Salon
Twenty writers were crammed into the little café. There were no more chairs left. We sat huddled together in a bumpy, uneven circle, straining to hear each over the sound of shifting bodies. I occupied a seat in the corner, where I could see everyone, and watch for latecomers. Months earlier, I’d put up a lavender flyer, advertising a salon (discussion group) for writers living in my area. My motivation was to gather some local writers together for coffee and conversation. I’d started and run other groups before, but nothing like this. I didn’t know what to expect.
The smell of cappuccino and dark chocolate filled the air. People sipped their coffee and nibbled their desserts and looked at me expectantly. They’d all given up a Sunday afternoon to be here. I wasn’t worried. I’d come prepared with a topic for discussion. But first I said wanted to hear from them, why they’d come, what kind of writing they did etc.
Several people shared and then, Kathy, a soft-spoken woman to my left spoke up. Smiling shyly, she said, “My novel just got published.â€
The room turned silent and all eyes turned to her. She had uttered the magic words all writers long to say. Before our eyes she’d transformed from an ordinary person into someone extraordinary—a published novelist. We saw her as a survivor, as someone who’d crossed over the river of impossibility, weathered the storms of rejection, and reached the summit of success—she was a writer with a story to tell.
Kathy’s story is a story of persistence. Her first attempt at selling novel not only resulted in rejections from a couple dozen publishers, but also being dumped by the agent representing her. Discouraged, she put the book in a drawer, and forgot about it for awhile. Most writers in that situation would have either given up writing altogether or begun another book.
Kathy didn’t do that, and that is what makes her story so important. She still believed in the story she’d written, so she decided to take a good, hard look at the rejection letters she’d received from the publishers. Studying them, she learned that her book was too long and that she needed to put more emphasis on the plot.
Next comes the painful part. Kathy rewrote the book from beginning to end, resulting in a book hundreds of pages shorter than her first one. She narrowed her focus as well to the relationship between her main characters. She found another agent, and working with this agent on further revisions, she found herself with a solid offer from not one, but two publishers.
After she finished, I looked around the room. People’s faces were radiant with inspiration and excitement. We’d all been transported into the realm of possibility. I’d never felt such energy pass through a room before.
The rest of the afternoon was filled with talk of writing, and plans to meet again the following month. It was a Sunday afternoon well spent, with writers who discovered that success can be found as close as your neighborhood café.
