How I (Finally) Published My Debut Novel in My 60s
Author Shirley Russak Wachtel shares how she published her debut novel just south of turning 70 after a lifetime of writing.
It was as elusive as reaching the holy grail, and at times I feared my dream of becoming a published writer would never be attained. But lo and behold, just as I was on the cusp of turning 70, it happened. I had finally reached my lifelong dream.
My journey to becoming a writer stemmed from my love of reading. I recall spending hours filling my arms with books by Beverly Cleary and other favorites when I was as young as eight. Once, my best friend and I discovered a book of lyrical poetry and copied all the lyrics into a notebook so we could read them at our disposal. It wasn’t long after that that I decided to try my hand at writing my own stories and poems. And once I began, I realized that there were many more stories to tell, all eager to be put on paper.
Soon, throughout junior high school, high school, and college, I began writing those stories, starting with The Mystery of the Three Red Gowns (in homage to the Nancy Drew books), and my experiences growing up in Borough Park, Brownsville, and Flatbush in Brooklyn. Reading my handwritten manuscripts to my father, a Holocaust survivor from Poland, and seeing the proud smile on his face as he closed his eyes and listened, I knew that I had found my calling.
By the time I entered college, I had planned to pursue a career as a writer. I became an English major, focusing on the classical authors from England, like Austen, Dickens, and the Bronte sisters (to this day, Jane Eyre remains my favorite book). I also made sure to serve on the editorial staff of Brooklyn College’s literary magazine so that I could build a portfolio. However, as a practical individual (I am a Virgo, after all), I knew that I had to have a backup plan in case the writing career didn’t pan out. So, I decided to obtain a master’s degree in English and become an English teacher, first in a high school in Brooklyn, and then as a professor at a community college in New Jersey, where I worked for over 30 years before retiring as Professor Emerita last fall.
They tell you that if you are writing, you should consider yourself a writer. In a sense, that is true. For the past 50 years, I have been a newspaper editor, freelance writer, and columnist for newspapers in Brooklyn, Staten Island, and New Jersey, an author of children’s books, and a memoirist as I earned my Doctor of Letters Degree. I was a writer, yes, but there was a nagging feeling in my heart to become the published writer I dreamed of being since I was a little girl.
I kept writing, first with pen and paper, then using my sturdy Smith Corona, and later, the computer. And I made lists, searching my markets for my short stories and manuscripts. In this endeavor, I admit that Writer’s Digest remained an essential resource. In all, I must have sent letters to over 300 publishers and agents. Some politely declined, but most didn’t respond at all. I immersed myself in teaching and raising a family of three sons, but the dream was never far from my mind and heart.
During this time as I turned 50, my desire grew along with my frustration. My hopes were buoyed for 10 years when a friend passed along one of my manuscripts to an agent in Manhattan. He made several attempts to sell this manuscript and others, only to land in disappointment each time. Nevertheless, I remained determined. And then in 2020, something wonderful happened.
Unbeknownst to me, my youngest son, a screenplay writer, gave my manuscript to his agent who then sent it to Eve Attermann at William Morris. She loved it and pronounced me as a great writer. Eve became my new agent and later passed along another of my manuscripts to an editor at Little A who, in the most wonderful of surprises, made an offer to publish. My novel, A Castle in Brooklyn, came out in 2022, and The Baker of Lost Memories debuts in June 2025. The first is about the lasting trauma experienced by Holocaust survivors as they embark on a new life in America; the other deals with the Holocaust’s impact on the second generation. Both take place in my childhood home, Brooklyn. These were the stories I dreamed of writing as a child.
So that’s how at almost 70, I finally became a published writer. And it all started with a dream and lots of persistence. I think my dad would have been proud.
Check out Shirley Russak Wachtel's The Baker of Lost Memories here:
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