Fabulous Friday Feature: Karen Witemeyer

Today I welcome an authoress who has had many books published in a short time. She is friendly, loves to laugh, and is a sweet friend: Karen Witemeyer. 

Enter to win an autographed copy of Karen Witemeyer's book Short-Straw Bride see below

I met Karen at the 2012 ACFW conference. The smile in her photo is not "just a moment for the photographer." She not only smiles a lot but laughs a lot, too. What a fun person to be around! I knew right away she would be a great friend.

I asked Karen to share how God led her on her writing journey. This is what she said:

Persevering Through Roadblocks

As I began my publication journey, I expected the road to be arduous. So I prepared. I put my craft muscles through years of intensive training and stretched myself in critique groups and contests.

Then in 2007, I took my first completed novel to the ACFW conference. I arrived a day early and worked at the volunteer station stuffing envelopes. A woman worked beside me who shared my first name. That's fun, I thought. However, as time ticked on, I picked up clues to her identity from others in the room. This was Karen Schurrer, an editor from Bethany House, my dream publisher. Only the Lord could have orchestrated such a meeting. I resisted throwing my pitch at her, but two days later, I sat at her lunch table and after everyone told her about their projects, one brave writer asked if we could send her our proposals. She said yes.

After the conference, I sent in my proposal and soon had a request for a full manuscript. Surely a contract was right around the corner since the Lord was at work, right? Wrong. The acquisitions editor rejected my manuscript. She considered the plot too similar to something they'd already done. It wouldn't work for launching a new author. Nevertheless, she complimented the writing and said there was one component to the story that she liked—the dress shop. Could I come up with a new idea surrounding a dress shop?

Now you have to understand, in the original book, the dress shop burned to the ground in the prologue. It didn't even make it into chapter one. Yet she wanted me to create an entirely new book from scratch based on this shop idea. Maybe I should just seek publication elsewhere.

But publishing with Bethany House was my dream. So I started brainstorming, and even met with the editor in person at the 2008 ACFW conference where she gave me feedback and encouraged me to resubmit. By January 2009, Bethany House offered me a three book deal launching with A Tailor-Made Bride. Yep, the dress shop book.

However, just because I had a three-book deal didn't mean the roadblocks were over. Not even when the books sold well. When contract time rolled around again, and they asked for three new book ideas that they could take to committee, I worked hard to come up with the best synopses I could. Surely they would be accepted and loved, right? After all, my editor had already mentioned that she wanted to sign me to another deal.

Nope. They turned down two of my three ideas. Ouch. Roadblocks are never fun to hit, but they do teach important lessons. You see, my first books were light-hearted and fun. However, I have a soft spot for dark, wounded heroes, too, and one of my synopses featured such a tortured soul. My editor wrote that it wasn't what readers would expect when they picked up a Karen Witemeyer book. In other words, it didn't match my brand. I needed to go back to the drawing board and create ideas that better fit readers' expectations. That's what a professional does. She doesn't whine and complain about the cruel publisher who doesn't understand her artistic genius. No, she opens a new document and gets to work.

Contract renewal time is coming up again soon for me, and I have to admit I'm still nervous about giving them ideas they will like. But now I know more about branding, and more than that, I know that if one or more of my ideas come back to me with a big red No stamped across them, I can persevere, be a professional, and get things done.  That's what this writing journey is about—doing our best for God's glory.

About Karen:

Karen Witemeyer is a deacon's wife and mother of three who believes the world needs more happily-ever afters. To that end, she combines her love of bygone eras with her passion for helping women mature in Christ to craft historical romance novels that lift the spirit and nurture the soul.

Two-time RITA® Finalist and winner of the coveted HOLT Medallion and ACFW Carol Award, CBA bestselling author, Karen Witemeyer, writes historical romance fiction for Bethany House, believing that the world needs more happily-ever-afters. She is an avid cross-stitcher, shower singer, and bakes a mean apple cobbler. Karen makes her home in Abilene, TX with her husband and three children. Learn more about Karen and her books at: www.karenwitemeyer.com.   

To enter the contest for an autographed copy of Karen's book Short Straw Bride, leave a comment and become a follower of this site if you aren't already. Please also include your email address (username (at) yahoo (dot) com) so I can contact you if you are the winner. The winner will be selected by a third party, random.org, and will be announced next week. U.S. residents only. 

Thank you Karen for joining us this weekend!

Reader, What roadblocks have fallen into your path? In hindsight, did you see the benefits?