Today we’d like to introduce you to September C. Fawkes.
Hi September, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself. How did you get to where you are?
Hi! So basically I get to help people write novels. I work as a freelance editor and writing instructor. And I also run a writing tip blog, while penning my own fiction.
My journey started when I was seven. I wrote a story about chickens seeking water, and from that moment forward, I was hooked on writing and wanted to work in the writing world. I wrote all through middle school, high school, and college, but nothing I intended to get published. Not that I didn’t want to ever publish, just that I knew I wasn’t yet skilled enough to write The Story. “The Story” is one I first came up with when I was fourteen. I played around with it a bit, secretly, growing up, but knew my skills weren’t ready for it. This was the story I wanted to push to get professionally published. (And it’s the first book in a series).
When it was time for college, I expressed some hesitation about what to study. I knew where my heart was, but I also knew it was difficult to make money in the writing industry. Though I think a part of me knew I was too in love with the writing world to do anything else, I appreciated the encouragement I got from friends and family to pursue an English degree. I got to learn from some amazing professors, joined my first official writing group, served as an editor for a literary journal, and worked as a tutor in the writing center. I love helping others write their stories, too.
After graduation, I got a job working for New York Times best-selling author David Farland, who also worked as a freelance editor and writing instructor. My tasks included editing and giving feedback on his clients’ manuscripts, his students’ assignments, and even David’s work.
When I got the job, I kept getting this feeling I needed to start a blog, which was bizarre because I hated blogs. But the feeling didn’t leave, so I created one in late 2012, deciding I wanted to write down my thoughts about writing and have them in an organized place with a search feature. I figured anyone who wanted to, could come along for the ride.
This is when I come back to The Story. After graduation, someone close to me encouraged me to write The Story. But I was not convinced my skills were ready for it. Nonetheless, this person kept encouraging me, so I decided to give it a shot. I was going to write The Story.
Turned out I was right.
My skills were not ready for it! The Story was terrible.
Part of me hates telling this part because I know some people won’t believe me when I say that and will wave it off as perfectionism–I did so well all through school! But I’m a professional, so let me tell you, it was really bad! In trying to write The Story, I promptly fell into the massive Pit of Failure.
So let’s relate this to the blog . . .
A lot of the content on my blog came from me trying to climb out of the Pit of Failure and fix The Story. One of the reasons I knew The Story was so difficult, was because it broke a lot of “writing rules” and common advice. People kept telling me my protagonist needed to be like X, or that I couldn’t do Y, and if I wanted any success, I had to include Z. But some of my favorite stories didn’t do all that! So I started digging deep into the writing craft. And I mean, real deep.
Now, there are over 500 articles on my blog, SeptemberCFawkes.com. It has won the Writer’s Digest Best Websites for Writers Award and the Query Letter Top Writing Blog Award. It also led me to become a writing coach on Writers Helping Writers, and it got my work on Grammar Girl. My writing approaches have been taught in classrooms and used by other professionals in the industry. My advice has been compared to Bandon Sanderson’s, Dan Wells’, David Farland’s, and K. M. Weiland’s writing advice–all people so much cooler and more successful than me.
Dissecting how fiction works and why has also helped me become a better editor and writing instructor. After working for David for seven years, I quit to work for myself as a freelance editor (https://www.fawkesediting.com/). I get to help writers through the same struggles I faced. I think I’ve made almost every writing mistake at one point or another, so I get it. And climbing out of the Pit of Failure has led to my biggest successes.
In addition to freelancing, I now have an online writing course (https://www.septembercfawkes.com/p/the-triarchy-method-of-story_7.html), where I take writers through the core principles of storytelling: character, plot, and theme (which we then organize into the proper structure). It is a class I sorely needed when I started this journey. Other than that, I also participate as a guest at conferences and conventions, like Storymakers, LTUE, LDSPMA, and FanX.
Recently I dusted off The Story and was amazed to see how much I’ve grown. As painful as it was, the Pit of Failure was exactly where I needed to be. While I’ve started a couple of other projects since then, The Story still has my heart. And although a lot of people would have abandoned it by now, working through its problems is exactly what has led me to the skills I have today.
Now I get to work with stories every day. I get paid to read, dissect, and analyze fiction. I have gotten to edit for both best-selling and award-winning authors, as well as beginning writers. To quote another author I heard speak recently, J. Scott Savage: “Failure is not the opposite of success. It is the most important part of success.” Failures lead to more refined skills and bigger successes than “instant success” ever can.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Other than climbing my way out of the Pit of Failure–which entails everything related to the writing craft itself–the other struggles feel simplistic. Not that they aren’t real struggles, but just that in comparison, they are easier to overcome and address for me.
Almost anyone who starts or even wants to get into writing will face some of the same struggles as me. . . .
I believe some level of doubt is natural, and even ultimately a healthy thing, but that doesn’t mean it feels good. Doubt allows us to foresee problems and failures. It keeps us safe, stops us from being wasteful, and enables us to think more critically. People talk about doubt like it’s the flu, but it’s not really. It’s only a major problem if it becomes unbalanced and toxic, and you allow it to cripple you.
There are a lot of common doubts that come up related to the writing world: Am I wasting my time/life pursuing this? Is there something more meaningful I should be doing? What if I’m not a “real” writer/editor? What if people hate my work? What if I make no money?
These are natural thoughts to have, and I don’t think we need to fear them. Because they are a natural thought process, I also don’t think it’s a good idea to give up your pursuits just because they cross your mind when you sit down to work. As you gain more experience, I think it usually becomes easier to manage them. Confidence is the opposite of doubt, and often confidence takes time to grow. Doubt doesn’t. So it’s normal to struggle with some self-doubt on the journey, but it should balance out better with confidence if you keep striving for excellence. I should clarify, though, that I’m not saying those questions aren’t worth considering at all.
Beyond self-doubt, I have had to deal with doubt from other people. After I graduated high school, like most, I was often asked what I wanted to pursue. When I said I wanted to work with novels, everyone outside of my circle looked down on that and expressed doubt in me. A lot of people aren’t familiar with the process or difficulty that comes when creating novels, so you sometimes have to deal with people implying you aren’t doing anything or that it should come much easier than it does. I’m sure other vocations are the same way. In the end, it’s your life, and you need to live your dreams. Don’t spend your life constantly bending to what other people think you should do all the time.
Loneliness is also a struggle that often comes up in this profession. Thankfully, I love being alone. I mean, I like people too, but an empty house can feel like heaven. With that said, though, even I struggle with loneliness from time to time. But again, it’s natural and nothing to be afraid of. Like doubt, people often talk about loneliness like it’s the flu. It’s not. It’s just an element you have to address and manage that comes with the job.
The other struggles are probably familiar to any worthy pursuit, like balancing life, time, health, and unexpected mishaps. It’s part of life, and you just have to learn how to manage it.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work? What are you most proud of?
While I’ve worked with multiple genres, I specialize in science fiction and fantasy. I have done developmental editing (which is about what the story *is*), line editing (which is about how the story is communicated to the reader), and copyediting (which is about fixing all the punctuation, grammar, and typos). At the moment, I’m mostly doing developmental editing, with some line editing on occasion. (Copyediting feels tedious to me.) With that said, I’m best known for my blog. In my posts, I’m not afraid to go deep into topics and rack up the word count in the process–something I think is missing from the internet these days.
Honestly, what I’m most proud of is everything I’ve learned in trying to write The Story. What I am most proud of are the skills and deep understanding I’ve gained when it comes to writing and how stories work. I’m also really proud of the new course I’ve developed, which guides students through those things in regard to their own stories.
What do you think about luck?
There is a quote I think sums this up: “The harder I work, the luckier I get.”
We can’t force opportunities.
But when you have a strong work ethic, strive for excellence, and put yourself out there, opportunities will likely be opened to you. And often one opportunity leads to more opportunities. It’s best to try to prepare for them, so when they come up, you’re ready (assuming you want to accept that particular opportunity).
I’m sure some people would look at the opportunities and experiences I’ve had and say, “She is so lucky,” which is partially true, but at the same time, those people are usually unaware of the hours, sweat, and tears I’ve put in and the sacrifices I’ve made. (And when some people hear about that, they don’t want to do that!)
To be honest, beyond that quote, I don’t think about luck (good or bad) that much. I think it’s best to focus on what you can control. When you strive for excellence, you grow internally, and virtually nothing in this world can take that away from you. Luck is viewed as an external thing, and when it gets down to it, there are very few external things we have complete control over. Strive to improve in what you pursue, and enjoy the journey—virtually nothing can take that away from you, usually not even the worst luck.
Pricing:
- Editing Services – $30 per hour
- Online Course – $1,597
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.septembercfawkes.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/septcfawkes/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/September-C-Fawkes/100008321732625/
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/SeptCFawkes
- Other: https://www.fawkesediting.com/
