Meet Stacey E. Haught

We recently connected with Stacey E. Haught and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Stacey E., really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
I don’t think anyone ever finds their true purpose. Please stick with me. I think we’re conditioned into believing we have to seek out that one thing we are good at. That career or interest that turns into a passion, and therefore we never really feel like we are ever working a day in our lives. But that’s not necessarily how life works. Not truly. I think what’s really important is how you re-discover your purpose as life goes on. I think that the “purpose” we should seek for. Is the will to keep going on.
And that’s exactly what I have found myself doing. At forty years old I have found myself in the constant pursuit to “keep going on.” To keep the momentum of my life in a forward motion. I think it’s time to normalize not having figured your crap out yet. Or wanting to try something new. Regardless of how old you are. If we are truly honest with our human experience, we’d admit that purpose lies in every single opportunity we come to.
So if you’re feeling frustrated like I often do, in finding my purpose, maybe it’s time to shift into looking for opportunity and let purpose find us.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I sort of fell into writing. Of course, I had been told that I should consider pursuing writing as a career for years before I finally submitted to the idea. I had dabbled in adaptation of a variety of material into scripts while I was an Acting Instructor and Film Coach. But I had never tackled the full force of what was novel writing.

In the heart of the pandemic, faced with so much uncertainty and fear, I decided to harness my fear and give it a go. In twenty-twenty I started writing, and haven’t stopped. Four years later, and with so much more knowledge of what it takes to write. I’ve successfully written and published six novels.

But I still crave more.

I was recently reminded of why I said no to writing. I had told the person who kept insisting that I would be good at writing because I practically devoured reading, I had replied that just because you love something doesn’t mean you should do it. I would be lying if I said that excuse doesn’t haunt me every single time I tackle a new manuscript. It has been the constant nagging and repetitive statement that fuels my self-doubt. The only combat I have to that menacing voice in my head is every new manuscript is a chance to tell a story better. Every manuscript, that turns from a “What If?” thought into a full-length novel, that gets a cover and gets published is one step closer to a reader who might find themselves in the story, and to be transparent that’s why I started writing. Not because I was an avid reader or because storytelling is in my blood. But because I wanted to see myself in stories. I wanted to tell a story from a different angle. I wanted to tell stories that saw things from my imperfect lens. Not because someone once upon a time told me I’d be good at it. But because I had a story to tell.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Three things I have learned while becoming an author are this: 1) Trust your instincts. – Storytelling is imperfect, there’s no exact science to create the perfect novel. Sure, there are guidelines and tools to help you. But getting lost in the weeds, so to speak, in an effort to make sure you’re doing it like so and so will only distract you from the purity of the story you are destined to tell.
2) Everyone’s journey to publishing looks different. – not everyone is going to get a traditional publishing contract. In fact, it’s now extremely rare for someone to actually get an offer and advance, and I can guarantee you that your favorite author, who you desire to be like didn’t get to that traditional publishing contract like you think they did. As hard as it is. Don’t compare your journey to theirs.
3) Be Smart about who you align yourself with. – I am not one to regret my decisions. But I made mistakes in my early writing days. Now repeat after me. “It’s okay to make mistakes.” If I didn’t make those mistakes, I wouldn’t have learned anything. But those mistakes were costly. I was so desperate to publish. I submitted to hundreds of agents and received rejection letter after rejection letter, so when I finally got an acceptance, I didn’t think twice. It was a hybrid contract, meaning you pay an upfront portion of the cost and the rest the agency covers. I was thrilled. But it was a financial risk. One that didn’t pay off. But that doesn’t mean that every hybrid contract won’t pay off. Though it didn’t fill my pockets with money, and finance my writing of my next novel, it gave me the experience I needed. So when you’re in that position to sign that contract before your pen hits that paper. Ask questions. Not only of the agency or publishing firm. But ask yourself questions. Listen to your gut, trust your instincts, and remember, not everyone’s journey is the same.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
I was in a place of doubt last year. I had just distanced myself from a digital publishing firm only because I was experiencing burnout that caused my chronic illness to flair. I was doubting myself as a writer and questioning absolutely everything. A friend of mine who has been with me throughout most of my life recommended I read “Big Magic, Creative Living Beyond Fear” by Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of “Eat, Pray, Love” The whole book is a love story to creatives, specifically authors.

In a portion of the book, Elizabeth recounts a story told to her by a woman who knew her idol, Jack Gilbert. No relation. Sadly, Elizabeth never was able to meet Jack. But she did meet someone who learned from him. This woman was a shy college student, that had an encounter with Jack Gilbert after his poetry class. Jack had taken the student aside and complimented her work. She expressed that she wanted to perhaps pursue being a writer. Jack looked at her and asked her, “Do you have the courage? Do you have the courage to bring forth this work? The treasures that are hidden inside of you that are hoping you say yes?”

Every time I sit down to write, it takes courage. But the courage is supported by the idea that as creatives we only have to dare to say yes. Whenever I doubt myself, I re-read the first chapter of this magical love story and remember to say yes. Because what truly is the worst that can happen? I’d rather face the worst than to have never tried at all.

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