Interview with Jill Hathaway

I'm lucky (or cunning) enough to have lured yet another successful writer over to my blog for an SAT - Successful Author Talk. SAT authors have conquered the query, slain the synopsis and attained the pinnacle of published. How'd they do it? Let's ask 'em!

Today's guest for the SAT (Successful Author Talk) is Jill Hathaway, debut author of SLIDE, coming from Balzer & Bray, March 27, 2012. Jill Hathaway lives in the Des Moines area with her husband and young daughter. Having earned her BA in English Education from the University of Northern Iowa and her MA in Literature from Iowa State University, she teaches high school English and dual credit courses for Des Moines Area Community College.

Are you a Planner or Pantster? 

I'm definitely a panster, although my agent and editor are trying to whip me into a planner. Synopses are the devil. I'd much rather sail along and discover the story as I go, but (with mysteries especially) that makes for a whole lot of rewriting.

How long does it typically take you to write a novel, start to finish? 

The rough draft usually only takes me 4-6 weeks, but then I spend months and months revising (see the rewriting comment above).

Do you work on one project at a time, or are you a multi tasker? 

I prefer to work on one project at a time; otherwise, I lose my focus. Normally I draft a story during the summer (because, as a teacher, that's when I have free time) and then revise throughout the school year.

Did you have to overcome any fears that first time you sat down to write? 

I was very much afraid that I wasn't capable of finishing a novel. I'd write lots of beginnings and never see them through. It wasn't until NaNoWriMo that I learned to let my first draft suck because I could always go back and fix it. So now I go full steam until I get that first draft finished.

How many trunked books (if any) did you have before you were agented?

I have one trunked novel from before I was agented and one trunked novel that I wrote the summer after signing with my agent.

Have you ever quit on an ms, and how did you know it was time? 

I'm not sure I've completely given up on any of my stories. It would just take a lot of time and effort to resuscitate them, and I'm not sure it's worth it if no one's interested in buying them.

Who is your agent and how did you get that "Yes!" out of them?  

I'm represented by the practically perfect Sarah Davies of Greenhouse Literary Agency. She plucked me out of the slush pile.

How long did you query before landing your agent?

I queried about 100 agents with my first (now, trunked) novel before giving up. Then I wrote a better story and landed an agent within a few weeks. I think it's all about finding the right story and never giving up.

Any advice to aspiring writers out there on conquering query hell? 

Well, like I said, never give up. If no one wants your first novel, write another one. And another one. Until you write something awesome enough that everyone wants it.

How did that feel, the first time you saw your book for sale? 

Seeing SLIDE on Amazon for the first time was cool, but I can't even imagine how it will feel to see my book on the shelf at a bookstore.

How much input do you have on cover art? 

None on my first cover. I got to see a cover comp for SLIDE, and then the first cover, and then (when marketing didn't go for that one) a NEW cover. I did give a little feedback on the IMPOSTOR cover (but not much). Really, design isn't my thing, so I'm fine with it.

What's something you learned from the process that surprised you? 

Everyone says this, but it's true. It's sloooooooooooooow and then it's superfast! Like I'll wait months for something to happen and then a million amazing things (cover! ARCs! reviews!) happen all at once.

How much of your own marketing do you?  

I do quite a bit, but it's because I enjoy it. If I'm bored, I'll pop on Twitter and chat for a while. Blogging has become more of a pain as I don't know how much I can really share, but I try to keep up on it. Facebook is just plain fun.

When do you build your platform? After an agent? Or should you be working before?

If by "platform" you just mean building connections, I say before. Connections always help--with other authors, bloggers, readers, agents, editors. It's really a community. You help others and rack up good karma points.

Do you think social media helps build your readership? 

I'm not far enough along in the process to be able to say definitively, but I have seen friends of mine with thousands of followers go really far (like the NYT bestseller list), but others with lots of followers have moderate success. I think publisher support really makes all the difference.

Interview with Jessica Corra

I'm lucky (or cunning) enough to have lured yet another successful writer over to my blog for an SAT - Successful Author Talk. SAT authors have conquered the query, slain the synopsis and attained the pinnacle of published. How'd they do it? Let's ask 'em!

Today's SAT (Successful Author Talk) guest is a fellow Lucky13'er. Jessica Corra's debut, AFTER YOU is about seventeen-year-old Camilla Jay who has the power of second chances. She can rewind to any day and relive it, and she remembers everything. A tragedy like the death of her twin sister Madelyn shouldn’t be possible. Camilla rewinds to the same day over and over, but Madelyn dies each time – by her own hand. Madelyn doesn’t want saving. Madelyn’s death allows Cam to finally connect with her long-time crush Wall. As they grow closer, Camilla uncovers a series of writings Madelyn did about her own ability to forward in time. Madelyn believed killing herself was the only way to save Camilla from a horrible fate. Cam’s not convinced.

Are you a Planner or Pantster?

A plantster. I do prework on paper before I type anything, in which I explore character and guess at plots and stuff, and I draw a little plot arc and make sure I know my key scenes. The first thing I do for any story is write a blurb, though, I can’t work on it until I’m happy with my blurb. But once I have those key scenes I just intuitively write between them, and I actually pants my revisions, go figure.

How long does it typically take you to write a novel, start to finish? 

From idea to the end of the first draft, about 6-8 weeks. Each revision pass is another 2-4 weeks. I type really fast.

Do you work on one project at a time, or are you a multi tasker? 

One project at a time, although if I get really stuck, I’ll try switching gears just a little, but I only ever have one primary project.

Did you have to overcome any fears that first time you sat down to write?

Dismay at my overall incompetence and the stench of my previous failure? Seriously, the same fears all writers have: that I don’t know what I’m doing and any minute now they’ll figure it out. That’s more a later stage fear, though, so I’ll add there’s always the fear of not being able to make it happen.

How many trunked books (if any) did you have before you were agented?

Eight? Let me think. AM, CoaAG, P, TDT, TFC, TDB, CT – wait, no, I guess that’s only seven. ☺

Have you ever quit on an ms, and how did you know it was time? 

See the previous question. Those all have completed first drafts. TFC and CT also went through revisions and were queried, but seeing the feedback I knew they weren’t ready for primetime after all and moved on. The ones I didn’t bother revising were either genres I didn’t want to pursue or just plain practice novels. I don’t “know” when it’s time; I just have a feeling.

Who is your agent and how did you get that "Yes!" out of them? 

The Ay-May-ZING Suzie Townsend of Nancy Coffey Literary. I went the traditional query process, but another agent offered before Suzie so there was a bit of a race.

How long did you query before landing your agent?

That depends: I queried one of the trunked books in 2008 and then didn’t send anything out again until 2010, so technically 2 years? Actively, though, maybe six months across three manuscripts. Around 100 queries across three manuscripts, all told.

Any advice to aspiring writers out there on conquering query hell?

I will point you to this post on my blog. You have to believe in yourself before you can ask anyone else to.

How did that feel, the first time you saw your book for sale?

I’ll let you know. But seeing my contract was numbing.

How much input do you have on cover art?

I don’t. I get consultation like most authors, which means I say, “I’m just the writer; make it pretty,” and then I’ll coo over it when it’s done.

What's something you learned from the process that surprised you?

I am not as impatient as I thought. Things go as fast as they go and you can’t make them go any faster, so sit down and shut up. And I get really giddy over the idea of interior layout. Fonts! :squee:

How much of your own marketing do you?

I assume I’ll do a lot of my own marketing, blog tours, guest posts, etc. I’m very out-going and I love meeting people, though, so “marketing” to me just means doing what I already do: connecting with people. I expect to set up a lot of local signings and I hope to go to more cons and things. I’m a people person. I enjoy my blog. I don’t blog about writing. I blog about Deep Things and pretend I am a life coach and sometimes there are photos of food. I tweet up a storm.

When do you build your platform? After an agent? Or should you be working before?

Platform. Sigh. The thing I talk about most on my blog is being yourself. Platform doesn’t really mesh with that. I think you should jump into social media when you’re comfortable and just connect. Don’t think about it as platform-building. Certainly, in terms of marketing, though, you want to be out there as early as possible so you have a built-in following, but it’s all in your motivation. You’re selling something, but you’re not there to sell anything, if that makes any sense.

Do you think social media helps build your readership?

Absolutely. I have discovered some of my favorite authors through social media and made some of my dearest friends the same way, incidentally, so I’m a big fan of social media. No one is going to dispute that word of mouth sells books. Social media is just another form of potential word of mouth. The more enthusiastic your fan base, the more the readership will grow. It feeds itself, really.

The Necessary, Interchangeable Writer's Masks

I'm a first baseman. My job is the under-appreciated task of stopping the ball. I have to catch the ball whether it's in the dirt, over my head, directly in the runner's path, or barreling towards my face at seventy miles an hour. If I don't the runner gets one base, at least. I've been cleated, elbowed in between the shoulder blades by the less sportsmanlike runners, and on one memorable occasion, line-drived in the boob when I turned my head for a split second in acknowledgement of a particularly nasty jeer from the other team's bench.

I kinda think first basemen are under-appreciated, but I love my position, despite the fact that I'm reminded by everyone when there's a lefty in the box to "get ready," as if I couldn't put that together on my own. Although that one might actually be on me due to the boob incident.

In any case, my freshmen year in high school I wanted a varsity letter. Badly. But there was a very talented girl two years older than me who had a claim staked on first base, deservedly. So the coach, after having noticed my trained-dog response to not allowing balls get past me said, "Hey, I know you're 5'9" but how do you feel about catching?"

I didn't feel so good about it.

Catching meant an extra twenty pounds of equipment. Catching meant crouching for long periods of time and ignoring the pain in my thigh muscles. Catching, in fast-pitch softball, meant something flying at me repeatedly at sixty to seventy miles an hour, and a girl in between me and it who had to whip the stick around fast enough to make contact.

And because I was in high school, catching also meant smashed, sweaty hair and frequent breakouts.

But catching was also going to mean a varsity letter, if I wanted it badly enough. And I did. So I shut my mouth, and I was a catcher. I had to learn new tricks, like flipping the mask off quickly enough to make the long throw to second in case of a steal. And I had to unlearn old habits. At first base I had it ingrained in me to cut the distance between the ball and my glove in order to beat the runner. Reach for it. Stretch. Do the splits if necessary.

Yeah. You can't really do that as a catcher. It's called interference. And if the batter decides to swing at that particular pitch, it's called a broken hand. Trust me on that one.

How does this relate to writing?

I know you hate it, but we're past the days where you are just a writer. We can no longer sit happily in isolated homes with a typewriter and mail off our new ms when it's finished.

You are not just a writer. If you want to succeed you are also a social networker, a forum contributer, a self-marketer, a publicist, a blogger, a Facebooker, a tweeter and uh ... a Pinterest ... er. Or something. You have to wear all those masks, and be ready to flip one off and put the other on at any given moment throughout the day in order to get what you want in the end.

Unlearn the old habit of telling yourself you are a writer, and a writer only. If I had insisted on being a first baseman I would not have earned my varsity letter as a freshman. Arguably, I also wouldn't have broken my hand, but it serves as a reminder that there will be pains along the way as you learn your new roles.

It's not easy, it's not always fun. But it's where we are now as writers. Now take the field.