Breaking In: November/December 2024
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Katie Coleman
Too Young for Cancer
(Memoir, November, Alcove Press)
“Too Young for Cancer highlights best and worst in healthcare and uncovers the silver linings and beauty of humanity filling the space in between as a young woman battles for a diagnosis and a fighting chance.”
Writes from: Austin, Texas
Pre-Young: Too Young for Cancer is the first book I’ve authored. I decided to write it because when I was initially diagnosed with stage IV cancer at twenty-nine, to say I was devastated would have been an understatement. I had no idea what to expect, and all I really knew about cancer at that point in my life came from books, movies, and TV shows—most of which were fear-striking and made me doubt if I was strong enough to endure what was ahead of me. I wanted to shed light on the mental battle, which is often twice as challenging as the physical fight against cancer, share how important it is to advocate for yourself, and to highlight how empathy in the face of uncertainty helped reshape my damaged relationship with the medical system.
Time frame: It took me about seven to nine months to get through the bulk of the writing for my memoir, and it will be just over two full years from when I began when it reached publication. Two interesting details are that when I first started writing, to motivate myself to just get something out and on paper, I challenged myself to write 40,000 words in 40 days. As someone who did not consider myself a writer before writing my memoir and someone who it doesn’t particularly come naturally to, I was exhausted by the end of it but I hit my goal, and it gave me a great start and momentum to continue.
The other motivator I had pushing me was actually having a cancer diagnosis in my chart. I knew I only ever had three months at a time within my control, so as my scans approached each three-month cycle, I would write nearly every free second I could to get it all out on paper. My biggest fear was starting my memoir and not living long enough to see it finished, so I knew I had to buckle down. My husband used to jokingly sing “Why do you write like you’re running out of time?” from Hamilton’s musical every time he walked by my office during this period of time. I actually really emotionally struggled in the negotiations for my book deal for the same reason. Since my diagnosis, I’ve never allowed myself to plan or account for more than three months at a time. Signing my book deal, meant I wasn’t going to see the release for over a year. It was difficult to grasp at the time but is so incredibly surreal to watch it come to life now. I’ve learned almost just as much about getting back to life through writing this book as I did from the contents inside of it.
Enter the agent: There is actually a pretty neat story behind this one, but the short version is that I found my agent, Rachel Sussman, just before I was about to give up on traditional publishing and begin exploring self-publishing (after a mountain of feedback I received that books on illness don’t sell). I found her on Query Tracker, and when I saw she was looking for thought-provoking nonfiction and saw some of the titles she represents, I thought she’d be incredible to work with and that she may look beyond the surface level of my diagnosis to see the deeper themes. Thankfully, she did and I couldn’t be more grateful to have her on my team.
Biggest surprise: My biggest surprise was probably how long it takes to be traditionally published. If I had known that it would take a little over two years from when I started writing for my book to be published, I think I may have been a bit too overwhelmed to start. Mostly due to where I was in my diagnosis, and that I really couldn’t plan that far in advance. But in many ways, I’m glad I was a bit naive to the process when I began, otherwise I may not have found myself where I am now.
What I did right: Probably just getting it all out on paper in my first draft. I didn’t spend much time tweaking it or trying to get the wording just right. It helped keep me motivated and moving, especially when I hit blocks. Without that, I’m not sure I would have had a completed project to break in with.
What I would have done differently: I would have likely completed my memoir or even fully outlined it before querying. I received feedback early on that I could start querying before I had a finished manuscript, but I hadn’t gone through the process of outlining it beforehand. I had a general idea of what I was going to write since they were my lived experiences and I knew they’d all make them out on the page, but I didn’t know what my take-home message was. I think I could have saved myself quite a bit of rejection if I had figured that all out ahead of time.
Platform: I did have a bit of a platform in place already. I had a following of about 65,000 combined between platforms (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, X) from sharing my diagnosis transparently online for the past few years when I began querying. This gave me a natural place for readership and a community I was inspired to write the book for.
Advice for writers: This may not be the most traditional advice but the best piece of advice I’ve give from lessons I learned while writing would be if you hit writer’s block, just write whatever comes to mind. It may be messy, fragmented, and not make sense, but get it out and get it down anyway. I had a couple of sections in my memoir where I ran into this, especially the really complex areas where there was so much nuisance that I knew would take far more pages than I had time to explain. To get through these blocks, I ended up writing out any fragmented pieces that came to mind and then promised myself not to look back at them until I made it to my first edit.
When the first edit finally came, I reread these sections, and they were a complete mess, just as I expected. However, it was a mess with a bit of shape to it. I wasn’t starting from scratch. It was much easier to tease out what was and wasn’t important on the second pass. Some of these sections ended up being my favorite parts in the book because I wrote down the dueling thoughts and emotions, even if they didn’t feel like they fit at the time. When I returned to edit they blended beautifully together.
When it doubt, just write.
Next up: Next for me is launching the book this November then continuing to focus my efforts on advocacy and funding research for rare cancers. After my diagnosis and a potential change in prognosis, I switched industries and went from building software used at race tracks to repurposing these skills in the healthcare space. I also starting a non-profit, COA the Chromophobe and Oncocytic Tumor Alliance. My nonprofit is volunteer-based to keep as much of our funding pointed towards research as possible, so I do that on the side and still develop software for my day job which is now at the Rare Cancer Research Foundation where I work as their Product and Engineering Lead. I get to work every day to build tools to help advance research for rare cancers, the definition of a dream job for me these days. So, up next for me is continuing these efforts so more patients have outcomes like I’ve had so far.
Website: KatieKicksCancer.com
Colin Mills
Bitter Passage
(Literary historical fiction, December, Lake Union Publishing)
“A 19th-century Arctic expedition descends into a chilling nightmare in a gripping and epic historical novel of discovery, rescue, deliverance, and survival by any means.”
Writes from: Brisbane, Australia
Pre-Passage: I hadn’t intended to write a novel. I only had a couple of short stories published when I fell down a rabbit hole reading about the lost Franklin Expedition, which vanished in the Arctic in 1845 with two ships and 129 men. The more I read about the expedition, the more questions I had, especially about the likely motives and experiences of the searchers. I started scribbling a story and wanted to find out what was going to happen.
Time frame: I spent two years researching before starting to write in earnest. The first draft took about three years, including periods of weeks or months (the longest was a year) when self-doubt overcame me and I put the project to one side before returning to it.
Enter the agent: I submitted about 60 queries to agents seeking historical fiction and received four requests for the full manuscript before signing with the wonderful Alec Shane of Writers House. He worked with me on further edits for another three months or so before submissions to publishers began.
Biggest surprise: It never ceases to amaze me how much a good editor can see weaknesses (and strengths for that matter) in your work that you simply can’t because you’re too close to it. Do your very best on early drafts, then seek an experienced editor. You need their expertise and you’ll probably have to pay for it.
What I did right: I feel like I did everything wrong (!) except the most important thing of all: I didn’t stop. I put the project aside countless times but kept going back to it. Ultimately, it’s a binary proposition: either you’ll finish it or you won’t. I kept asking myself, how important is it to me?
What I would have done differently: I would have been less worried about the quality of early drafts. They are supposed to suck. I wish I had sat down and developed mental strategies to cope with self-doubt and perfectionism, even if they can’t be entirely conquered.
Advice for writers: Invest some time in studying the many online resources on how to structure an effective query for agents. It makes a huge difference to your chances.
Next up: I’m working on another story also set in the 19th century, but not in the Arctic.
Website: ColinMills.com.au
Ava Robinson
Definitely Better Now
(Mainstream Fiction, December, MIRA Books)
“Emma, a young woman in New York City, navigates sobriety, falling in love, and complicated family dynamics.”
Writes from: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Pre-Better: I started writing Definitely Better Now in January 2021. A few months earlier, I’d lost a close friend to a relapse and overdose. Previously, I’d been trying to write a serious literary novel set during the Russian Revolution. It was the kind of book that if I wanted to do right, it would have taken me a decade to finish. But with the pandemic at its height and working through my own grief, I didn’t feel like writing about suffering and sacrifice every day, so I decided I’d try to write something fun and romantic instead. Spoiler alert: Definitely Better Now has sad moments, but overall, I think of it as a celebration of life and sobriety.
Time frame: I wrote the first draft in a few months and then worked on it for about two years before getting an agent. I was able to work so quickly because I was writing with a close friend. Every day, we would log on to Zoom and write together for at least an hour. We’d also keep track of our word counts on a shared spreadsheet. I don’t think I’d have been able to finish the book half as quickly without that shared accountability!
Enter the agent: Researching agents was something I really enjoyed, and I used it as a way to procrastinate in the last few months of editing. So, by the time I was ready to send the manuscript out, I had a pretty extensive tiered list. I queried six agents and got more than one offer of representation. I ended up working with Jamie Carr of The Book Group and couldn’t be happier with my choice!
Biggest surprise: When I started sending my book out, I’d just graduated from an MFA program, and we were very well prepared for how to query agents, but the next steps felt like a mystery to me! I wasn’t sure what editor meetings would be like, what the difference between a pre-empt and an auction was, and how advances worked. Jamie walked me through it all, but it’s a good thing for writers to prepare themselves for before they start querying agents.
What I did right: I think the most helpful thing for me as a writer is working in a community. I’m so lucky to have other writers to turn to for support. I’ve worked with a writing group and always had trusted writers who would look something over for me, whether that be a short paragraph or an entire novel.
What I would have done differently: I can’t really say I’d change a thing! I’m very happy with my publishing journey.
Platform: I didn’t [have one]. Social media doesn’t come naturally to me as an individual and hasn’t come naturally to me as a more public person. I’m working on coming out of my social media shell!
Advice for writers: Bet on yourself. It can be so hard to sit down and write every day when no one is asking you to and no one is waiting on it. You can create accountability with community, but I think you also have to convince yourself that one day what you’re writing will be published, even if sometimes that feels delusional—lean into it!
Next up: I just had a baby, so I’m enjoying lots of cuddles and also working on a second novel!
Website: AvaRobinson.net