1. How long did it take you to publish, ‘Forget You?’
That one took quite a while. I wrote it very quickly in fall 2007, but my agent took a long time to read it, and my editor took over a year to purchase it. It was finally published in July 2010.
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?
The first book I wrote was never published. The first book I sold was the tenth I’d written. So of course the hardest task during that fifteen-year space was not giving up.
3. Of all the books you have written, which book did you enjoy writing the most?
The Boys Next Door is the first book in the collection called Endless Summer (the second book, also called Endless Summer, is the sequel). I remember laughing my head off when I was writing The Boys Next Door because the heroine is as clueless as I am, and I was drawing from a lot of happy childhood memories growing up on a lake in Alabama.
4. How long did it take you to get your first successful book published?
I wrote Major Crush in December 2004, it sold in July 2005, and it came out in August 2006.
5. If you could give one piece of advice to a new writer, what would it be?
Write the book you want to read.
6. Many writers are warned about the dreaded ‘rejection letter,’ but speaking from your own experience, what is your take on the rejection letter?
Don’t read into it what isn’t there. If the agent or editor has taken the time to personalize advice to you, pay attention—but not too much, because after all, this person didn’t want your book. If it’s a form rejection, you have no idea what is going on at the other end. Maybe your work doesn’t fit their line, or it fits a little TOO well because they just bought something similar. Maybe they’ve called a moratorium on submissions. Just make sure the information you’re working with is actually information, not conjecture or anxiety.
7. What would you say is the first steps of publishing?
Write a book. The whole thing.
8. If a new and upcoming writer was trying to publish their own novel, how would you recommend they go about it?
I have never done this so I have no idea.
9. We all love writing our own characters, giving them personalities, histories and lives, but if you had to choose two characters from your own books, which two would you say are your favourites?
Lori and Adam from The Boys Next Door and Endless Summer.
10. 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?
There is a logical order to submitting and self-publishing. First you should query agents. If you’re not successful, you can query publishers. If you’re not successful, you can self-publish. You can’t really do this in the other direction. If you self-publish and the book doesn’t take off, publishers and agents won’t want it. And if you query all the publishers before getting an agent, your agent will have nowhere left to send your book.
Of course, that’s if you had your heart set on traditional publishing, as I did. If that’s not your dream, and if you want to be your own boss with lots of control over your career, why torture yourself? Go ahead and self-publish.
That one took quite a while. I wrote it very quickly in fall 2007, but my agent took a long time to read it, and my editor took over a year to purchase it. It was finally published in July 2010.
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?
The first book I wrote was never published. The first book I sold was the tenth I’d written. So of course the hardest task during that fifteen-year space was not giving up.
3. Of all the books you have written, which book did you enjoy writing the most?
The Boys Next Door is the first book in the collection called Endless Summer (the second book, also called Endless Summer, is the sequel). I remember laughing my head off when I was writing The Boys Next Door because the heroine is as clueless as I am, and I was drawing from a lot of happy childhood memories growing up on a lake in Alabama.
4. How long did it take you to get your first successful book published?
I wrote Major Crush in December 2004, it sold in July 2005, and it came out in August 2006.
5. If you could give one piece of advice to a new writer, what would it be?
Write the book you want to read.
6. Many writers are warned about the dreaded ‘rejection letter,’ but speaking from your own experience, what is your take on the rejection letter?
Don’t read into it what isn’t there. If the agent or editor has taken the time to personalize advice to you, pay attention—but not too much, because after all, this person didn’t want your book. If it’s a form rejection, you have no idea what is going on at the other end. Maybe your work doesn’t fit their line, or it fits a little TOO well because they just bought something similar. Maybe they’ve called a moratorium on submissions. Just make sure the information you’re working with is actually information, not conjecture or anxiety.
7. What would you say is the first steps of publishing?
Write a book. The whole thing.
8. If a new and upcoming writer was trying to publish their own novel, how would you recommend they go about it?
I have never done this so I have no idea.
9. We all love writing our own characters, giving them personalities, histories and lives, but if you had to choose two characters from your own books, which two would you say are your favourites?
Lori and Adam from The Boys Next Door and Endless Summer.
10. 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?
There is a logical order to submitting and self-publishing. First you should query agents. If you’re not successful, you can query publishers. If you’re not successful, you can self-publish. You can’t really do this in the other direction. If you self-publish and the book doesn’t take off, publishers and agents won’t want it. And if you query all the publishers before getting an agent, your agent will have nowhere left to send your book.
Of course, that’s if you had your heart set on traditional publishing, as I did. If that’s not your dream, and if you want to be your own boss with lots of control over your career, why torture yourself? Go ahead and self-publish.