Success Story with Jen Marie Hawkins

Please share your exciting news:

I’m so thrilled to share that I have accepted a publishing offer for The Language Of Cherries, which I workshopped at The Writing Barn back in 2015. It releases spring 2020 from Owl Hollow Press.

How did studying/retreating at The Writing Barn support you in achieving this goal? What workshop/intensives/or classes have you taken with us?

I walked into The Writing Barn ready to give up. I’d registered for the workshop—a 4-day weekend intensive taught by Matt de la Peña and A.M. Jenkins—about six months before it took place. In those prior six months, I experienced a lot of disappointing setbacks. I parted ways with my first agent a week before the workshop began. I was wrestling with devastation and feeling like a failure. But since I’d already registered and planned to go, I took a very rough, incomplete draft of The Language of Cherries with me. I kind of half-expected everyone to tell me how much it sucked. But the opposite happened. I met a group of smart, kind, accomplished authors, who gave me critical feedback and much-needed praise that helped me not only complete the draft, but also re-shape it during revisions. The last day of the workshop, Matt’s parting words to me were “Finish the book.” And when a Newbery winner gives you writing advice, you take it.

How long have you been writing/pursuing an agent/publishing deal?

I sent my first query in 2012. I’d written two books by then, mostly for fun. They were both barfy and embarrassing, as first books tend to be. I got my first agent with the third book, but ended up shelving it when I parted ways with that agent. Cherries was my fourth. In total, I wrote (and rewrote) upwards of 400k words and collected 250+ rejections over four manuscripts before I signed with my current (amazing!) agent, and was subsequently offered a publishing contract. That offer came exactly three years (to the date!) from my first day at the Writing Barn intensive. I think that’s pretty poetic, don’t you?

What fears/hopes did you have before attending the WB class, intensive/or working with Bethany privately?   

It’s intimidating to walk into a room with such incredible, accomplished authors. Many of them were already published or had MFAs. My background is in healthcare, so I had no formal writing education/training beyond the pre-requisites required for nursing school. Compared to them, I was a hobbyist writer. I did not want to be the dumbest person in the room, so I tried to stay as quiet as possible until they all forced me to talk, haha. An extremely helpful pep talk on imposter syndrome gave me the courage to sit up straight and fully participate.

I was also terrified of the workshop setting itself; I imagined it being a round robin punching session where I’d stoically bear each jab, and then slip from the room to sob. (I can be a tad melodramatic.) Imagine my relief when I discovered that wasn’t the case! The setting was extremely collaborative, with thoughtful discussions and brainstorming sessions to support and improve the work at hand.

How did the atmosphere of The Writing Barn aid you in achieving this goal?

The Writing Barn’s atmosphere facilitates an encouraging community of creatives who support one another. I left The Writing Barn feeling empowered. It was a complete 180 from the way I felt when I first arrived.

Have you made friendships/colleagues as well? How has that supported you?

Yes! I met some of my favorite people at that workshop. We all still keep in touch and root for each other. Two attendees became my critique partners, and one became an incredibly important sensitivity reader for my work.

Why do you think attending workshops/classes is important to writers at all stages of their career?

Writing is lonely business, so it’s easy to feel adrift at times—to doubt your own capabilities. These opportunities not only provide community and support, but also critical feedback that aids in the improvement of craft. It doesn’t matter if you’ve written one book or twenty; the workshop setting is always useful.

What is a takeaway you will carry with you far beyond this good news as you continue to build and develop your career?

I will always think of The Writing Barn as the place where my dream of becoming a published author became less of a dream and more of an attainable goal.

Any advice you have for writers/creatives having trouble staying the course in pursuing their goals?

Never give up, even when you really really want to. Persistence is an absolute requirement if you want to achieve your goals. Rejection hurts, but don’t let it defeat you. Let it galvanize your determination to learn and grow and evolve as a writer. Keep submitting, keep trying, but without comparing your timeline to someone else’s. You’ll drive yourself crazy. The only difference between an author who has been published and an author who hasn’t is that the published author never gave up.