From the frying pan into the fire

by Theresa Jacobs

I was 46 yrs. old, working in retail, and had squashed my desire to write for twenty plus years. I was beginning to question my life, or more so, my lack of ambition in 2016. One day I woke up and said to myself: “Life is pointless if I am not happy with who I am.”  

My new life as a writer was born that day.

I did have a dusty, twenty-year-old manuscript, housed on floppy discs – for those who may not know, this is an outdated mode of saving files.

I have a tendency to jump straight from the frying pan into the fire. I took these files, and without re-reading the book, or doing any editing, I decided to upload it to Amazon. That was not a brilliant idea. I just put a rough draft out there for all the world to read.

I quickly learned how many people there are in the Indie book world…hundreds of thousands… and the feedback was not good.

I did not let that stop me however, because I knew it could be better. I just needed help to understand the world of self-publishing. I joined writer’s groups. This was the first, best thing, I ever did.

During this time I was meeting other authors just like me, and they were kind and helpful. I gained a mentor instantly, who took me under his wing and helped me with editing my novel.

I began with creating stories for contests and, even, to my humble surprise, accepted to be a contributor to an online magazine. I write a weekly blog based on my newbie ‘Writers Life,’ with promo info, inspirations, and a monthly spotlight on other authors.

In two years I have two novels, one novella, lots of anthologies, stories and articles everywhere and hundreds of blog posts.

Just imagine on what you could do in 2 years!

Jacobs.jpgYup it’s ME. My Book Cataclysm (yes beside Joe Hill). 


Theresa Jacobs believes in magic, fairies, dragons and ghosts. Yet she trusts science and thinks that aliens know way too much. She loves binge watching sitcoms, and is a sci-fi nerd at heart.

You can learn more about Theresa over at her WordPress Blog and her website. She can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Pet Spotlight: Gemma

Jacobs dog.jpg

 

29 responses to “From the frying pan into the fire”

  1. In the Quiet Avatar

    Thanks so much for sharing—great inspiration as I also waited until later in life to take my writing seriously.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. indiefan20 Avatar

    Congratulations! You can definitely serve as an inspiration for people who are twenty-five and think their potential to be a writer has worn dry. There are a lot of people like that out there, and it makes me sad. Keep writing, Theresa!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. theresajcbs1999 Avatar

      Thanks! I hope my message gets to many young writers out there and I wish someone would have told me this way back when 🙂 Best of luck to you.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. theresajcbs1999 Avatar

      Thanks for sharing 🙂

      Like

  3. theresajcbs1999 Avatar

    Reblogged this on Author Theresa Jacobs and commented:
    Hey, I was honored to be the spotlight on Milly’s blog. Check her out too!
    Thanks again Milly.

    Like

  4. theresajcbs1999 Avatar

    Thank you, Milly! I don’t know how I missed this post 😛 But this is one of the side-effects of working non-stop! I appreciate everyone’s comments and the new followers too. It has been a hard – but joyous – journey with tons of new Wins daily to share.

    Liked by 3 people

  5. crucialnotes Avatar
  6. V.M.Sang Avatar

    Great post. Thank you.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. kinchski Avatar

    Amazing! Gonna check out your blog on the right nows, and congrats on all you’ve accomplished in such a short time!!!

    Liked by 1 person

  8. BB Morgan Avatar

    “Life is pointless if I am not happy with who I am.” I am putting this on a sticky note and sticking it to my hutch. Go you for following your dreams!

    Liked by 4 people

  9. dibenami Avatar

    That dog is precious tho

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Milly Schmidt Avatar

      Right on the flowers too 😂😂

      Liked by 2 people

  10. Debbie Johansson Avatar
    Debbie Johansson

    Congratulations on your achievements Theresa! And thanks for the inspirational post.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Milly Schmidt Avatar

      She’s done such a wonderful job sharing her story 😁

      Liked by 2 people

  11. Jheelam Avatar
    Jheelam

    I love the resilient vibe this story sends out 🙂 Theresa is awesome.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Milly Schmidt Avatar

      I know right!! I loved her story 😁

      Liked by 1 person

  12. Sharisaurus Avatar
    Sharisaurus

    Very motivational in the “if she can do it, so can I” vein. Thank you!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Milly Schmidt Avatar

      I loved that line too!! She’s very inspirational 😁

      Liked by 1 person

  13. Baffledmum Avatar

    A fantastic inspirational blog. Gives us all something to work for… X

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Milly Schmidt Avatar

      Yes exactly 😁😁

      Liked by 2 people

  14. Maureen Helen Avatar

    Theresa makes the process sound very easy. If only!

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Milly Schmidt Avatar

      Completely agree, especially when you’re reading 2 years of hard work described in one short blog post!! 😁

      Liked by 2 people

  15. Anne Kramer-Author Avatar

    Yup. I can so relate! I am hoping this year I too will be able to make things more of a success. Great authors in FB groups have been a blessing with sharing lots of info to help out newbie indie authors. Great blog!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Milly Schmidt Avatar

      Me too, I’m really hoping this is the year I finally publish something 😁 so much work to do in the meantime!!

      Liked by 1 person

  16. George F. Avatar

    Great share! Thanks!

    Liked by 3 people

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Welcome to my blog, my little corner of the internet dedicated to all things writing. Here, I invite you to join me on my (very, very long) journey to becoming a self-published author.

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