1. How long did it take you to publish, ‘Beautiful Mess?’
Beautiful Mess didn't actually take long to write or publish. I'd not long finished writing Breaking Leila (which I'd sold to Lyrical Press) and I wrote Beautiful Mess after for a contest on Literotica. It was a bit of a last minute decision as the deadline was the next day, so it was literally written in a day. It won, and did really well, and I thought it would be a good idea to put it out there for free to drum up some readership for Breaking Leila when it came out a few months later. I think that was a good decision; back in 2011, when it was published, the market wasn't quite so saturated with free books so it was an excellent tool for increasing discoverability.
2. If you could choose one thing about the whole work involved from writing your first book, to its publication, what would you say was the hardest thing to achieve?
Plotting is always the hardest part of any book I write. The characters come to me first, but the actual plot--finding something that won't be predictable, something that will provide a properly satisfying ending--is the most difficult part of the process to me. I'm not a pantser; I need to know how things will go before I get into the meat of the story.
3. Of all the books you have written, which book did you enjoy writing the most?
Probably Breaking Leila and Breaking Joseph. They were originally written as one large body of work and they were posted online in parts way before they were sold to Lyrical. This was great for two reasons: firstly, I was able to build a readership and get their feedback as I wrote, and secondly, it acted as a catalyst for friendships with several awesome authors whom I am still friends with today. We were all on an "even" playing field back then, which kind of doesn't happen so much now.
4. How long did it take you to get your first successful book published?
It depends what you mean by "successful." Breaking Leila and its sequel took eighteen months to write and nine months to sell. I started writing them in 2009 and they were published in 2012. The reviews were great--I got attention that eBooks often didn't get back then--but despite that, the sales have never been brilliant. Twisted Summer, however, took about a week to write and then a few more weeks to edit. It sat on my hard drive for a while because I knew I'd never sell a book with a step-uncle/niece angle to a publisher. One day I thought, screw it...and decided to publish it myself. Four weeks later, it hit number one on iTunes and got into the Kindle 100 in the UK, with a heck of a lot less effort or worry on my behalf. Publishing makes no sense at all sometimes. The reviews weren't as good as my previous releases so I couldn't say for sure that it was a better book.
5. If you could give one piece of advice to a new writer, what would it be?
Beautiful Mess didn't actually take long to write or publish. I'd not long finished writing Breaking Leila (which I'd sold to Lyrical Press) and I wrote Beautiful Mess after for a contest on Literotica. It was a bit of a last minute decision as the deadline was the next day, so it was literally written in a day. It won, and did really well, and I thought it would be a good idea to put it out there for free to drum up some readership for Breaking Leila when it came out a few months later. I think that was a good decision; back in 2011, when it was published, the market wasn't quite so saturated with free books so it was an excellent tool for increasing discoverability.
2. If you could choose one thing about the whole work involved from writing your first book, to its publication, what would you say was the hardest thing to achieve?
Plotting is always the hardest part of any book I write. The characters come to me first, but the actual plot--finding something that won't be predictable, something that will provide a properly satisfying ending--is the most difficult part of the process to me. I'm not a pantser; I need to know how things will go before I get into the meat of the story.
3. Of all the books you have written, which book did you enjoy writing the most?
Probably Breaking Leila and Breaking Joseph. They were originally written as one large body of work and they were posted online in parts way before they were sold to Lyrical. This was great for two reasons: firstly, I was able to build a readership and get their feedback as I wrote, and secondly, it acted as a catalyst for friendships with several awesome authors whom I am still friends with today. We were all on an "even" playing field back then, which kind of doesn't happen so much now.
4. How long did it take you to get your first successful book published?
It depends what you mean by "successful." Breaking Leila and its sequel took eighteen months to write and nine months to sell. I started writing them in 2009 and they were published in 2012. The reviews were great--I got attention that eBooks often didn't get back then--but despite that, the sales have never been brilliant. Twisted Summer, however, took about a week to write and then a few more weeks to edit. It sat on my hard drive for a while because I knew I'd never sell a book with a step-uncle/niece angle to a publisher. One day I thought, screw it...and decided to publish it myself. Four weeks later, it hit number one on iTunes and got into the Kindle 100 in the UK, with a heck of a lot less effort or worry on my behalf. Publishing makes no sense at all sometimes. The reviews weren't as good as my previous releases so I couldn't say for sure that it was a better book.
5. If you could give one piece of advice to a new writer, what would it be?
Accept your voice. Don't write solely to make money and don't mistake good writing for writing a good story. (Sorry. That's three things!)
6. Many writers are warned about the dreaded ‘rejection letter,’ but speaking from your own experience, what is your take on the rejection letter?
6. Many writers are warned about the dreaded ‘rejection letter,’ but speaking from your own experience, what is your take on the rejection letter?
I never had a bad one, to be honest. Which isn't to say I haven't had a lot of them--I have!--but while they were always deflating, they nearly always also had something useful to say. Honest feedback is a hard thing to come by, so appreciate everything you get.
7. What would you say is the first step of publishing?
Finishing something. It's easy enough to sit down and write, but that last sprint to writing "the end" is always agonising.
8. If a new and upcoming writer was trying to publish their own novel, how would you recommend they go about it?
How long is a piece of string?! This answer could be huge...but the shortest and best advice I could offer is for that writer to reach out to other authors and build bridges. Proper friendly ones. Wherever you are in your writing career, your author friends will be able to share their experiences and help you make the right decision.
9. The publishing industry is beginning to get increasingly difficult, with less and less books being published each year, and this year is no exception. Book deals and publications are at an all-time low.
Many writers are turning to Amazon, Smashwords, Nook, etc. and self-publishing their books.
But this choice isn’t for everyone.
What would you say to young, unpublished writers out there who are debating about which route to take?
And had you been starting out all over again, would you still take the same route?
This is a big question. I chose self-publishing because my personal circumstances meant that it was the only way I could afford to write. A traditional publishing contract, assuming I could get one, would have just taken too long in terms of showing me any money, and at that point in my life, it just wasn't an option. I would 100% rather be with a reliable publisher who could put my paper books in stores, help with marketing and just allow me to write, but it hasn't really been feasible to try for a while. Self-publishing meant that I was able to support myself when I needed to. It was a timing thing.
Around about the time I self-published Beautiful Mess, I needed it to be free, but a publisher would understandably have never permitted that. So I had to keep my options open in that respect.
There are a hundred other good reasons to self-publish, but really, those were mine.
7. What would you say is the first step of publishing?
Finishing something. It's easy enough to sit down and write, but that last sprint to writing "the end" is always agonising.
8. If a new and upcoming writer was trying to publish their own novel, how would you recommend they go about it?
How long is a piece of string?! This answer could be huge...but the shortest and best advice I could offer is for that writer to reach out to other authors and build bridges. Proper friendly ones. Wherever you are in your writing career, your author friends will be able to share their experiences and help you make the right decision.
9. The publishing industry is beginning to get increasingly difficult, with less and less books being published each year, and this year is no exception. Book deals and publications are at an all-time low.
Many writers are turning to Amazon, Smashwords, Nook, etc. and self-publishing their books.
But this choice isn’t for everyone.
What would you say to young, unpublished writers out there who are debating about which route to take?
And had you been starting out all over again, would you still take the same route?
This is a big question. I chose self-publishing because my personal circumstances meant that it was the only way I could afford to write. A traditional publishing contract, assuming I could get one, would have just taken too long in terms of showing me any money, and at that point in my life, it just wasn't an option. I would 100% rather be with a reliable publisher who could put my paper books in stores, help with marketing and just allow me to write, but it hasn't really been feasible to try for a while. Self-publishing meant that I was able to support myself when I needed to. It was a timing thing.
Around about the time I self-published Beautiful Mess, I needed it to be free, but a publisher would understandably have never permitted that. So I had to keep my options open in that respect.
There are a hundred other good reasons to self-publish, but really, those were mine.