Dee Savoy

Today’s Vibrant Voice is Roslyn Hardy Holcomb, a debut author to the romance field. We’ve nevrer met, except in cyberspace. The first time was on a message board where she was seeking publication advice. i wsa one of the authors who answere her. Here she tells why exchanges like these are so important.

Sisterliness by Roslyn Hardy Holcomb

In what seems like an entire lifetime ago I pledged a sorority. I’m not exactly a joiner, and I really can’t say why I did it. Looking back I can only say that perhaps I was looking for a type of sisterhood. What else would one be seeking in a sorority? Can’t say I really found it, but then again I probably didn’t contribute much to the effort myself. Flash-forward more years than I care to think about, and I found myself with a completed novel and a need to navigate through the minefield of ‘Getting Published.’ Knowing that I needed advice from people who had already been there, I logged onto the various websites for writers. I had no idea what type reception I’d receive, and was quite nervous. Experience in various jobs and organizations had left me leery of the type of cattiness we females can sometimes display. I was beyond surprised to find none of that in the black publishing community. People whose names I only knew from the books I’d read counseled and steered me through those treacherous waters. They supported me when I wanted to quit in despair and cheered my successes with great sincerity. I owe them a tremendous debt, and can only try to pay it forward.

Of course, I couldn’t be much of a writer if I didn’t have readers. (I suppose I could, but it wouldn’t be much fun.) In fact, my book wouldn’t exist without the persistent readers who pushed me to finish it. It began with a love scene I wrote in a fit of pique after being challenged by some friends on a message board. After reading that scene they demanded that I complete the story. I guess I’m a pleaser, because I did just that; wrote an entire novel around that one love scene. (By the way, this is the absolute worst way to write a book. The backtracking nearly drove me insane.) Even then, I’d only planned to post it somewhere as a free download for my friends. But a continually ever growing group of readers kept pushing me to get it published. Those women believed in me when I certainly didn’t believe in myself. It was incomprehensible to me (and still is) that people will actually pay money to read what I write. My readers surround me with support on a level I never envisioned. I get emails of encouragement and astonishingly, THANKS all the time. Back in December when I suffered a miscarriage, several sent cards and flowers. My appreciation is beyond words. I don’t think I would’ve found this level of loyalty outside the black publishing community, and I am immensely grateful for it.

Please leave a comment to let Roslyn know you enjoyed her post. Visit her at her website.