We recently connected with Paula (pj) Braley and have shared our conversation below.

Paula (PJ), thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

I do wish I had started my writing career sooner. But then, again, most of my administrative career was spent writing, and/or copy editing or proofreading someone else’s writing. I wrote mostly clumsy poetry and unfinished gothic novels in my teens, essays and reports in school, and letter composition and public relations copy in my first career. However, when my father passed away it was like a wake-up call, and I realized it would have to start taking my writing seriously or to put those dreams – that part of my creative life – away forever.

Also, I had another compelling reason. About that time, a story that I had spent several years prewriting in my head was finally coming together, so I took a summer off and started writing science fiction novels. I haven’t looked back since.

Paula (PJ), before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Writing science fiction novels wasn’t my first thought when I considered a writing career. I thought it would be historical romance/fiction or well-researched historical nonfiction. When I decided to go forward with science fiction, I realized my name, my website, and my contacts needed to change. I went from my name (Paula) to using my initials (PJ), I changed my website from ItsAllAboutTheWords.com to PJBraley.com, the colors of my website changed from blues and grays to dark red, black, and cream. I started following successful scifi writers on social media to see who published their work, how they promoted their books, and to learn more about science fiction trends.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

When I decided to become a serious writer (meaning writing for publication rather than just for myself), it was just as self-publishing was coming into vogue. Before then, all self-publishing was considered vanity press (and cost a fortune [a fortune that I did not have]), so I had to try my luck at traditional published. For several years, Sundays were spent updating query letters, researching agents, entering pitch contests, and keeping my eye on my email 24/7. I had a few heart-stopping nibbles, two or three requests but, most of the time, nothing at all. I don’t give up easily, so for seven years I sent our letters, the first five pages, the first three chapters…with little interest. Something needed to be done.

With a deep breath, I took a bit of money that I had saved and hired a professional editor. She asked questions that pointed out some inconsistencies in the narrative, grammar issues I was not aware of, and shared some insights into what science fiction readers expected from the story in regards to characters and world-building. My manuscript become more cohesive and I became a better writer. It was worth every penny.

I’d like to end this by saying that my story was accepted by the very next publisher I contacted, but it didn’t happen that way – it was the third.

Have you ever had to pivot?

As I mentioned previously, I spent seven years sending letters to agents, independent publishers, and the big five publishers without much interest. Although I always had the support of my friends and family, I was beginning to feel that, perhaps, my story wasn’t good enough to be published. I didn’t understand that because I had been reading and writing all my life, My characters were as real to me as the people I met with everyday, so maybe it wasn’t the story; it could be the way I was telling it. I realized then that having a degree in English, or a certificate in writing, was not enough. I needed help, my manuscript needed help, and I did not know any successful fiction authors who could share their thoughts, or their journey, with me. That was when a trained, outside voice became a necessity.

And I had to start over. Much of the manuscript was good, some was redundant, and many descriptions were incomplete. In the beginning, I thought that all I needed was a book and the reading world would beat a path to my door. If I had known at the outset the amount of work and time it takes to create a successful – well-written and well-received – book, I’m not sure I would have started.

But what I really learned from this experience was that I did not know everything. That is was okay to ask for (and accept) help, and that humble listening and learning can make all the difference in your work.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://pjbraley.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pjbraley/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pjbraley
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pjbraley/
• Twitter: @pjbraley
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVfDPWZ5E00

Image Credits

The book covers were designed by Between the Lines Publishing
The heart on fire graphic was designed by David Collins