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On The Table Read, “the best book magazine in the UK“, author Cori Wamsley talks about her new book, Braving The Shore, and what inspired her to write it.
Written by JJ Barnes
I interviewed Cori Wamsley about her life and career, what inspired her to start writing, and the creative work that went into her new book, Braving The Shore.
Tell me a bit about who you are.
I have always been a dreamer, a dancer, an artist, living with my nose in a book and my head in the clouds.
Professionally, I’m an author, book writing coach, book editor, and publisher, helping people with transformational stories—those things that happen to us and change our lives in major ways—get their stories in front of more people and impact the world.
I believe in the power of story to connect people, show everyone that we are more alike than different, and positively impact humanity. I always tell my daughters that they can learn lessons by listening to what I tell them or by experiencing it themselves, and it’s really the same for everything we go through. We can trudge through the mud on our own, or we can listen to a leader who is helping us by lighting the way.
I’m also the mother of two elementary-aged daughters who I hope will grow by learning from my lessons and become caring, forward-thinking leaders who will also act as guides to the next generation of dreamers.
When did you first WANT to write a book? When did you take a step to start writing?
I’m fairly certain that I was born with a book on my heart. I spent most of my childhood reading and actually wrote a play in second grade—my friends and I performed it for the class with character-shaped pencil erasers. By middle school, I knew that I had big things to do and thought that, because I had read so many books, it would be simple to write one.
Not so much.
I continued through high school writing poetry to express my moods, along with short stories as required for my classes. Finally, during grad school, I took a writing class where we were assigned to pick a visual artist, be inspired by their work, and create a series of written works from that. I did several poems (which weren’t too bad!) and a chapter in the middle of a book that I then decided to work around to create the entire book. I was encouraged by my friends to keep writing.
How long did it take you to complete your first book from the first idea to release?
I finished writing that first book in about six months, and about a year later, I had edited it enough that I believed it was ready to release. I acquired an agent who loved the story, and she began pitching me to publishers.
After two years and many rejections, my contract with my agent ended, but I didn’t give up. I had been writing the second book in the series and planned on it all being a big hit.
I pitched more agents, wrote new books, rewrote the first one a million times … finally, after about eight years, I had enough. I was pregnant with my first child in 2012, and I decided that I was going to self-publish all five of my novels in nine months, before she was born.
Yes, that is utterly insane, but I did it.
I learned a lot of lessons along the way though. I developed a greater understanding of the editing process and storytelling, which built on my skills learned as a professional writer and editor with my corporate job. I also learned about cover design, how to find a designer, and what it takes to create a cover that speaks to your audience. (Yes, people really do judge a book by its cover!) And of course, I learned about publishing, which has a steep learning curve.
By the time my daughter arrived though, I had five books in hand.
How long did it take you to complete your latest book from the first idea to release?
My latest book, Braving the Shore, is my ninth. I’ve grown a TON since I started my first book 18 years ago, especially about how to cut out a lot of the rewrites and editing on the back end by having a solid structure up front.
Whereas my first book was mostly rambling and didn’t have solid structure or a great plot that pulled the reader through the first time I wrote it, my ninth was very different. My first book went from draft to published in eight years, but my ninth went in 10 months.
Part of it was understanding the entire publishing process and also running a publishing house … so I knew who to reach out to for each piece of the puzzle. Another part was that I have grown enough as a person that I knew what quality the book was and ensured that I would be able to get the book written, edited, and out in a reasonable time.
Many authors will poke at their manuscript not because the words aren’t good but because they don’t believe in themselves and the possibility that what they wrote could really entertain, inspire, or educate people. A lot more goes into writing a book than just crafting a good story!
Focusing on your latest release, what made you want to write Braving The Shore?
Braving the Shore started with a vague idea that I was playing with, wondering what kind of characters would make it work. Once I figured it out, I started working backward from the end, thinking about the structure of the book and what would have to happen to make the next thing happen.
I hadn’t intended to write a book. It was just some musings while I was on a walk. But once I started thinking about it, this whole world opened up in my mind. I got to know the characters and their motivations, their backstories. This is when I knew that I needed to share it.
I also wanted to create a more accessible way for people to learn some of the lessons I learned as an entrepreneur. When I started my business, I had to do a lot of digging to discover who I am and what I wanted. My characters go through the same thing, and I hope it inspires my readers to discover who they truly are, to push aside all the shoulds and societal pressure and just be who they want to be. Fitting in and conforming is really overrated! Plus, when we are crushing down our desires, our hopes and dreams, we can’t lead with heart and give others permission to be themselves too. All of this keeps people locked in fear of who they are, believing that it’s not safe to chase their dreams.
Basically, I wanted to make the world a better place one reader at a time.
What were your biggest challenges with writing Braving The Shore?
This may sound silly, but my biggest challenge was waiting for the book to be in my hands. I thoroughly reveled in the writing process. It was my relaxation for about six weeks during the summer of 2021. After that, I had a couple beta readers give me feedback, so I addressed their requests for more detail in certain areas and moved the book on to the editing phase.
As a publisher, I go through all these processes with my clients constantly, but it never gets old. I’m always giddy waiting for feedback, waiting for the editor to get her notes to me, waiting for that first look at the book cover … every step is special.
This is probably the easiest book I’ve ever written because I allowed the book to flow out of me, cling to the structure I had created, but also color outside the lines a bit. If something unexpected happened, I followed it. And that allowing, that openness in the writing process, helped me create a work that I am incredibly proud of!
What was your research process for Braving The Shore?
I didn’t do any formal research for the book. I just used what I had learned during my journey as an entrepreneur over the previous 5.5 years.
How did you plan the structure of Braving The Shore?
I know it’s tempting to sit down and start writing your book as soon as you have an idea, but it’s really important to have a full outline of the book before you get going or you will wind up writing yourself into a wall.
For my book, I started with a basic idea for the whole book and wrote a paragraph. Then I broke that into an outline of 10 chapters. I usually start with 10 and then go up from there as I determine was parts need more attention/space.
Once I had a couple sentences under each chapter, I did a more detailed outline of each chapter, using a similar process to the start of structuring the book.
I followed different storylines through the outline to make sure things were planned properly, so I wouldn’t have to go back and do major rewrites because I forgot something.
I also wrote a little at the end of my outline about each of the characters, their backstories, what they do, etc. because I knew I would need to refer back to it to keep them “in character.”
Did you get support with editing, and how much editing did Braving The Shore need?
I worked with a professional editor once I was happy with my book. She edits a lot of my clients’ books too, and I knew I would be happy with her level of detail.
Because I’m a professional editor as well, my book didn’t need a lot of tweaking as far as cleaning up phrasing or missing commas. However, having an editor was still invaluable because she caught a few places where what I said may be confusing to the reader because of ambiguity or because it was a concept that I understood but they may not.
As an author, we understand what we are writing because it’s in our heads, and sometimes, that’s where the connections are too. Often, there are spots in our manuscripts that need a few connecting sentences to make a concept clearer or a few words adjusted to clarify our meaning, so it’s always important to work with a professional to clear those things up before printing.
What is the first piece of writing advice you would give to anyone inspired to write a book?
Start with knowing your audience and your purpose. If you’re doing fiction, then you also need to look at what the conventions of your genre are so you know what your audience expects.
Create a solid outline before you start writing so you know what you’re going to work on when you sit down at your computer. Often, that’s the toughest part of the process!
Once you have that outline, you might struggle with getting through the book because your excitement may wane. I like to read back through some of what I’ve written to get inspired to move forward or focus for a few minutes on the readers who will enjoy the finished book and how that makes me feel. I’m bringing them joy, so I know I can keep going. That belief in your story and the impact it will bring can be everything when you’re struggling with getting the story out.
Can you give me a hint about any further books you’re planning to write?
I started on another book last winter, but the outline was slow to come, and it eventually fizzled. It wasn’t the right book for me, so I put it aside. However, I will be picking it back up this fall because I realized that there is another story I want to tell with those characters, and it starts in much the same way.
Kenzi, an architect struggling to believe in her talents, has suddenly been tasked with a big demand from her family close to the holidays. She’s nervous about that, on top of her career, and her friend Lauren offers her a temporary out—a once-in-a-lifetime trip to help with an excavation of an ancient city in Italy. On the dig, the friends discover much that has been buried, both in the ground and within themselves.
I was inspired by a documentary (my husband and I are nerds) about an excavation and immediately sought my personal library where I found my copy of The First Fossil Hunters, by Adrienne Mayor. I plan on rereading it this fall to gain inspiration for my book. In The First Fossil Hunters, the author talks about major fossil beds in the Mediterranean and how they coincide with myths that came from ancient Rome and Greece. She posits that the ancient peoples may have discovered fossils from long extinct creatures and created stories about what they were from, which could be why they talked about centaurs and giants and other strange creatures. I have been fascinated with this concept since I first saw the documentary that elaborates on the book, probably 20 years ago.
And, finally, are you proud of your accomplishment? Was it worth the effort?
I am very proud of every book that I’ve written, but I’m most proud of Braving the Shore. It was so easy to write, and it turned into an effortless lesson on love between two sisters, chasing your dreams, and being your true self. I already know that it’s touched a lot of lives, just by the number of books I’ve sold, but I’ve also been thrilled to get unsolicited feedback from readers.
That’s a major hallmark of success for me. I love when someone emails or texts me just so they can talk about the book. My mom’s friend even called her to talk about the book because she was so excited after she read it. As an author, all we can hope is that the message in our hearts comes across in our words, and I feel strongly that I’ve achieved that with Braving the Shore.
Pop all your book, website and social media links here so the readers can find you:
Braving the Shore
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/braving-the-shore-cori-wamsley/1141462734?
Cori Wamsley/Aurora Corialis Publishing
www.auroracorialispublishing.com
https://www.facebook.com/cori.smithwamsley/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/elevateyourleadershipwithabook
https://www.instagram.com/coriwamsley_author/
https://www.instagram.com/coriwamsley/
YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/c/coriwamsley
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