My Story

How I achieved my dream of a 3-book publishing deal

I’m always nosy about how other authors started their careers so I thought I would share my own story about my route to publishing. It’s slightly unusual but I do hope it inspires you to keep going towards your dream of writing a book.

My Story

I was a journalist and content writer but I only started writing fiction in 2016 when I won the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature Novel Writing Prize with my psychological thriller entry.

To enter, you had to submit a synopsis of your book idea and 2000 words. I almost didn’t enter (I was pregnant and just wanted to sleep!) but my husband encouraged me so I came up with an idea, wrote a couple of chapters and forgot all about it.

I attended the Novel Writing Prize session as a volunteer for the Festival so I was shocked when my name was called out to collect my prize and meet the judge (a renowned literary agent from the UK).

He asked me for the rest of the book and was extremely disappointed when I said I hadn’t written it!

However, I realized I’d been handed an incredible opportunity and I knew I had to finish it.

But… I was pregnant, sleep-deprived, looking after a toddler, and working full-time. Plus, I had NO idea how to write a book and perhaps more importantly, when I would have the time to write it…

But with a lot blood, sweat, and tears (my own, not the kids!) I finished it.

It was a crazy time - I was scrambling online for advice and guidance on novel writing and while there was a lot of information out there, there wasn’t anything that took me through the creative process step-by-step. Somehow, I managed to put all the pieces together and while it took a year (and a lot of support from family and friends) it was done.

That manuscript become my debut novel, The Good Mother and sold as part of a three-book deal.

I was ecstatic.

I was also exhausted and burnt out. The thought of having to write two more novels in two years made me want to weep.

There had to be a better way… I had learnt so much writing the first novel, I knew if I organized all the information into a step-by-step system that my tired, overwhelmed brain could follow, I could focus on being creative during my writing sessions rather than confused.

So, even though my second novel was due in less than a year, I decided to put everything I’d learned from writing The Good Mother into eight steps. It took a couple of months (months I should have been writing the next book) but I knew understanding and documenting my creative process would make writing my next novels so much easier.

This was confirmed when I finished writing my second novel in just six months. Not only that, I enjoyed the writing because I wasn’t stressing or worrying about what to do next - all I had to do was follow my 8-step plan.

Because my writing sessions were now so much more productive, it made it easier to balance writing with family and job responsibilities. I felt more confident too, as I went through each phase of the system, from planning and outlining to character development and plot lines.

When my second novel went on to be a number 1 bestseller, that system was a huge factor in contributing to the success.

A couple of years later, during Covid, I created my signature course, Kick-Start Your Book With Karen around the 8 steps because it was exactly what I wish I’d had when I started out.

When I look back, it’s hard to believe that I went from corporate life to becoming an award-winning author with a three-book publishing deal and I’m so glad to have the the opportunity to share my expertise with you.

Thank you again for being here!