1. How long did it take you to publish ‘Easy?’
I wrote Easy in about six months, and then spent another month having it copyedited, correcting and revising the edited manuscript, having the digital and paperback (internal) formatting done, and commissioning the paperback cover. I put all of this together and self-published in May 2012.
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?
Continuing when I didn’t think I had a chance of ever having readers for my work.
3. Of all the books you have written, which book did you enjoy writing the most?
Good For You, the third book in my Between the Lines series. I loved writing it.
4. How long did it take you to get your first successful book published?
That depends what you mean by successful. I made enough (as a self-published author) from the sales of the Between the Lines series to quit my job and write full-time. Easy (my fourth self-published book) was on the New York Times bestseller list nine weeks between June and September 2012, and came in second only to John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars for “YA Fiction Book of the Year” in Goodreads’ Readers’ Choice Awards 2012. I consider both of these to be successes, and I wasn’t traditionally published yet.
5. If you could give one piece of advice to a new writer, what would it be?
Don’t quit. Don’t quit writing, don’t quit learning, don’t quit believing you need to improve and striving to do so. (Second unsolicited piece of advice: Write from your heart. Don’t copy others and don’t follow trends – do your thing.)
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 got plenty of them. They mean nothing.
7. What would you say is the first steps of publishing?
Writing, rewriting, rewriting, rewriting.
8. If a new and upcoming writer was trying to publish their own novel, how would you recommend they go about it?
I wouldn’t. Everyone should do lots of research – read writing/publishing blogs, join critique groups - and decide their own path. There is no right or wrong path. The only wrong thing is quitting.
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?
Reid is my favourite character overall. I don’t know who’d be second.
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?
I actually disagree with your first two statements – I don’t think it’s more difficult to have a writing career now – I think it’s easier than it’s ever been. I say that as someone who was trying to get published well before the digital revolution took off. Amazon, iBooks, et cetera are distributors – meaning they’re like bookstores, not like publishers. That means that an author can – for good or bad – take his/her book directly to the marketplace – to readers/buyers. There are publishing steps I wouldn’t skip – for example: having critique partners review your manuscript and then revising it based on their suggestions (critique partners are other writers with whom you exchange works in progress to get/give valuable feedback and content editing), and hiring professionals - a copyeditor to catch typos and grammar goofs, someone to format the interior of the book, and someone to design a professional-looking cover.
All that said, I wouldn’t suggest either direction – people should make that choice for themselves. Self-publishing is a huge job – the job of a publisher, and if you want to be perceived as professional, you must take it seriously and produce the best product you can. If you write something that readers connect with and enjoy, interacting with increasing numbers of them is just another job to throw on the pile. Some people would rather go into their writer’s cave and write, leaving all the other stuff to a publishing company – and there’s nothing wrong with that decision.
If I had it to do over, I would do exactly what I did, exactly how I did it. I’m putting my kids through university and taking care of aging parents. I work in my PJs with a fifty-step commute and a cat on my desk. I love what I do, and I’ve never been more personally satisfied in my life.
I wrote Easy in about six months, and then spent another month having it copyedited, correcting and revising the edited manuscript, having the digital and paperback (internal) formatting done, and commissioning the paperback cover. I put all of this together and self-published in May 2012.
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?
Continuing when I didn’t think I had a chance of ever having readers for my work.
3. Of all the books you have written, which book did you enjoy writing the most?
Good For You, the third book in my Between the Lines series. I loved writing it.
4. How long did it take you to get your first successful book published?
That depends what you mean by successful. I made enough (as a self-published author) from the sales of the Between the Lines series to quit my job and write full-time. Easy (my fourth self-published book) was on the New York Times bestseller list nine weeks between June and September 2012, and came in second only to John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars for “YA Fiction Book of the Year” in Goodreads’ Readers’ Choice Awards 2012. I consider both of these to be successes, and I wasn’t traditionally published yet.
5. If you could give one piece of advice to a new writer, what would it be?
Don’t quit. Don’t quit writing, don’t quit learning, don’t quit believing you need to improve and striving to do so. (Second unsolicited piece of advice: Write from your heart. Don’t copy others and don’t follow trends – do your thing.)
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 got plenty of them. They mean nothing.
7. What would you say is the first steps of publishing?
Writing, rewriting, rewriting, rewriting.
8. If a new and upcoming writer was trying to publish their own novel, how would you recommend they go about it?
I wouldn’t. Everyone should do lots of research – read writing/publishing blogs, join critique groups - and decide their own path. There is no right or wrong path. The only wrong thing is quitting.
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?
Reid is my favourite character overall. I don’t know who’d be second.
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?
I actually disagree with your first two statements – I don’t think it’s more difficult to have a writing career now – I think it’s easier than it’s ever been. I say that as someone who was trying to get published well before the digital revolution took off. Amazon, iBooks, et cetera are distributors – meaning they’re like bookstores, not like publishers. That means that an author can – for good or bad – take his/her book directly to the marketplace – to readers/buyers. There are publishing steps I wouldn’t skip – for example: having critique partners review your manuscript and then revising it based on their suggestions (critique partners are other writers with whom you exchange works in progress to get/give valuable feedback and content editing), and hiring professionals - a copyeditor to catch typos and grammar goofs, someone to format the interior of the book, and someone to design a professional-looking cover.
All that said, I wouldn’t suggest either direction – people should make that choice for themselves. Self-publishing is a huge job – the job of a publisher, and if you want to be perceived as professional, you must take it seriously and produce the best product you can. If you write something that readers connect with and enjoy, interacting with increasing numbers of them is just another job to throw on the pile. Some people would rather go into their writer’s cave and write, leaving all the other stuff to a publishing company – and there’s nothing wrong with that decision.
If I had it to do over, I would do exactly what I did, exactly how I did it. I’m putting my kids through university and taking care of aging parents. I work in my PJs with a fifty-step commute and a cat on my desk. I love what I do, and I’ve never been more personally satisfied in my life.