How A Soccer Love Story Survived Rejection And Found A Home with Tara Sexton

About the author:

Tara Sexton writes adult contemporary romance and fantasy. She can often be found with her nose in a book and a coffee at hand.

Book Blurb: 

The hot new soccer romance for fans of Ted Lasso and She's the Man

She's met her match. But will the winner take all or lose everything?

Marcee Ackerman's dream job as head soccer coach at Pemberton Prep is turning into a nightmare. Her new boss has given her an ultimatum—win the state championship or she’s fired. To make matters worse, Pemberton's rival school hires hotshot ex-England player Remington Lockley as their new coach. How can she compete against a world-class pro?

To keep her job and her reputation safe, Marcee will do whatever it takes. But one steamy encounter with Remy has thrown her plans off-course. Falling for the enemy may be just what Marcee's boss needs to get rid of her for good, yet she is powerless to resist as she gets to know the real Remy behind the tabloid scandals.

Soccer is life, but love is the greatest game of all. Even Marcee’s competitiveness might not be enough for her to win…

This steamy sports romance is perfect for fans of Meryl Wilsner, Amy Lea and Elena Armas.

Connect with Tara HERE: LINKS

About Victoria:

Hey there, I’m Victoria! As a writer and developmental editor, I specialize in helping busy writers bring their publishing dreams to life without the overwhelm. Your story deserves to shine, let's make magic together. 

Here’s how I can help:
📖 FREE 7 day Writing Reset: Daily support in your inbox for 7 days.
Grab it HERE

📝 Developmental Editing: Get expert feedback that elevates your manuscript, strengthens your story, and polishes your characters.
✍️ 1:1 monthly support: Revitalize your creativity, map out your novel, and unleash your authentic voice.

Your story deserves to shine, and I’m here to make it happen. Let’s turn your writing dreams into a reality!

📱 IG: @editsbyvictoria
🌐 LINKS: Victoria Jane Editorial

Transcript

Cozy Intro And Guest Welcome

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Book Shop Chats, where we cozy up with books of creativity and embrace the magical, messy process of writing a book. I'm Victoria Jane, a writer, developmental editor, and coach for sensitive busy writers, and I love to support you on your journey of bringing your story to life. So whether you're here for inspiration, behind the scenes peaks of what it what it means to actually write a book, or just some bookish conversations, you are definitely in the right place. And if you're looking for more personalized support, I also offer one-to-one writing support sections to help bring your story to life because sometimes you need a little bit of support digging through the noise that is your brain because you've got a finished draft. You can find all of the details in the show notes. So grab a coffee, grab a tea, plug in your headphones, go on a little walk, and let's dive into today's episode. Welcome back to Bookshop Chats. In today's episode, I am chatting with Tara Dexton. Welcome to the podcast.

SPEAKER_01 1:22

Hi, thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00 1:25

Yeah, I'm excited to chat on this sort of like rainy, rainy December day where I am. It's always fun to chat about all things books. So I'm gonna, we're gonna start strong and I am going to give you the floor to share a little bit about your book that is coming out next year, which is crazy that it's like, I feel like it's probably getting close, closer.

SPEAKER_01 1:48

Oh yeah, we're at five months and uh counting, so it's just around the corner. Um but yes, thank you so much for having me. My name again is Tara Sexton, and my book is The Greatest Game. It is a sports romance, uh, which is going to be published on May 5th of 2026 in the US and May 7th in the UK. Um, so this is a classic Rivals to Lovers uh sports soccer romance or football, if you're in the UK. Um, and what my book is about is Marcy, who is a freshly graduated from college soccer coach who has her first soccer coaching gig in the US. And she is eager to prove herself on the field. And uh all of that goes up in flames when she realizes that the hot ex-pro uh Premier League football god that she has fantasized about for years is actually the arch rival coach of uh the team that she coaches. So uh they have their collision and suddenly her whole career is off the rails.

SPEAKER_00 2:57

Ah, yes, yes, I love it. I love it. I feel like that those those stories just are they just hit something so good.

SPEAKER_01 3:04

They do. Oh gosh, I love a good rivals to lovers. Right, amazing.

Origin Story: First Books And Lessons

SPEAKER_00 3:08

Well, I'd love to hear a little bit about um how you got into writing. Was this something that you kind of always did, or was it like an accident? Like I feel like sometimes that happens too.

SPEAKER_01 3:20

Yeah, oh, totally. Um, so I have always been interested in the writing process. I loved writing short stories when I was younger. I went to college and took a lot of creative writing classes and then got an English degree. So books were pretty much my whole life. Well, then I had children, and when I had my second child, I just decided I was like, you know what? I love books and I think I can write one. So I went through the process of writing my first novel, which would probably be coined a romanticy. Um it wasn't a thing because this was over 10 years ago and it wasn't really a genre, but um it would definitely be that now. And um God loved that novel, but it was underwritten and um it had a lot of issues, but uh it was what really got me into writing. And once I realized that I could write that first book, I knew I was like, this is what I should be doing, and this is what I need to be doing.

SPEAKER_00 4:15

I love that. I feel like that's really true. Like, I feel like the first draft of a book that you have a write is like really just the the gateway of like, oh wait, like I can actually do this. It's it seems so daunting, and then suddenly you do it and you're like, oh wow, okay, cool. Like this is a thing.

SPEAKER_01 4:32

Yes, that is exactly what it was. It is you just have to prove to yourself that you can do it. And then once you know that you can, it's still one of the hardest things ever, but you know that you can do it. So you just have to keep doing it.

SPEAKER_00 4:46

Yeah, and I think you make a great point about like the stories that you write that maybe don't see anybody else's eyes but yours.

unknown 4:54

Right?

SPEAKER_00 4:54

Like those ones are they're great teachers. And I I mean, I kind of love going back and looking at my old work just to see how much you've grown. I think it's a really cool thing to be like, wow, look at what I've learned.

Why Traditional Publishing

SPEAKER_01 5:09

That's so true. Oh my gosh. I actually went back and revisited that first novel this year because I still love the idea of it and I think it was magical. And with this resurgence of romanticy, I thought, you know, maybe the bones are good and they actually are. So I think one day I might get back into it and try and rewrite it. But um, my book deal that I have is actually a three-book deal. So I'm contracted for two more. So my next kind of two and a half years are already kind of planned out.

SPEAKER_00 5:39

Amazing. Amazing. I would love to hear a little bit about sort of that process, obviously going to sort of like the trad publishing direction. Like, is there uh something that kind of like pulled you to try that over self-publishing?

SPEAKER_01 5:54

Oh, absolutely. And I think this is probably pretty common as far as maybe reasoning for it, but I've always wanted to see my book on a bookshelf, like say at maybe Born to Noble or now so independent bookstores, especially these days. But that was really why. And when I started doing my research, you know, a decade ago for it, that was really the only way to get your book into bookstores was being traditionally published. And so that was obviously the main motivator for me at that time. But I just love the idea of having a team behind me that is gonna help with marketing and public publicity and sorts of things. And um, I know that's not, you know, always something that can happen if you're self-publishing or even if you're gonna do like an indie publisher, um, that you know, a smaller one. So um I really like the idea of having that um expertise and knowledge of a company backing me.

SPEAKER_00 6:50

Yeah, definitely. I feel like that's like definitely one of the big pros when it comes to looking at um traditionally publishing a novel of just like knowing that you are not doing it alone. Right. So it's a lot.

Inside The Publishing Machine

SPEAKER_01 7:05

Definitely it is. I mean, uh it's the process is so much more than I ever imagined. Um, I knew a little bit of it. I had actually interned for a very small publisher at one point. And so I had kind of an insider knowledge of kind of the process and how it worked. And you just really pick up a lot of things when you've been in the querying trenches for over a decade, you know, about the process. But there's even more than I ever imagined. Like now that I'm actually in it and working through all of the multitudes of deadlines that you get when you're with traditional publishing. Um, it is it is quite the experience.

SPEAKER_00 7:41

I yeah, I imagine so. Just like a whole other like, yeah, I feel like there's a lot of probably emotion that comes up with that of just like knowing that people are like counting on you in such a big way. Yes, so much so.

SPEAKER_01 7:54

Oh yes.

SPEAKER_00 7:55

Amazing, amazing. I'd love to hear a little bit about um, yeah, just how that querying process went. Cause I I hear so many um of the author of the authors like that I connect with and stuff like that, of just like it's it can be quite a daunting thing. Um, so yeah, I'd love to hear about like how maybe you made it a little less daunting or it just was, and you're like, I'm just gonna embrace it.

Querying Reality And Community

SPEAKER_01 8:20

Oh, definitely. Um, so the querying process is one of the toughest things professionally I've ever been through. And I started this so far back, it feels like that it was it was very different 10 years ago than what it is now. Um, there's so many people who are in the writing game now, and agents are absolutely swamped with the submissions that they're getting. So it's even more competitive now than it was back then. But I can tell you one of the biggest things that helped me in my querying journey was finding other writers who are in the same stage that I was, and having that person or people to commiserate with and also to share tips and tricks with. I mean, really having a writing community was so invaluable. And honestly, too, you hear about the, you know, publishing gossip network. Uh, you know, who do you query, who do you not query, that sort of thing. That was just, you know, things that you don't know unless you know other people in the industry. So having other writers as friends has been my biggest um step up as far as the querying process goes.

SPEAKER_00 9:30

Yeah, I think that that's such a huge thing. Because it can be really like heavy and hard just knowing that you're gonna be going in with this sort of like rejection is likely part of, well, it's like 90% of the thing, right? Like you have to find that one, right? That um, or the few or whatever it is, but there it's a lot of rejection, um, especially if when you're putting your heart and soul into these stories, and then to have people like, yeah, no, it's not not for me.

Rejection, Submission, And Resilience

SPEAKER_01 9:57

Oh my gosh, the rejection is something that you have to come to terms with from the very beginning before you send your first one. And if you can't come to terms with that, then that's something you've really got to think about for the future. Because when you go on submission, once you get an agent, if you're going the traditional publishing route, it is even more brutal than querying for agents because at least with querying for agents, you can send an additional query, you can revise your pitch. There's things, you know, things hands-on that you can do. But you know, when you get in the submission process with editors, it is there's nothing you can nothing you can do personally. And so it's just hands off. But yes, rejection and querying is inevitable and it's heartbreaking, but is also a learning process and it's the it's just how you have to go through it.

SPEAKER_00 10:47

Definitely. I feel like it's that sort of like really learning how to to realize that it's it's not the it's not the writing that's necessarily like bad or anything like that, especially if you've taken the time to like really kind of like give the best work that you can. It's just finding that right person, right? Like the right agent, the right um publisher and stuff, and really just like it just it feels like it's that puzzle piece where you guys all have to like connect together.

SPEAKER_01 11:15

Well, yes, and there is a degree of just chance and luck with it, and that's that's really hard to come to terms with because you have to accept that sometimes it is about timing. And um, my querying journey was long and arduous. Um, I actually was agented, I had my first agent and uh for a previous novel, and it didn't work out, and we actually had to part ways, and that was a whole thing in it in and of itself. And so I had to go back into the querying trenches after having thought I had finally, you know, reached the pinnacle and then start from the bottom and go again. And then uh with this last novel, my um debut, The Greatest Game, is actually what got me my current agent. And so uh it has been, you know, just slugging through the trenches.

Sports Romance Momentum And Range

SPEAKER_00 12:04

Definitely, definitely. And I feel like too, like obviously sports romance is definitely having its moment, um, which I love, right? Like I feel like it was probably always like a thing, but like it's it's especially like taken off, which is so fun. Um, because yeah, I just I feel like you can do so much with that like genre and like the like just the especially to see like women in sports and kind of like in these like typically like male-dominated industries and and stuff like that. So I think that's a really cool, cool thing. I've I mean, romance is like, I feel like one of the top selling genres, I think, if not like the biggest one, um, which is wild.

SPEAKER_01 12:46

For sure. Yeah, romance um is definitely a lot of times I feel like carrying the um industry on its shoulders quite a bit. Um, it's so popular. Uh, sports romance has definitely had its moment. And um that, I mean, I love sports personally. I'm kind of in my soccer mom era, which is uh partially what inspired me to write my book. Uh there's it is it's so versatile. There's so much that you can do with it. And you can have these really sports-intensive novels that really get into the details of it, but you can also have ones that are it's really more of the background, and so it's still focused on the love story. And um, so personally, my um my series, which is actually called the Endgame Series and The Great Same, is the first book of it. Um, each of them are gonna be uh different characters but interconnected. And so I do have another soccer one that's gonna be my book too. But my third book is actually gonna be rugby. So um all of the I think it's that's part of like what the appeal of sports romance is that you can just do so much with it and you can there's you know endless possibilities for it, even if it only sometimes seems like it's only hockey, right?

Themes: Sexism And Eating Disorders

SPEAKER_00 13:54

Yes, hockey is definitely, I feel like that was my gateway into it. Um, I mean, I'm in I'm in Canada, so I feel like hockey is like our thing. Um like we're like so like I I don't watch that much sports, but I I feel like it's still it's still so fun um to just like learn. I love learning, even if it is like in a romance, like you still learn stuff.

SPEAKER_01 14:15

Oh yeah, 100%. And uh with the greatest game, kind of uh back to the point you were saying about women in sports, that was one of the reasons that I wrote the book. I have two daughters, and so um it's interesting to me the difference how girls versus boys are treated in sports. And one of the issues I really wanted to tackle with my debut novel was was the issue of sexism in sports and not just for athletes, but for coaches, and so that's one of the heavy-hitting topics that I uh explore in my book. Um, it is there is lighthearted romance, but I do have some serious topics in there that I cover, such as the, you know, sexism. Um, I do cover eating disorders in there because that's so prevalent in the female athletic community. And I think it really needs to be talked about more.

SPEAKER_00 15:03

Yeah, I feel like that's such a huge thing to like to tap into. Cause I think you're right, it is not not something that is talked about, especially in that sort of like bordering, like with it still being health focused, right? Like it's that like, you know, uh, I guess more orthorexia kind of like, you know, thing. Um, but yeah, that's very interesting to to to see that like I love how we can weave in those really big, important like overall themes and then still like have that like romance kind of playing in the in as well, right? Like so both get to coexist. And I think that I I love stories like that that just they feel relatable, right? Like you've got characters that you're like, oh, like if I don't see myself, I see someone I know, right? Like, so I really like appreciate all of the different like representation that is, I feel like, coming um to the forefront in in novels now. I think it's really um it's refreshing.

Editorial Timeline And Cover Reveal

SPEAKER_01 16:03

Yes, I 100% agree. Um, it's important, I think, that you you keep the balance of having the romance that the readers are there for. But I think it's wonderful when authors such like call Carly Fortune or Abby Jimenez and uh there's Chloe Lais, there's so many romance authors that are just really hitting all the perfect notes in their books with these secondary topics that you know, you have your romance, but then you cover so many important things that really just give this depth to a genre that's you know, sometimes honestly it's kind of picked on for being, you know, a little bit too superficial. So I think it's fantastic what um all of these authors are doing right now with it.

SPEAKER_00 16:44

Yes, I love it. I feel like we need more, especially like romance, yeah, romance, rom-coms. Like I want more of that in my life. Like I just, it's it's just uh kind of the yeah, it makes me happy. So that's that's that's all I all I want right now. Um, I'd love to hear a little bit about how things have gone now that it's like I'm assuming it's it's done, right? Like, so it's you've got a release date, uh, the book is finished. So, like what do you have to do in the meantime, like navigating like that? Like you obviously you you talked a little bit about deadlines and stuff like that. So, like I'd love to hear a little bit more about like how that kind of like works um for you.

SPEAKER_01 17:25

Yeah, absolutely. So um kind of after signing my contract with Canelo, um, the book itself was was done in you know in a version. Yeah. And then it does go through several different types of edits uh with your editor, you know, like so we did a short round of developmental editing, and then we did copy editing, and then we did line editing, and then a proofreader. It's this was part of what kind of blew my mind uh was how many different versions it goes through before it goes to the printer, essentially. And so I've been working on those deadlines up until this month, really. And so it is done. Um we've been working on the cover for several months now, um, you know, making revisions after a rough draft. And so the cover is finalized. Um, I'll be doing a cover reveal, just in FYI, um, in mid-January, like an official cover reveal. I'm super excited about that because it is gorgeous. And um, but yeah, so most of the deadlines have been editorial thus far. And after the beginning of the year, um, we'll really start moving into the marketing and publicity portion of the book process.

SPEAKER_00 18:34

Amazing. Awesome. That's that's so cool. Um, yeah, it's wild to think of like still again, like how much editing goes into it um after you've you've got the deal and stuff like that. Um, just because I guess the more eyes on it, the better. Um, absolutely.

Character Genesis And Premier League Drama

SPEAKER_01 18:51

That's kind of and that's one of the benefits, I think, too, of traditional publishing is that you have all these resources and so you're not wondering, oh gosh, did I miss something? You know, you do you have like 10 plus sets of eyes on this novel. So it's going to be in its best shape that it can be by the time it actually is in readers' hands.

SPEAKER_00 19:09

Exactly. And that's and that's what you want. I feel like there's nothing worse when you like you see the the issues and you're like, ah, that's something I should have caught sooner. Um, because yeah, it's so easy to miss that stuff when you're when you're working on your own.

SPEAKER_01 19:23

Oh, absolutely. And when you've looked at a manuscript for probably the hundredth time, oh, it I mean, you miss it's so easy to miss stuff because we're just human and that's gonna happen. But yes, I feel like I've um read this novel, I don't know how many times, and so I'm grateful that it's gonna be going up to readers and someone else can read it.

SPEAKER_00 19:43

Right. I I love you guys, but like we it's time to move on. Like I wanna I wanna connect with the the next the next set of people, right? Absolutely. Amazing. Um sorry, uh my train of thought just disappeared here. Oh my gosh. Oh no, that's right. It's like the the the caffeine is just not working anymore. Um sorry. No, don't worry about it. It's it's it's just it's December, right? Like we're in December and like end of the hall, like school hall. It's all of the things, all of the things. Um amazing. So I would like to dive in um a little bit more about like obviously you touched a little bit on the idea of this book, but like what what was it that maybe like like I guess how did this story come to be? Like how did these characters like come into your world?

Patience, Timing, And The Deal Day

SPEAKER_01 20:37

So absolutely. Uh this is pretty interesting because uh so I mentioned earlier that I had an agent before my current agent. And so the book that got that agent was another sports romance, and it was based on two totally separate characters. But Marcy, the main character for The Greatest Game, was actually the best friend of the main character of the other novel. So she really started as kind of the sidekick character for another love story. And I always knew when I wrote that book, I was like, she was so vivid on the page. She just has this personality that it's she's not a sidekick. She is main character all the way. And so I knew I was like, I have to write her love story. I didn't know who it would be at the time when I was working on that other book, but I knew that there something would happen. And so she started there. And then after I completed that book and I was, you know, thinking about writing more for it, I knew I wanted it to be soccer because soccer is pretty much my life right now with uh my kids. And so we're always in the soccer field or watching it or, you know, something along those lines. And I really started getting interested in the Premier League, just the professional aspect of it. And that's kind of where it started. I was like, there's so much drama in professional soccer. Um, it's uh super dramatic on the field, like there's lots of facial expressions, and there's so much, um, just so much emotion that I was like, I really wanna tap into that. And so it just seemed like an obvious bet. I was like, well, I'm gonna bring in an a Premier League player, and then it evolved from there. I was like, oh, he's gonna be um an ex pro who is you know running from this scandal in London. And um Marcy obviously has been obsessed with him for years, and then suddenly she meets him, and of course the sparks fly. So that's that's all where it was born.

SPEAKER_00 22:34

I love it. I'm yeah, I'm so here for that. Like it's just it's it's so fun to see these characters like come to life on the page. And you're like, wow, like I we we were just like in here, and now we're like on like I you seem real, um, which is just like the weirdest thing.

SPEAKER_01 22:53

Yeah, it is like when you think about it, it's like you hallucinate this entire world for imaginary people, but it's it's the coolest thing ever, right?

SPEAKER_00 23:03

Yeah, it's so fun. It's so fun. Um, and then just yeah, falling in love with characters and then knowing that readers get to meet them too is just such a exciting part of that journey as well. Of just like, I can't wait. I feel like I imagine that's kind of like sitting in that and like anticipation of like, oh, like it's we're getting so close to having readers have it now.

SPEAKER_01 23:29

Yeah, it is uh this whole process has gone by so quickly, I cannot believe how fast it has gone. And so the fact that it's just mere months away that there's gonna be other people who are dissecting this, and but also hopefully following, you know, falling in love with these characters the way that I have. Um, it's just yeah, it is I've said it already, but such a cool experience.

SPEAKER_00 23:53

Right. Yeah, I honestly I think that's something I feel like you almost never want to get over that um as like a writer, right? Like it's just that feels like that is one of the reasons that you write is to have people like connect with these characters. And yeah, that power of storytelling that I feel like just connects us. Um is so like it's cool. It makes us feel like not alone. I feel like even even in if even a lighthearted like romance. I'm like, oh, I feel like somebody gets me.

SPEAKER_01 24:24

Yes, absolutely. I mean, and really that's what all you can ask for as a writer if you connect with someone on that kind of level and they understand what you were trying to get get through with your words. I think yes, that is the whole aim of it. And um, I hope as my career continues that I never lose sight of that.

SPEAKER_00 24:43

Amazing. It's like the beginning. It's only the beginning, which is so cool. I feel like just standing uh in so many big adventures. I coming next year for you, uh, which is really, really cool to like know that oh, like this is like happening. And um, that was something that I found really interesting, uh, of just like the the time, like was like how much time was there between kind of like getting the agent and then actually like knowing when your book is gonna be released.

Craft Growth Over Years

SPEAKER_01 25:14

So let's see. I got my agent, the one that's representing me currently uh last year. We did work on our edits for the book before putting it out on submission with editors. We did take several months for that. And so this went out on submission in September of 2024. And we were pretty aggressive. We sent out to did a simultaneous submission to US and UK editors uh pretty much right off the bat. Okay. So, however, um, we ended up doing a second and kind of a third round of editors as well as the responses started coming in from them. And so we I got my deal offer. Um, that was in the end of the summer this year. It was almost a year. Um, so it was in August, I believe, if I remember correctly, that uh we got offered uh the three-book deal for it. And the funny story behind that is is that the Friday that we got the official offer for this is when we kind of had planned to take it off of submission. Um, it had been, you know, almost a year. And we're like, oh, well, we've we've sent it out to all of these editors, and so maybe it's time to move on to the next project. And so we had given a tentative date on that Friday, that was gonna be it. And um, that was the day that we received the offer. So um it was just it seemed kind of like fate that it happened.

SPEAKER_00 26:41

I love that. That like those those moments, right? I feel like it's always like it's you know, it's always darkest before dawn, right? Like it's that like one moment where you're like, oh, I guess it's done, it's not gonna work, and then then it all comes together, and you're like, holy, holy cow.

SPEAKER_01 26:56

Yes, and that's what I've told so many people. I'm like, this was literally the day that we were going to pull this novel and it happened. So do not give up hope because I mean, I never would have imagined that on the last day that we would have gotten a deal offer, and then we did. So that's wild.

Read, Write, And Build Endurance

SPEAKER_00 27:12

Yeah, and it's just it too, like that time. Like this has been a long time coming, right? Like it's it's quite a process, and I think really like understanding that is I think a really important thing if you do want to pursue traditional publishing, is that it's not typically a quick thing, even if you do maybe luck out and get an agent relatively quickly in your query and process, like the submission, like all of that stuff. Like it takes so much uh time for them to like get everything because it is such a big business, right? Like they're investing in you because uh you're hopefully gonna make the money, right? Like that. So it is that sort of like that we've got a story and all of that. So it's it is something like I I didn't realize how much time it does take in order to like get a book out from like that very first, like, yes, you've got an agent to it's on the shelves.

SPEAKER_01 28:08

Oh, absolutely. Patience is a must, and I can tell you I'm it the least patient person in the world. And so this has been like the most grading part of it is that you have to wait on so many other people for these stages, and you you know, you just have to wait. There's literally nothing else to be done. But like you said, that's the entire querying process as well, and then the agenting part. And I know there's some statistics that talk about traditional public publishing and I like how most people have to go through maybe two to three books on submission before they actually get their first deal. And I think that probably pans out based on the people that I know in the business and how long it took them to get book deals. So, I mean, that can be years, years and years of waiting while you're just in those trenches, you know, trying to find someone who wants to buy your book. So patience is definitely a must.

SPEAKER_00 29:04

Definitely. And I think that just kind of comes back to that why of like, why why are you writing? What is like do is the dream big enough to kind of like hold that and like really like you trusting that it it's going to happen? And I think that that can be a really hard thing sometimes, uh, just because it is, like you said, it's slow and the patience and the it's like I just want it to happen now. Is it not happening now? Um, but I feel like that's such solid advice of just like reminding yourself that it's it has nothing to do with your writing, right? Like it it's just it takes that time um because like of the sheer volume that they're getting of like submissions.

Links, Preorders, And Socials

SPEAKER_01 29:45

And I'll be honest with you, um, I used to get a little salty thinking about like how long it was taking me in my journey. Um, but I go back and I look at my previous books that I've written, because I've written probably seven or eight at this point um and queried most of them. And I look back at the progression of my writing craft and I think I wasn't ready. And you know what? I didn't know it at the time. I thought I was ready, but now I look at it and I'm like, I, you know, we all just steadily improve our craft the more we write. And so, you know, gosh, eight years ago, what seemed great, I look back now and I'm like, oh gosh, those, you know, the feedback I got on that was actually accurate. You know, I felt a little bit sad about it at the time, but I needed that time to get to where I am now. And so now I can say that I'm grateful for all of that. Um, in the moment, it's hard to see it, but uh, that's some of the most pertinent advice that I can give for new writers is that um while it seems like maybe some of the feedback might be harsh, um, it's all in the best interest of helping you so that you're putting out a product to people that you can be proud of and that you know people want to continue to read what you write.

Closing And Writer Resources

SPEAKER_00 31:00

Yeah, I think that that that's so key of just just um yeah, just writing, like really like just keep writing. Like it it the more you write, the better a writer you become, the more you read too, the better a writer you become, right? Like just immersing yourself in that sort of space and um really seeing how other people tell stories and like what keeps you engaged as a reader and like learning all of that sort of stuff, like that's so um important. And it is true. Like it's like, oh my gosh, like I look back at like the very first. I'm like, why did I think I could query this? Like I wasn't this was not not no, not good at all. Um, but it did have like it it had the foundation and it's not like it just was missing so much because you don't know what you don't know at that point, right? Um, so I think it's just really that like um it's the it's a slow process though. It's like I just want it to work now. Um I just want it to like the story to like flow in the way I want like it's so it's that like it can be quite a challenging thing. And I think the hardest thing about writing is it it's you're never gonna be perfect at it. Like it's it's never a done thing, like it's always evolving, always improving, changing. Um and I think too just the sort of like the timing, like the timing matters of like just knowing that you're like maybe in the right headspace to be able to handle like what goes along with um like trad publishing and feedback and all of that, because that's a whole other thing uh to navigate as well. Uh so I I think it's a really solid reminders of like it's not too late. Like I know we can get stuck on that like mindset of like, oh, I should have started or should be further ahead. But at the end of the day, if you have that story and you trust it and you know that people need it, need to read it, then I think that like keep going is gonna make such a difference. Persistence, perseverance, absolutely definitely amazing. Well, I would love for you to share how people can follow along on your writing journey and obviously stay in touch and definitely get their hands on this book when it comes out next year, um, because that's very important.

SPEAKER_01 33:15

Absolutely. So I will be sending out some pre-order links for the greatest game when I do my cover reveal in January. So you can find me pretty much on all social media. I'm on Instagram, Twitter slash X, whatever you're calling it these days, um, on Threads, I'm on TikTok. Um, I have an author Facebook page as well. And then I have my website, which is www.terassexton.com. Um, so I am on all the socials and you can find me. I do updates constantly because that's pretty much a requirement nowadays for authors. So um some of it's a little corny. I apologize, but I do the best I can. But I will definitely be updating the publishing journey um pretty much daily.

SPEAKER_00 34:00

Amazing, amazing. Well, everything will be linked in the show notes, and I mean, I feel like you just gotta like roll with it and it's part of it now, right? Like it's just part of marketing of like this is what we're doing, I guess. It is amazing, amazing. Well, it was so lovely chatting with you. Um, I feel like I learned so much. Um, yeah, just about kind of like the the sort of like trad publishing world because I feel like it is very kind of mysterious and like this sort of like thing that so many people don't really fully understand. So I always love to chat with authors who kind of have firsthand experience of like navigating it.

SPEAKER_01 34:39

Oh, it can just definitely be mysterious, like there's a bit of a veil over it. And um I think it's great when writers are able to step out and really kind of lift that away and give some insight into how things work because I mean I feel like the process just gets better for everyone the more we share about it.

SPEAKER_00 34:57

Thanks so much for listening to today's episode. And if you really loved this author, I highly encourage you to go check out their links and comment and share their work because let's be real, as an indie author, all that stuff makes such a difference. And if you're feeling a little stuck on your draft and just want some gentle accountability, check out my one-to-one offers that are linked in the show notes as well. I'd love to support you with your writing or editing journey. And if that's not quite where you're at, I've also put together a really amazing free resource to help with taking your writing to the next level because there are so many amazing resources available without needing to spend a ton of money or get that MFA or all of the things that you may think that you need in order to write a book. Until next time, keep writing your way and trust yourself enough to tell your story. Because I promise, if it's coming to you, there's a reason and someone needs to hear it.