About Judith Hugg:
Judith Hugg writes about the grace of God in a pretty ungraceful world, and her latest book (to be released in August), “Let it Be a River,” is about a tornado, a hurricane, a volcano–and a beagle puppy–all to illustrate how God shows up in the craziness of life. The subtitle is “Grace Overflowing,” and the humorous stories and vignettes are all about the grace. Judith is from New Jersey, and has been writing articles and poetry, published in various magazines, for a few decades.
What inspires you to write?
Judith has been writing since around age 10, on her mother’s old Royal typewriter, and had her first poem published in a national magazine when she was 17. She always has a poem, a short story, a possible article brewing, and had her first book published three years ago: “To See the Sky: Vignettes of Grace.” Rather than push religion or demand your agreement, she simply tells stories of what’s worked and where she finds the God of the universe in daily life, and lets you discover where God might be trying to knock on YOUR door. There’s love there, and that’s what she writes about.
Tell us about your writing process.
The process depends on the piece; Judith writes poetry on napkins, scraps of paper, chalkboards. For articles, they’re outlined and then done on her trusty laptop. Her two books have been written with pen, pencil, pads, pc, laptop, and have somehow gotten themselves organized into a format the publisher can use. She can be supremely organized–and flighty as a kite–depending on what needs to be written and when.
What advice would you give other writers?
Every book about HOW TO WRITE basically tells the writer to READ, READ, READ and then WRITE, WRITE, WRITE. There aren’t shortcuts; just DO IT. Oh, and don’t bother giving up. If you have that “inspiration,” “urge,” “nudge” to be a writer, then don’t waste time with “Oh, I have writer’s block today,” and “I’m too busy,” and “nobody likes my writing; everybody hates me; I’m going to go eat worms.” Just WRITE. Write for magazines, local rags, town online newsletters, anywhere. Build up a name; get contacts; keep writing.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
It took Judith fifty years, basically, to get her first book out there. “To See the Sky” came from different article ideas that never made it off the ground as magazine articles. One day, the stories just started to fit together, and after a year of online searching, and an “agent” (well, agency) who kept finding her vanity publishers, the RIGHT publisher came along who gave her a break! It is a lot of work and a lot of searching to find the right fit, and there are no shortcuts to it (unless your mother is in the publishing biz). Judith wanted the whole package of traditional publishing that included decent editing, design, and marketing help–and then found out that marketing is mostly done by the author his/herself, as personal appearances are the lifeblood of selling books! She wants you to know that you have to get out there and TALK to people about your book!
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
There will always be actual BOOKS, with paper and ink and substance! The author has a Nook, and reads books on the Nook, but will always favour the actual book to admire on a shelf! She begs future generations not to lose the art of the actual printed page!
What do you use?: Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer
What genres do you write?: Non-fiction
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Judith Hugg Home Page Link
Link To Judith Hugg Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
Facebook
All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit, to allow you, the reader, to hear the author in their own voice.
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