Novel-In-Progress Bookcamp & Writing Retreat, Inc.
Success Stories
Interview with Steve Wilton, attendee 2018, 2019
Barnes and Noble
fantasy
Atmosphere Press
Aug 24, 2021
366 pp
$18.99 Print
Steve Wilton
S. L. Wilton is a retired former non-commissioned officer in the United States Army. His developmental years as well as his time in the service exposed him to many different cultures and life experiences that help shape his writing style. He has taken two writing courses from University of Wisconsin’s continuing education program and has completed two sessions at Novel in Progress Book Camp and Writing Retreat. S. L. is a member of both the Chicago Writers Association and the Wisconsin Writers Association. His debut fantasy novel, Queen of Crows, will be released by Atmosphere Press August 24, 2021.
Queen of Crows
In a world of strange magic, dangerous creatures, and villainous wyverns, an ousted young queen struggles to regain her throne.
Sophia Pendergast’s quest is complicated by deep rooted misogyny embedded in her culture and religion. Her lover, a dashing young knight, offers her a life in obscure comfort, but she refuses to abandon her people to the usurper’s whims. To retake her throne and set prophecy on its path she must embrace a long-denied secret and discover a prophecy’s hidden meaning.
In S.L. Wilton’s Queen of Crows, we discover simple truths may not be exactly simple.
NIP: What guided your decision to attend Novel-In-Progress Bookcamp?
SW: I’d been working in two separate critique groups for some time. Regardless of how I tried to accommodate their opinions, I kept hearing the same compliments and criticisms over and over. I thought I needed some fresh perspectives on my work. I don’t recall where I found out about NIP, but I was intrigued. I contacted Dave Rank and got the info. I thought it was kind of spendy, but doable so I made a commitment to attend. That was 2017. Then our septic system failed and had to be replaced. I didn’t have the money to do both. Dave was understanding, but persistent. I was accepted for the 2018 camp and returned in 2019. I signed up for 2020 as well, but the pandemic nixed it. So on to 2021.
NIP: Did anything about your writing change after attending?
SW: Yes. The writing itself, at the sentence level, maybe not so much, but the way I look at story telling evolved. The staff and my fellow campers showed me I had tunnel vision with my story. I needed to broaden my goals and seek a wider audience. To appeal to this greater readership, I had to address some things: sense of place, character development, and stakes were the most stressed aspects touched on. I keep those things in mind as I write. They make for a more appealing story.
NIP: What were the main take-away values you took from camp?
SW: I didn’t think I belonged at camp. Surrounded by so many skilled, published authors, I was a fraud, an imposter. Maybe not the dumbest thing I’ve thought about myself, but it’s up there. Staff and my fellow campers were supportive, helpful, and enthusiastic about writing. Everyone’s writing.
A few weeks after the 2018 camp it dawned on me that all those accomplished writers I met at camp struggled with their writing too. It wasn’t something unique to me.
If something in a story isn’t working, don’t just say it isn’t working. Be positive, think of ways to make it work. Toss some ideas out there and work through it. It’s a struggle, but in the end, it’s worth it.
Everything in the publishing business is a business and it’s completely subjective. As writers we aren’t actually in competition with each other, until it comes to the query trenches. With so many writers out there, it’s tough to attract an agent or editor’s attention. The slightest thing can make or break your attempt to get published.
The evening social gatherings allow staff and campers to relax and exchange ideas, thoughts, and anecdotes. The couches and chairs in the lobby are a breeding ground for friendship and laughter. Commodities that are often overlooked in the publishing business’s reality.
How did your publication come about? Talk about your book and publishing experience.
I queried a little, to no avail. Not as much as most folks recommend one query. I did get a full request from an editor at a small press, but in the end he ghosted me. It was disheartening. So going with the “no response is a response” saying, after a lot of harassment by family members, I decided to research self-publishing. I discovered self-publishing a book, that wouldn’t be a wreck, would have a cost. What with hiring editors, proof readers, interior design, and cover art, I was looking at a considerable chunk of change. And after all that, I’d have a book, but no idea how to get it into reader’s hands.
While looking for options, I found Atmosphere Press. For a fee they’d provide editorial assistance, formatting for print and e-book, cover design, and make it available to various wholesalers. My first thought was “vanity press.” I read their FAQ section many times, wherein they stated they weren’t a vanity press and didn’t publish just anything coming through the door. So, I balked at submitting. What if they rejected my book? Would that mean it was so bad I couldn’t pay someone to help me publish it?
I kept weighing the pros and cons for a few weeks, while my family members brow-beat me relentlessly to submit. The stigma of self-publishing, warranted or not, is nothing compared to going with a vanity press. After rereading everything on their website several more times, I bit the bullet. A few days later one of their associate editors contacted me and offered to publish my book. The quoted cost in the contract was on par with what it would cost to hire independents and Atmosphere would guide me through the process rather than going at it trial and error. So, I signed and the rest as they say, is history.
NIP: Would you recommend Bookcamp to other writers?
SW: Absolutely. Not only would I recommend NIP to others, I have. Most of the people I talk to about camp balk at the cost, initially. So, I stress the value of the experience. It’s priceless.
