Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Nielsen.
Hi Jennifer, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was always a writer, but growing up, it never occurred to me that I could be an author. To me, authors were super special people living super special lives. I wasn’t that person. Growing up, I never saw an author or met an author, so they weren’t even real to me. So writing for me was always a hobby, but nothing more.
I was an adult before I fully accepted the idea that authors are just real people who choose to get published, and I figured that was something I could do. So I began writing. I wasn’t writing well. I wasn’t writing anything that was publishable, but I kept writing, and trying to learn the business and trying to figure out how a person gets from a finished manuscript to a published book.
I began submitting my work to agents and publishers – to anyone I thought might open the publishing doors to me. Over and over and over again, I got rejections. Some were polite, several were candid in a way that stung. Most were generic rejection forms that made me wonder if they’d even looked at my pages.
Still, I kept writing, and gradually I began to write stories that weren’t awful. Then I began to write things that had a chance of getting published. Even then, it became a matter of being ready to grab the lightning when it struck.
Eventually it did, and I got my agent, who got me my first publishing deal. That was in 2009. I’ve been writing steadily ever since.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Any dream worth having is going to have bumps along the way. My journey is no exception. Even after the rejections, I’ve still had good reviews and bad reviews, good sales numbers and underperforming numbers. I’ve been passed over for opportunities I wanted, or watched major offers fall apart.
But I’m still here.
And I’ve learned that while I don’t love those bumps in the road, they’re good for me. They keep me focused on the quality of my writing, and always trying to improve myself. They remind me that I’m writing because I want to write, and because there is joy in this career, even during the hard times.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m best known for the Ascendance series, beginning with The False Prince. Even today, it continues to find new fans, and still is the book for which I get the most fan mail.
I also write a lot of historical novels, which I’ve very much enjoyed. Those books include A NIGHT DIVIDED, MAGNITUDE, ONE WRONG STEP, RESISTANCE, WORDS ON FIRE, and many others.
I think what I’m most proud of is that I’ve been able to continually write throughout my career and publish one or two books a year. That is very exciting to me.
I believe that all authors are set apart from all other authors. Every author has their own voice and their own story to tell, and if they tell their story authentically, then they will be unique.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I believe there is great power in books. Books can create empathy, lower stress, build relationships, encourage goal-setting, build confidence, create synaptic connections in the brain, improve health and life longevity. Books are for the whole person for their whole life.
And despite this, Utah’s literacy rates are not where they should be. We can and should do better. In fact, it is critical for the future of our state and our country to have a more literate population.
I also think it’s important that those who are opposed to book bans should speak loudly to their school boards and state representatives. There are forces in this state trying to remove books with LGBTQ characters, or books with viewpoints they disagree with. If we don’t speak up, they will never stop removing books.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jennielsen.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nielsenwriter/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Nielsenwriter
