May 9, 2012

Made It Moment: Peg Herring

Filed under: Made It Moments — jenny @ 7:59 am

Dead for the Money

The idea of having many Made It MomentS (as opposed to one single one) is oft-shared amongst the inspiring crew I call the Momenters. Here, Peg Herring provides a list that really drives the concept home. Any one of these bullet points signifies success as a writer, but sitting back and resting on laurels is something no author would do. With every book we write and learn from…we are making it.

Peg Herring

First, thanks to Jenny for letting me contribute to Suspense Your Disbelief!

My Blog Tour consists of a mix of interviews with Seamus, the Dead Detective, and posts on writing. A full schedule is posted on my blog, It’s A Mystery to Me: http://itsamysterytomepegherring.blogspot.com/.

Prizes: People who comment on any blog post on the tour will be entered in drawings for several prizes: Dead Detective T-shirts, copies of THE DEAD DETECTIVE AGENCY and DEAD FOR THE MONEY (paperback or e-books available), and the chance to be a character in the third of the series DEAD FOR THE SHOW. Multiple winners will be drawn.

How Did I Know I’d Made It?

Like many things in life, writing success is a process. I could never sit back and say, “I’ve made it,” but there are signs along the way that let a person know the process is humming along in a positive direction. Here are some “Made-it Moments” I’ve had since my first book got me started.

1st agent  =  Somebody thinks I can write!

1st contract  =  Somebody will pay me to do this!

1st sighting of my book in a store  =  Somebody thinks I can make money for them!

1st fan email  =  Somebody took the time to let me know they like my work!

1st fan who approached me at a con  =  Somebody actually wants my autograph!

1st panel at a con  =  Somebody considers me a professional!

1st review  =  Somebody who critiques writing across the genre thinks I’m good!

1st award  =  A lot of somebodies think something I wrote is the best!

There are many thrills for me in writing. LL-Publications just signed me for a new series, and I’m excited to get to work on that. I also get to write more of my other series, the Simon & Elizabeth (Tudor) books and the Dead Detective Mysteries. I love creating stories people enjoy and having them gently harass me to “get busy and write the next one.”

There will be more Made-it Moments in my future, if I keep writing and improving (and promoting). As of today, the award THE DEAD DETECTIVE AGENCY got from EPIC for Best Mystery of 2012 is my favorite Made-it Moment. For one thing, it’s still fresh in my mind, and for another, it’s a step up the ladder of success I keep in the back of my mind. I expect each book to be better than the last, so DEAD FOR THE MONEY should surpass Book #1. As long as I keep getting better as a writer, I’m pretty sure I’m making it, a little bit, every day.

Peg Herring graduated from the University of Michigan, then worked in education, teaching English, history, and communications. In 2002 she left teaching to pursue full-time writing.

Peg Herring’s love of history and years of teaching Shakespeare led to Macbeth’s Niece, her first published novel (Five Star). These days Peg speaks to groups on the writing process, genres, and public speaking. When not writing, directing musical groups, or gardening, she and her husband enjoy travel, both abroad and in the Unites States.






21 Comments »

  1. How exciting! It is always encouraging to know other writers made it…and I can too! I had an agent tell me I can write just this past week. Yay! That made my whole year.

    Knowing this also makes me want to keep writing.

    Thanks for this reminder!

    Blessings,
    Ruth

    Comment by Ruth Douthitt — May 9, 2012 @ 8:52 am

  2. Ruth, I am happy for you just hearing that! CONGRATS. *Please* keep me posted on your journey :)

    Comment by jenny — May 9, 2012 @ 9:07 am

  3. Sounds like a GREAT read, thanks for sharing with us!

    Comment by Lynn — May 9, 2012 @ 9:16 am

  4. What a lovely take on the made it moment, Peg. Not only does it strike a chord on how-to handle these steps up the ladder with grace, but it says so much about your positive nature. Great post!

    Comment by Anne K. Albert — May 9, 2012 @ 9:23 am

  5. I have enjoyed reading Peg’s work, and am happy to see her here on Jenny’s wonderful blog!

    Comment by Connie J Jasperson — May 9, 2012 @ 9:40 am

  6. What a wonderful list of made it moments! All her hard work paid off and continues to reap rewards. It may take a long time to write a book and even longer to get published but the wonderful thing is that the rewards are many, as Peg details here – and slow, over time just as our book was in the making.

    Comment by Donna Galanti — May 9, 2012 @ 9:41 am

  7. Thanks, everyone! Actually, a great “Made It Moment” will be when I finish all the posts I promised for this blog tour. It always sounds so easy when the publicist proposes! :)

    Comment by Peg Herring — May 9, 2012 @ 9:55 am

  8. Another great post – and a lot of wonderful Moments! Congratulations, Peg – and thanks, Jenny, as always.

    Comment by P.L. Blair — May 9, 2012 @ 11:57 am

  9. What a great moment Peg! Thank you for sharing! Congrats on your success! Your book sounds great! Jenny thanks again for allowing the authors to share their stories.

    Comment by Kellie — May 9, 2012 @ 12:29 pm

  10. Wow! May you have many, many more great moments!

    Comment by SavvyBlue — May 9, 2012 @ 12:39 pm

  11. I’ve read Peg’s historical mystery series and really enjoyed them but DEAD is new to me. I don’t know how she does it! I have enough trouble keeping track of two nosy Puritans for my one series, never mind adding more characters and a different time period! I had to take a working-vacation by making Cape Cod the setting of my new book, DEATH OF A CAPE COD CAVALIER, or I wouldn’t have any time to myself at all! Marilyn aka: M. E. Kemp

    Comment by M. E. Kemp — May 9, 2012 @ 1:00 pm

  12. Success is the result of a lot of hard work=) I hope you enjoy the “fruits of your labor” as much as your readers do!

    Comment by Lethea B — May 9, 2012 @ 2:51 pm

  13. Thanks, M.E.!
    I can understand how your two nosy Puritans keep you busy, but they’re lots of fun, too!

    Comment by Peg Herring — May 9, 2012 @ 3:10 pm

  14. I hope you have many more “made it moments,” Peg. I just signed with LL-Publications, too. I’m very happy with them and it looks like you are, too. I will have to add this to my MIM!
    Thanks, Jenny, for hosting Peg today!
    I look forward to reading your blogs.

    Comment by Kathleen Kaska — May 9, 2012 @ 5:10 pm

  15. Thanks for hosting, Jenny, and I’ve enjoyed everyone’s comments. Now I have to get back to work, so please excuse me.
    And yes, Kathleen, I’m happy with both my publishers, LL and Five Star.

    Comment by Peg Herring — May 9, 2012 @ 6:25 pm

  16. I enjoyed each and every one of your Made it Moments. Thank you so much for sharing. Your moments emphasize that you’re down-to-earth and that’s something I appreciate in a person.

    Comment by Marja McGraw — May 9, 2012 @ 7:33 pm

  17. This was so interesting! Thanks for sharing! Sounds like very interesting books.

    Comment by BrendaW. — May 9, 2012 @ 9:09 pm

  18. I really enjoyed reading this with the list of made-it moments. We do need to remind ourselves to savor those moments as they come along, and as Peg points out, look at them as stepping stones to better and better writing and even more success.

    Comment by Jan Christensen — May 9, 2012 @ 9:09 pm

  19. Love your list, Peg! So right, it’s all a process.

    Comment by Donna Fletcher Crow — May 10, 2012 @ 11:25 am

  20. Peg, your energy and optimism are inspiring. I wish you many more made it moments.

    Comment by Anita Page — May 10, 2012 @ 12:49 pm

  21. Peg, it’s so great that you’ve enjoyed so many moments in the process of publishing!

    Comment by Gigi Pandian — May 10, 2012 @ 7:19 pm

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment

Powered by WordPress