by Michéle Olson
My main motivation was to write a story that I would want to read!
I took a lot of things that I love – Mackinac Island, The Grand Hotel, I Love Lucy, Old Hollywood, movies and TV shows with nuns, and an authentic faith walk.
That’s where the basis of the story came from which was pure fun for me.
The old adage “write what you know” really holds true in Being Ethel (In a World that Loves Lucy). I’ve received feedback that it’s a fast-paced read, which I love to hear.
I’m not a person who enjoys a lot of description when I read a book, and I really like first-person, so I also went down those avenues.
Is Writing This Book Worth It?
The biggest challenge in writing this book? First of all, wondering if it was worth it.
I would walk into a bookstore or look online and think, does the world really need another book, isn’t there enough?
But, then I started to adhere to the school of thought which pushes the idea that no one can write exactly the story I would write.
The next big challenge was understanding fiction. I’ve been a marketing/advertising writer for over 40 years, and the rules are not the same. So basically, I had to get through a lot of head games to decide to sit down and write a novel.
I Work a Full-Time Job While Writing, so I’m Just Plain Old Tired Sometimes!
My biggest nemesis is time.
I work a full-time job while pursuing this, so I am just plain old tired sometimes! Yet, emotionally, I knew this was what I needed to do.
My challenge was to start this now, or just wait until I’m retired eventually and pursue it then. The desire to do it won out over the fatigue, and the joy I was finding in the writing made me happy.
I don’t think I am by nature a story-teller, in a traditional sense, so I had to find out how this would all work out—matching desire with good writing, and good storytelling.
Once I knew this was my direction, I couldn’t stop!
I’m a Deadline Person, but Self-Imposed Doesn’t Always Work
I have probably started a book ten times or more through the years, but I had never studied the industry or fiction writing in depth.
I signed up with a mentor and mentor group that had a deadline to finish the book to be able to go to a meet-up in Nashville. That was a true turning point for me. ]
I’m a deadline person, and self-imposed doesn’t always work!
My biggest triumph was getting the book from start to finish, have it make sense with all the plot lines, and then getting some feedback from some beta readers that they enjoyed it and thought it was quite different from what is available.
Starting and finishing the book was a great accomplishment in my own world and on my bucket list.
Who Am I to Write a Book?
I have learned so much through this whole process about the publishing business as a whole, the decision to go out as an indie author, and to find my own voice in fiction.
I think every new writer to fiction goes through a moment of thinking—who am I to write a book or put words out into the world? Who will care? Who will read it? Do I care if they read it? Do I care if I sell books?
The statistic aren’t good—we are told you will probably sell 100 books including to your mother! There’s a lot of truth to that theory if you aren’t willing to put the time into marketing. It’s very time consuming.
I have also loved the writing community as a whole, both in my mentor group on Facebook, private groups, and public social media. We have all “walked a mile in the shoes” and we know this path is not for the faint of heart! It’s hard work, and if it was easy, everyone would do it.
Writing a Book at Retirement Age—Exciting!
Writing the book at this time of my life where I’m almost at what is considered retirement age has given me a new vision for the next big chapter in my life. That’s exciting to me.
I’ve also really loved building the publishing companuy—Lake Girl Publishing—with my husband. He’s an engineer, and invaluable to me on the technical side. His support has made all the difference in making this happen, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed that after 41 years of marriage, we can embark on this new adventure together.
I love what it’s doing to our relationship, working so closely together after very separate careers all these years.
Writing the book has also opened up another world I’ve been able to pursue and hope to pursue more—speaking! I love speaking to groups about the underlying tenants in my book and books to come, and interacting in that way.
I Knew When I Wrote the Book, I Had a Market in Mind
There’s so much advice out there, my head swims with what to pursue and what to avoid! Much of it can be contradictory, so a newbie to the industry can be rather lost.
However, with my background in marketing and advertising, I have some ideas of my own which has helped a lot. I knew when I wrote the book, I had a market in mind beyond the fiction/suspense/romance market.
Because it takes place on a popular Midwest Island—Mackinac Island, Michigan— I know what it’s like to be there and want to take the magic you feel in a visit home with you. I am also a big I Love Lucy fan, so I wanted to reach out to my fellow fans.
The biggest surprise has been other private Facebook groups I belong to have been very receptive that I’ve written a book. I don’t just push the book, but I relate it to the group. That’s been my best “free” way to reach out to people I don’t know.
I will be signing books at the Island Bookstore in May. I’m lightly pursuing some social media ads, but on a very limited basis. My goal is to try to market in some way, whether small or big, every week. My time nemesis is still an issue!
Advice for a Young Writer: Understand that This is a Business
First of all, this is a business, and the more you can understand the business, the easier it will be to go the distance.
My training with a best-selling author through a video course, and the fellow new authors I met through the group has proved invaluable in knowledge and encouragement.
I started out thinking I would go the traditional publishing route, and once diving in, realized that road was too slow for me to get a book out there. There’s no right or wrong answer, but don’t say no to either option.
Get into writer’s groups because there is a wealth of people willing to help and give advice about what has happened in their writing journey.
And, never forget your why. I’m in the phase where you can get caught up in algorithms, and statistics of sales. I don’t want that, I want to write books that I enjoy and find the kindred souls out there who agree and want to read more of the words I’m putting out. I hope to make sales, and I’ll try my best to make that happen, but it can’t be my “why” for writing.
Also, pace yourself if you can’t do this full time! It’s a lot of work, and you don’t want to burn out. Give yourself time. I read about people putting out five books a year and I can’t imagine how I would ever do that, even if I was writing novels full-time. I took several years to write this first book, and the second book—Being Dorothy (In a world longing for home) will be at least a year in the making. I hope to have it out by the end of 2020.
I’ll do a few non-fiction offerings in the meantime —more for fun books. My next thing is to finish the audio version of Being Ethel (In a world that loves Lucy). Overall, this is a rewarding, hard, fun, exciting, exhausting journey, and I’m so humbled and thankful I get to take this road!
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Michèle Olson has an over-forty-year career in advertising and marketing as a writer in all mediums, with an emphasis in health writing. She has also enjoyed a professional voice career including time as a DJ (yes, even when they still played records!) and has voiced local to national commercials and voice projects.
It has always been her dream to segue into fiction and Being Ethel (In a world that loves Lucy) is the first in a series based on Mackinac Island—a tiny island in the Straits of Mackinac that connect the Upper and Lower Peninsula of Michigan. A visitor there along with her husband for over thirty years, she loves to tell people about this unique place with no cars and plenty of fudge!
A mom, a mother-in-love, and a “Gee Gee” (G as in good), Michèle resides with her husband in the shadow of Lambeau Field, where life around football abounds. She cherishes her faith and family above all and is delighted to take you on this trip to Mackinac Island, a place that has brought her so much respite and joy.
She loves connecting, so reach back through social media and at LakeGirlPublishing.com. You can find her on Twitter at @MoDawnWriter.
Being Ethel (In a World that Loves Lucy): 1979 is getting on Piper Penn’s nerves. Struggling to survive past tragedies, she finds comfort in Old Hollywood movies in her native San Francisco. Seeing no reason to adhere to man-made rules after her first-hand look at the ultimate in hypocrisy, Piper does what she wants, and trouble follows.
An unexpected inheritance on a tiny Midwest island in the Straits of Mackinac provides an escape. The mandated stay at the island’s glorious Grand Hotel gives her spirits a much-needed boost, especially when she catches the eye of a handsome groundskeeper. Taking part as an extra during the filming of the island movie Somewhere in Time adds to her excitement about this turn in her life.
When mysterious accusations and headstrong residents send her into a tailspin, she finds friendship from a quirky, I Love Lucy loving nun who challenges her embittered look at life and faith. Can Piper survive the baffling attempts to derail her inheritance before it’s too late or has she fallen for a well-planned ruse while falling in love?
Available at Amazon, Smashwords, and Barnes & Noble