So You Want to Be a Writer
Richard A Lovett, Amber D. Sistla, Karen Azinger, Ken
Scholes
Orycon 34 -- 2012
·
AS:
o
My writing time is so precious that when I drop
my kid off at daycare, I don’t even leave the building: I sit down outside the
door, and start writing.
·
KS:
o
The most important thing I can do is write.
o
At a book signing, I can sell maybe 3 or 4 books
o
At a con, I can sell maybe 4 books
o
So the most important thing I can do is write.
o
When a book comes out, people will read it, and
they’ll publicize it.
·
RL:
o
If it’s sunny, I’m looking for things to do
during the day. And then I’ll write at night.
o
C.S. Lewis always wrote in the morning, and then
went for a walk in the afternoon.
o
6 hours of writing in a day is a hard drive.
§
KS:
I consider 3 to be good.
·
Q: Do you have agents? How important are they?
o
KS:
§
For my NY stuff, I have an agent. They have
boilerplate contracts with all the publishing houses. I reap the benefits of
what Jim Butcher has been able to get, because we have the same agent.
§
For my short stories and small press stuff, I do
it myself.
§
Don’t get tangled up in writers. You have to
practice your craft until you have a publisher ready material.
o
RL:
§
For my non-fiction work, I don’t have agents.
Usually publishers approach me. Would they get me a better deal? Maybe. Would
it be 15% better? Maybe not.
·
Q: How much time do you spend writing vs.
rewriting
o
KS: Much more writing, but I’m notorious for
really good first drafts, perhaps from so much time spent on short stories.
o
KA: I tend to take about nine months to write
the manuscript. Then I give it to my alpha readers (about nine people). I wait
to hear from them. Then I take their comments into consideration, and doing a global
edit. I tighten it up, increase the tension, kick everything up a notch. “they
passed the building”, goes to “they passed the thatched-roof cottage”. Then it
goes to my editor, and identifies copyediting, but also, for example, asked me
to focus on three chapters that needed rework.
o
AS: With novels, because they are so long, if I
am a third of the way through, and I see a problem, e.g. that something needs
foreshadowing, I don’t make the change then. I just make a note. Then later, I
can go through and do all the notes in one pass.
·
Q: What do you like most?
o
KA:
§
Holding the book in my hand
§
Having people read it
o
KS:
§
I won an award in France last year, and this
year they’re asking to fly me out there. That’s exciting.
§
Whether I get a letter from a fan or win an
award, it’s feels good.
o
RL:
§
Being able to do what I like to do. I can pick
the assignments I want to do. If its fun, it’s worth writing about.
·
Q: What’s your least favorite thing?
o
KS:
§
I don’t like flying.
§
I get tired of seeing the same thing over and
over ahead. Like having to read galley proofs.
§
Colleagues can get snarky.
o
KA:
§
When I am doing the global edit, I get tired of
working on it.
§
When I get feedback, and someone says “this
doesn’t work”. Sometimes I know how to fix, and that feels good. Other times, I
don’t know, and I hate that.
o
AS:
§
Rejections.
o
RL:
§
Lede panic.
·
Q: What if it’s not the right length?
o
RL: I write it to the length it needs to be, and
then I edit it to the length required.
o
KA: Even more than word length, it’s got to be
really good. If it is really good, they’ll help you get it to the right length.
o
RL: Don’t pad. It really sucks.
o
KS: My first novel was 130,000 words, and they
bought it and wanted four more novels too.
o
KS: I start with the end in mind. I imagine a
130,000 word book, in a 3 act structure, and allocate out the word count. And I
know early on whether I’m running hot or cold. It’s less wasteful than writing
200,000 words and then editing down to 130,000.
·
Q: Is there anything you wish you had known
before choosing writing
o
AS: I just wish I had more time to do it. I wish
I had started before I had kids.
§
Just do it now with whatever time you have.
o
RL:
§
In non-fiction, I would have learned what PAC journalism
is like. It’s not fun, and I didn’t know. Publishers are sheep, and it’s really
frustrating. They are trying to follow the trend. If you buck the trend, they
don’t want it. If you follow the trend, it’s not the trend by the time you’re
done.
o
KA:
§
Pitching. In the beginning you send your query
letter out, and get a ton of rejections. Instead, go to a writing conference,
and sign up for face to face pitches.
·
Write a pitch that focused on the main
character, a different one that pitches the main problem, etc… Come up with
five different pitches. Try them all. Watch their faces… you can tell when they
are turned off. Switch to the second pitch. If necessary, the third pitch. What
I found was that my fourth pitch was the most effective. I started with the
fourth pitch for all of the successive pitch sessions, and I used it with my
query letters.
o
KS:
§
If I did anything differently, I wouldn’t be who
I am now and where I am now.
§
In the last five years, I got a five book
contract, and gone full time as a writer, and lost eight members of my family,
and gained two members.
§
What’s important in writing? There’s no secret
handshakes, no magic bullets. You can go to cons, and you can meet people, but
unless you have a novel, and a good novel, nothing else matters. Producing work
doesn’t just yield you a finished work, it makes you a better writer.
·
Q: Choosing indie publishing?
o
AS: You’ve got all the jobs. Even if you farm it
out to other people, you are in charge of it. There’s no money coming in during
the very beginning. (as opposed to getting an advance.)
o
Annie Bellet: Don’t choose. Do both.
o
KS: I haven’t done indie publishing yet, but I
will. And I’ll use my contacts from traditional publishing (editors, cover
designers) to get it done.
o
RL: I did my first work, and it was a collection
of pieces previously vetted through Analog. Collections don’t usually make a
lot of money, so there wasn’t much risk,
o
KA: I had a five book deal with a publisher. And
they were awful. But I finally escaped. I would recommend doing it yourself.
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