say, are a changing. More and more writers are vying for the self-publishing option and are doing a great job at it too!

5.      The best writers write every day. You’ve probably already heard this one, but do you believe it? When I first started writing, my writing was BAD, but it had some good stuff swirled within it kind of like those chocolate vanilla swirl cones you get at Arctic Circle. I had to write every day to turn that swirl cone into a chocolate or vanilla cone. You pick.

6.      Writing is a job. No kidding. It might be fun. You might LOVE it almost more than your significant other, but it is work. But so is a marriage, so there.

I love my work, whether it’s a blog like this one or a book like the last one I published through CreateSpace. I love the editing and the marketing and the writing. And I LOVE that you finished this blog right until the very end. You might not believe me but I do.

Conquering Your Goliaths – A Parable of the Five Stones

David gathered 5 smooth stones to meet and defeat Goliath. What did these stones represent and how can you use them to feat your Goliaths in your own personal quests? Ms. Virginia Bean will show you how.

Travel with her on her own personal journey. See what she does. Learn how she grows. Discover what she becomes.
“Conquering your Goliaths—A Parable of the Five Stones” is for anyone desiring to travel beyond mediocrity, pain and fear. Learn of the great power within you, a power given to you from God, a power that must ultimately be unleashed to conquer the Goliaths in your own life. Come to an even deeper understanding of God and what he wants for you. Come…

Conquering Your Goliaths: A Parable of the Five Stones
(e-book) http://www.amazon.com/Conquering-Your-Goliaths-Parable-ebook/dp/B0071BFG1O/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1330554006&sr=8-2
Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/conquering-your-goliaths-kathryn-elizabeth-jones/1037935298?ean=9781469902944&itm=1&usri=conquering+your+goliaths

Conquering Your Goliaths: Guidebook

http://www.amazon.com/Conquering-Goliaths-Guidebook-Kathryn-Elizabeth/dp/1469957469/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1330554006&sr=8-4
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/conquering-your-goliaths-guidebook-kathryn-elizabeth-jones/1038395154?ean=9781469957463&itm=2&usri=conquering+your+goliaths

My Website:

http://www.ariverofstones.com/books.html


Thank you so much for being our Friday Friend today, Kathryn, and for your very valuable advice. We wish you continued success with your writing.