My most recent novel, Blind Turn, has had the longest and most winding road to publication of all my books. I looked back through my files to try to figure out when I started writing it – as best as I can tell, I began writing it in 2010.
I was inspired to think about this because it was chosen to be the Ereader News Book of the Day for this Friday, August 30. For one day it will be just 99 cents!
So, if your reason for not buying a copy has been that you don’t want to spend the money, here’s your chance to get an e-copy for less than a dollar. There’s not much you can buy for less than a buck these days, so I hope you’ll take a chance on me..]
Back to my long and winding story, which I’ll try to keep brief by sharing it in a timeline:
2010: Begin writing Blind Turn (one of the few books I already had a title for before I started writing).
2012: Finally finish after multiple edits/critiques/writing conference/classes, and begin querying literary agents. [Note: If you’re unfamiliar with the traditional publishing process, you must first acquire an agent who will represent you when pitching to the publishing houses. Things have loosened since 2013, and smaller presses will allow authors to pitch directly, but without an agent, you are on your own in negotiating terms – and enforcing them, which is what my agents have been the most helpful at doing.]
2013: An agent finally requests the full manuscript, but after reading it, tells me that what I’ve written is not women’s fiction, but young adult. She encourages me to rewrite it as YA, assuring me I’ll have better luck. Since I’ve already accumulated well over fifty rejections, this seems like good advice. So I spend the year rewriting the entire book from the teenaged character’s point of view (it had been in the mother’s point of view).
2014: I sign with an agent to represent Blind Turn. She pitches the manuscript all over and almost sells it, but in the end, is unable to. Late in the year, through a writing contest, I win a three-book deal for a different manuscript (I’m Not Her) and sign a contract with The Story Plant.
2015 – 2017: I put Blind Turn back ‘in the drawer’ and focus on I’m Not Her, Girls’ Weekend, and Practicing Normal, which come out in succession during those three years. Mid 2017, I sign a contract for a memoir (Another Good Dog). I also pull my manuscript for Blind Turn back out and begin to rework it as Womens Fiction, since it’s clear I’m not a YA writer.
2018: Another Good Dog comes out, I’ve signed with a new agent for Women’s Fiction, and she reads Blind Turn and sends it back to me for yet another re-write. I re-write it again, infusing it with a courtroom drama, and also a few dogs because dogs have taken over my life at that point.
2019: My agent pitches Blind Turn far and wide and gets lots of bites but no contract. She encourages me to work on another nonfiction or start a new novel.
2020: I stew over Blind Turn. I know it’s the best novel I’ve written and I’m frustrated that my agent can’t sell it. I ask her if I can try to sell it myself to a small press. She agrees. I pitch it to multiple small presses. Meanwhile, between the pandemic and a personal tragedy I was grappling with, I am unfocused and don’t do the homework I should do on the small press I ultimately sign with.
2021: Blind Turn is published. Turns out the small press I publish with does zero marketing (unless I pay for it, despite the fact that they keep 90% of the cover price), so I push myself to market the book as best I can, but it’s not my skill set. Despite all that, Blind Turn wins multiple awards (Maxy Book of the Year, Readers’ Choice, Independent Publishing Association, and others), plus receives nearly 700 five star ratings on Amazon and Goodreads.
2024: (I’m skipping a lot here, including the publication of 100 Dogs & Counting and the founding of Who Will Let the Dogs Out, and our move to VA.) Blind Turn continues to garner positive reviews and for the fourth time is chosen as E-reader News Today Book of the Day – Friday August 30.
Fourteen years (and counting). That’s how long this book has been requiring my effort/attention. I’m pretty sure I started notes and research on the book long before 2010, but that’s the first year I found files for it on my computer – but back then, I was pretty lousy at backing up anything, and I still did a lot with paper/pen.
And, while I have another novel in the works, I still love Blind Turn. I still love those characters. I still welcome the opportunity to talk about it with book clubs or writing classes. It still makes my day when someone tells me they love the book. And I still hope more people will read it.
Its message is even more relevant today than when I first dreamed it up. We need to pay attention to our lives and not live them distracted. You just never know when a blind turn is coming.
So, if you’ve read Blind Turn, here are a few things you could do to help me keep this timeline running into 2025:
- Review it on Amazon, Goodreads, and/or BookBub (or anywhere really).
- Share one of the many posts I plan to flood my feed with tomorrow, sharing its Book of the Day status.
- Suggest Blind Turn for your book club (and invite me to join you for your meeting via Zoom or in person!)
- Give a copy of Blind Turn to someone you think might like it.
The publishing industry has not gotten any easier, and I imagine the timeline above is even longer and windier now. If you know another writer, please support them with your encouragement, book-buying budget, reviews, and recommendations.
I know very few writers who are in this for the money.
They are in this for YOU. They are in this to share the stories of their hearts.
I know this because the road is long and winding but so worth it.
Hey, thanks for reading. I know you’ve got lots of options, so thanks for sharing a few of your minutes with me.
Honored,
Cara
If you’re curious about what else I’m up to, check out my website, CaraWrites.com.
If you’d like to subscribe to my twice monthly emails, click here.
If you’re a dog lover, check out my other blog, Another Good Dog. And if you want to know what is really happening in the animal shelters in this country, visit, Who Will Let the Dogs Out, and subscribe to the blog I write there.
I’d love to connect with you on Facebook or Instagram, and I’m thrilled to get email from readers (and writers), you can reach me at carasueachterberg@gmail.com.
My latest novel, Blind Turn is a mother-daughter story of forgiveness in the aftermath of a fatal texting and driving accident. It won the Womens Fiction category of the American Writing Awards in 2022. Learn more about it and find out how to get your copy here.
My most recent memoir, 100 Dogs & Counting: One Woman, Ten Thousand Miles, and a Journey Into the Heart of Shelters and Rescues is available anywhere books are sold, but if you’d like some help finding it (or want to read some lovely reviews), click here.
My Life in Paragraphs 