http://success.crimefictionblog.com/ Authors share their stories about the struggle to publish their first novels. en-US 2005-10-01T14:19:26-04:00 http://success.crimefictionblog.com/2005/10/chris_grabenste.html Chris Grabenstein writes: My first book, Tilt-A-Whirl, is actually my fourth. That is, it was the fourth manuscript for a novel I had written – all four of which were written after completing seven screenplays in eighteen months. In fact,... David J. Montgomery 2005-10-01T14:19:26-04:00 http://success.crimefictionblog.com/2005/10/sean_doolittle.html Sean Doolittle writes: A little more than ten years elapsed between the first short story I sold to a paying market and the publication of my first novel, Dirt. In that time I published a few more short stories, wrote... David J. Montgomery 2005-10-01T14:01:47-04:00 http://success.crimefictionblog.com/2005/10/brian_freeman.html Brian Freeman writes: I was an overnight success, as long as you skip the first 30 years or so of trying. I wrote a total of five other novels in my life before starting Immoral. That goes all the way... David J. Montgomery 2005-10-01T13:53:37-04:00 http://success.crimefictionblog.com/2005/09/naomi_hirahara.html Naomi Hirahara writes: Fifteen years. Fifteen bloody years. It took that much time for a seed of a novel to germinate, grow, and be mowed down over and over again. I finally became a debut novelist at the age of... David J. Montgomery 2005-09-23T11:56:49-04:00 http://success.crimefictionblog.com/2005/09/sean_rowe.html Sean Rowe writes: By any objective standard, my life has been a long series of lucky breaks. I'll spare you the exotic travel on five continents - Antarctica included - bankrolled almost entirely by people other than myself; the full... David J. Montgomery 2005-09-09T12:57:03-04:00 http://success.crimefictionblog.com/2005/08/margaret_coel.html Margaret Coel writes: I wrote my first mystery novel, The Eagle Catcher, in three weeks, sent it to an agent who immediately landed me a three-book, multi-million-dollar deal, and I have been basking on my own island ever since. Now... David J. Montgomery 2005-08-09T10:13:06-04:00 http://success.crimefictionblog.com/2005/08/clea_simon.html Clea Simon writes: Maybe it would have happened anyway; maybe it was time. But I suspect I'd been waiting for permission. I'd been a journalist and nonfiction writer for close to 20 years before I even thought about writing a... David J. Montgomery 2005-08-09T10:01:29-04:00 http://success.crimefictionblog.com/2005/07/susan_mcbride.html Susan McBride writes: I guess you could say I’m one of those overnight success stories that took a mere 20 years. I’ve been writing all my life—and have boxes of stories and three hand-made books from grade school to prove... David J. Montgomery 2005-07-11T14:10:13-04:00 http://success.crimefictionblog.com/2005/07/karen_e_olson.html Karen E. Olson writes: I first tried my hand at writing a mystery novel 15 years ago. There was a definite learning curve. I wrote two books, which are now safely hidden away, never to be seen again. But I... David J. Montgomery 2005-07-11T13:57:14-04:00 http://success.crimefictionblog.com/2005/06/bob_morris.html Bob Morris writes: After spending nearly 25 years as a newspaper reporter, columnist and magazine editor, I got the idea for Bahamarama while walking on a beach in the Bahamas. I went back to my cottage, wrote what became the... David J. Montgomery 2005-06-01T16:56:58-04:00