Q&A with featured writer Belynda Wilson Thomas
Belynda shares insights into her publishing journey, including the supportive role of Toastmasters
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Belynda and I met through the Mississauga Writers Group, a super supportive group of writers who meet online and in person in our hometown. In a single email exchange, I felt that we had connected over our shared love of writing and Toastmasters.
Belynda has self-published multiple books, including picture books, and has shared her stories at various events in Mississauga. When she shared her writing journey with me, I thought it was so insightful and inspiring and genuine. I’m excited to say that Belynda has very kindly agreed to share her publishing journey here with us too.
Here’s more about Belynda: “Belynda Wilson Thomas was born and raised in Saskatchewan, Canada. She is married, is the mother of two adult children and has one grandson. She and her husband live in Mississauga, Ontario.
Belynda started her blog belyndasbooks.com in 2018. Since then, her publishing credits have grown to include her debut novel, Secrets and Silence, published in August 2020; her first children's book, When Can We Get A Puppy, published in October 2021; her second novel, Secrets and Sorrow, published in February 2022; and her second children's book, Krypto Goes To Puppy School, published on March 5, 2023.
Belynda is a member of Toastmasters and the Mississauga Writers Group. Her books are available on Amazon and she can be found on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.”
Marisa: When did you first know you’re a writer, and that you wanted to write books?
Belynda: I've always wanted to be a writer. In my journal at the age of 17, I wrote that I wanted to write but I didn't want to be poor so I would probably write later in life when I had more life experience. This is exactly what has played out; although, I think my plan was to get to it a little earlier than I did.
Having my writing journey at this time in my life is a blessing. I have lived experience and I've given up nothing for my writing. Writing without financial considerations is freeing; I can do as much of it or as little as I want.
Most writers don't make a living writing, but as a side hustle it is fun, interesting and expanding my world.
Marisa: Can you tell us about your writing process? For example, when do you do most of your writing, and how deeply do you plan or not plan as you write a new story?
Belynda: Mornings are when I write. Two mornings a week I write a blog post, and the rest of my mornings I work on my current novel. In the evening, I work on illustrating my next children's books.
Things will always come up but I do try not to have too many days pass without writing or illustrating; if too much time passes, the pump has to be primed again to get back in the process, but if it happens every day, it seems I can pick up where I left off quite easily.
When I am nearing the end of the editing process, I start the next project so I am never without a project or two to work on. For children's books, I work on the paintings and the words together.
I would call myself a plotting panster. I have some idea but everything won't be revealed even to me until I complete the story. I am always looking for a plot twist and story complications to add depth to the story.
Part of writing is trusting the process. The answer to a writing question might come while we go for a walk, cook dinner, or while we are sleeping. When an answer comes, write it down. Often I find that trying to remember something that popped into my mind if I didn't write it down is hard—sometimes it is gone forever.
Marisa: When you’re done writing your first draft, what is your editing process?
Belynda: Numerous drafts need to be done, whether we publish traditionally or self-publish. I've worked with early readers who shared feedback; for my first novel, my cousin (a teacher) gave me four notebooks’ worth of notes to consider. I also use ProWritingAid, which helps us catch errors, words and phrases we’ve overused and gives us reports on how our writing compares to other authors’. I find it to be a very comprehensive editing tool.
Editing is a big job and it is where a novel really takes shape. We figure out if everything we've written works, fix the plot holes, add, eliminate or rearrange what needs to be changed.
Usually I have to trim my words to get down to my goal. When I get to the point where I'm taking out a comma and putting it back in at the next round, I feel I'm done.
Editing the first book was the biggest job partly because I didn't write it in Microsoft Word. I used a program that was great to help me plot but a lot of work had to be done when I finally uploaded it into Word. Now, I separate my document into chapters and create a basic outline before I start so I can easily work on any chapter. I also keep an Excel document to help me keep track of everything with a brief synopsis, and a binder for characters and notes on each chapter. Keeping the details straight is a challenge, but if we keep them straight while we write, editing is much easier.
Marisa: You've self-published multiple books. Can you tell us about how you chose self-publishing, and can you share any tips or step-by-step instructions you recommend for writers considering self-publishing?
Belynda: When I finally acknowledged I wanted to publish my book, I started thinking about what I should do. I’m a woman of a certain age and I’m not a celebrity—no one knows me and there is nothing about me that is what the traditional publishers are looking for. So I decided I could take my writing career into my own hands and do what I can and see where it goes.
I could have spent years looking for an agent and a traditional publisher, or I could publish with Amazon and write the next book. At the start of 2020 I had published nothing, and now I have four books published and two more I'm working on.
For me, it was definitely the best choice. My life is opening up because of my books through podcasts, storytimes, and I might get opportunities to give workshops to groups interested in what I do. At the Toastmasters Conference in April 2023, I was part of the Author's Corner. None of this would be happening if I hadn't self-published my books.
We can write good books or bad books. Some good books sell and some bad books sell. If we write a good book that doesn’t sell, we can still be proud of our good book. If we write a bad book, well, at least we’ve written our book and we can write a better one.
I feel if I do well enough as a self-published author, a traditional publisher might find my work and want to put it out to a bigger market if they think it has potential. No one knows—not even agents and traditional publishers—which books will do well. So I'm taking a chance on myself and whether my writing enterprise becomes more than a hobby, only the future knows. Something can happen if we write and put our books out there, but nothing can happen if we don't write them and then find a way to put them out into the world.
Marisa: I was so excited to find out that you're a fellow Toastmaster! I also agree with you that Toastmasters offers an amazing, powerful way to feel comfortable talking about your writing. How did Toastmasters help you with this?
Belynda: In 2016, I rejoined Toastmasters—I'd been a member from 1986 to 1989 but took a long hiatus raising kids, building a business, etc. I hoped that if I ever got the opportunity to be interviewed about my books, I could speak intelligently, and Toastmasters more than delivered. It gave me the confidence to put myself out there.
When we find our voice we find ourselves, and Toastmasters helps us find our voice. The other thing is that everyone in Toastmasters wants to improve in some way, and this pushes us to improve, set goals, and get out of our comfort zone. Being part of a group of like-minded people is very powerful for personal growth.
If we focus on our growth and don't compare ourselves to others, it is better, because we all have to start where we are.
Also, I’m self-employed, and Toastmasters has given me a wider network of people to engage with. We have to be careful that our circle doesn't become too small.
Marisa: It's often said that it's not easy to pitch one's book out loud, and that writers often/usually prefer to be writing than talking about their writing. It's also helpful for writers to talk about their stories to help get the word out about their books. Can you tell us about your experience and how you felt talking about yourself and your writing at events with others, as well as any tips for fellow writers?
Belynda: We need to create an elevator pitch about our book. If someone asks about our book, we better be able to say what we want to say in about 15 seconds. They might really want to know and ask questions later, but maybe they’re just being polite. Create your pitch, practise your pitch, and be ready to give your pitch to anyone if they ask, but don't lead with it. Many people, even most people, aren't interested in what we've written, and they don't want to feel compelled to purchase a book they don't want.
If we get the opportunity to be interviewed or be on a podcast, then we need to have something to say about our books, our process, and our catalyst for writing. If we can throw in a little humour, we help the podcast host put out a better product and they might ask us to come back.
One of the things we can do is network with other authors, contribute to literacy programs in the community, and be part of writers groups. We write in solitary, but we don't need to live in solitary; the more people we meet, and the more people we help to meet their goals, the more people will help us to reach ours.
Marisa: You self-published a children's book that you wrote and illustrated. Wow! Can you tell us more about the process of creating a children's book, as it's quite different from writing a story without pictures?
Belynda: When our family dog died in 2012, I wrote a little story. After publishing Secrets and Silence in 2020, I created a writing challenge to write a book in a year with two of my sisters, and my challenge was to create a children's book based on the little story I wrote in 2012. I had no idea how to go about it; I've dabbled in art all my life but this felt like a big challenge. I started to learn Illustrator but realized after a few months that it would never get done to my satisfaction in a year.
My son had a friend who is proficient in Illustrator so we started collaborating. I had thought he would come up with the images and that I would be responsible for the words, but I realized that wasn't working. One day he looked at the paintings I'd made to show him what I envisioned and he said, "I don't think digitalizing your paintings will improve them." I took back complete control of the project, scanned my paintings into Canva and used it to format my book before uploading it to Amazon.
During this process, the opportunity to take a course through the Art Gallery of Mississauga presented itself, and that course helped me to get control of my vision and create the book. It was published by the time we celebrated the end of the course. We were encouraged to bring in anything we'd created during the course so I brought my children's book, and that led to the opportunity to present it at the Art Gallery of Mississauga's Storytime.
Marisa: What’s some advice that has helped you grow as a writer?
Belynda: Writing went from being a wish to a reality when it became a habit. My husband brought home an old laptop in 2000 and I sat down at the kitchen table every night after I put the kids to bed. I wrote down when I started, when I finished, and how many words I wrote.
I finished a convoluted novel that will never be published, but it set me on the path to being a writer. In 2012, I started the novel Secrets and Silence that I published in 2020.
One of the things I realized is that we can like talking about our writing so much we never get around to writing, so I quit talking about it. At some point we do have to talk about it but that, in my opinion, is after we've written [something].
Life happens and some things are more important than others. Careers and pastimes are things we can put down and pick back up again. I left Toastmasters to raise a family and build a business with my husband, and rejoined in 2016.
Now I have a one-year-old-grandson and he takes up a lot of time. It might take more time to write the third novel and third children's book, and that's okay. There will be time to write unencumbered but there isn't time to enjoy a child except right now. We can't go to our children's soccer games when we have time—we have to make the time now.
Family is the glass ball in our lives that we have to protect as we juggle our careers, hobbies and opportunities. Family is the ball we can't set down and come back to, family is what will pay the biggest dividends. Family is what we shouldn't sacrifice because it is the most important thing.
That said, we have to be careful we don't use things as an excuse to not do what we want to do, or we will be people who wanted to do things, instead of people who did them.
If you want to be a writer, you have to write—not think about writing, not dream about writing, but actually sit down on a regular basis and write. Write what scares you, what you dream about, what could be, what is, and what has already been. As you write, you will find your voice and your niche, which might not be what you thought it would be.
Create a writing habit and then you will miss writing when you don't do it. Enjoy the journey—you never know where it might lead.
Belynda, thank you so much for sharing your publishing journey and writing wisdom with us! You shared so many empowering, motivational quotes and I really appreciate your kindness in opening up a window to your writing decisions and advice. Truly amazing, inspiring quotes and insights—thank you so much for sharing!
Q&As are available to all subscribers, with early access granted to paid subscribers. Access is granted to free subscribers a few weeks later.
Paid subscribers also have the chance to pitch questions for the next Q&A featuring Nicole Nwosu by leaving a comment or sending an email to marisabwrites@gmail.com.
I hope you enjoy and wish you happy writing!
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