Melanie Crowder On Being Both A Planner &A Pantser

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 Melanie Crowder, who has received many honors for her debut novel, PARCHED, including Bank Street’s Best Books of the Year, a Junior Library Guild selection, a Silver Medal in the Parents’ Choice Awards, and a starred review from the Bulletin.

Her second book, AUDACITY, has received three starred reviews and is an Editor’s Choice at BookBrowse and a Top Pick from BookPage. Her third novel, A NEARER MOON, releases September 8 from Atheneum Books / S&S.

Melanie holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. When she isn’t writing, Melanie can be found teaching, reading, daydreaming or exploring the beautiful state of Colorado where she lives with her family.

Are you a Planner or Pantster?

Both! 

I usually begin by writing really short drafts without much pre-planning to find the voice and tone for a new book. Then I step back and give it a read. I make a million notes and chart out the plot and character arcs—where I want the book to go thematically and structurally. Finally, I use all that planning to dig back in and write a much thicker, much stronger second draft. 

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

I have no idea, to be honest! Maybe 3 months to get to that second draft? Another month or two to before I’ll show it to my editor? Six months or more in revisions with my editor? So I suppose that’s about a year to D&A. Good to know—thanks for asking! 

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

I like to keep my focus in one place, mostly. That sort of single-minded attention means my mind is working on the story all the time—while I’m sleeping, or driving, or out on a walk. But there are always gaps in my revision schedule where, if I don’t turn to something new, then I wouldn’t be writing at all. Or, like what happened last week: I’m in the middle of revisions for one book when the first pass comes through for a different book and I have no choice but to switch gears. Sometimes it’s a little jarring to jump between different manuscripts, especially since the different projects are so different in tone and style, but that’s the job, and I love it! 

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

When I first started, I had no idea how little I understood about how to write a book. So I didn’t really have any fears then—I didn’t know any better! 

I definitely feel it now, though. There are always fears and insecurities that can get in the way of the creative process. The trick is to acknowledge them and then put them behind you. 

How many trunked books did you have before you were agented?

I worked on 4 books before I found my agent and editor: 2 before my MFA, and 2 during. I think of them as learning books—I doubt I’ll ever go back to them, and I’m so glad I had the time to work through those stories and improve before my work went out there into the world. SO glad!

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

Only during my MFA program. When I got to the point with a manuscript where I had learned all I needed to, then I moved on and started fresh with a story that would be stronger from the very first word because of all I had learned on the previous one. 

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

I work with Ammi-Joan Paquette. We found each other through an unusual process in that I was already connected with my editor and the book was already on its way to acquisitions when I signed with her. 

How long did you query before landing your agent? 

I think it was about six months of obsessive email checking before I got that YES. So glad that’s behind me! 

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

What they say really is true—keep writing. Send your manuscript out and start working on something else. If you’re willing to stick with it and push yourself to constantly improve your craft, it’s not so much if you will get an agent, but when. Hang in there!

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

There’s nothing like it. Just today, I saw a librarian featuring Audacity on a morning TV show, and I got that same thrill. That’s my name on the cover. It’s an awesome feeling! 

How much input do you have on cover art?

Virtually none. I see the publishing process as a partnership and I’m happy to let other members of the team make the decisions they are best qualified to make. I do the writing, they do the rest, and together we make great books! 

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

I think just the sheer number of books published in a single year. And good ones, too! Something like 750 books for children & young adults receive starred reviews in a single year. That’s amazing! I’m seriously behind in my reading.

How much of your own marketing do you?  

I have a website, I tweet, and I also just started using Instagram—it’s fun! 

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

I think it depends. Do you enjoy learning about the industry through social media posts? Then do that. Do you enjoy learning about writing craft through blog posts? Then do that. Do you like engaging with current issues on Twitter? Then do that. Would you rather be writing? Then do that. Just grab your domain name for now and call it good. 

Do you think social media helps build your readership?

I’m on the fence about that, to be honest. I think the most important thing to do as a writer is to write, so that’s where I put my energy. I could blog every day or tweet all the time and it wouldn’t be half as effective in reaching readers as the enthusiastic posts they see from other readers who just have to tell everyone how much they loved my book. That’s genuine, and it’s meaningful both to me, and to potential readers.

New Interview Series - The SWAG (Shit We All Generate)

Today writers have to be more than just writers - love it or hate it, we are marketers as well. Most authors will agree that the creative part of the job is where we excel, the business and marketing side, slightly less. It’s lovely when the two can meet in the form of SWAG – Shit We All Generate. I’ve invited some published authors to share with us their secret to swag… little freebies that can sell a book longer after the author is no longer standing in front of a prospective reader. In order to create great swag, you have to be crafty – in more ways than one.

Today's guest for the SWAG is Demitria Lunetta, author of IN THE AFTER and IN THE END, both available now from HarperTeen, as well as the upcoming BAD BLOOD, coming in 2017 from Delacorte. Demitria is also an editor and contributing author to AMONG THE SHADOWS a dark YA anthology, available for pre-order now.

Finding something that represents your book and hasn’t been played out by a million authors before is difficult. What’s your swag?

Of course I have the standard bookmarks, stickers, and bookplates, but I also have notebooks, t-shirts, and tote bags.

How much money per piece did your swag cost out of pocket?

Bookmarks, stickers, and bookplates are pretty cheap…they’re only about five or six cents each (when you buy bulk.) The notebooks are a bit more expensive. I bought mini-pads and stuck a sticker on them…altogether those ended up being about 40 cents each. Shirts and totes are way more expensive, at about $12 a pop!

Do you find that swag helps you stand out at an event? Does your swag draw people to your table at an event or conference?

Definitely! People love free stuff, even bookmarks! Add a couple of notebooks and people are all about the swag. ☺ It also gives you the chance to engage with people as they’re grabbing your swag.

What do you think of big item swag pieces versus cheaper, yet more easily discarded swag like bookmarks?

Bookmarks are invaluable. Even though they’re cheap, they’re actually quite useful, and I’m not sure they’re so easily discarded. I’m always happy to get a bookmark and I have a drawer of them for easy use. The bigger ticket items are useful too, but it’s not always feasible to have loads of them. For the t-shirts I made sure they were soft and cute, so people would actually want to wear them. The totes I’ve only given out at my launch parties and I’ve actually seen people using them at other events, so they were definitely worth the hefty price tag.

What’s the most clever / best swag you've seen by another author?

Candy is always good! It gets people over to your table. I also already mentioned that I’m a sucker for bookmarks, so any unique bookmark will catch my attention, like something with an interesting charm dangling off the string, or even something shiny. I guess I have the attention span of a small child. ☺

Do you think swag helps sell books?

I think swag indirectly helps sell books. It acts as a reminder. It also gets your cover out there…the more exposure your book has the more people will buy it.

Madeline Dyer On Sources Of Inspiration

Inspiration is a funny thing. It can come to us like a lightning bolt, through the lyrics of a song, or in the fog of a dream. Ask any writer where their stories come from and you’ll get a myriad of answers, and in that vein I created the WHAT (What the Hell Are you Thinking?) interview. Always including in the WHAT is one random question to really dig down into the interviewees mind, and probably supply some illumination into my own as well.

Todays guest for the WHAT is Madeline Dyer, a fantasy and science fiction writer, who has a special love for all things dystopian, paranormal and ghostly. Her debut novel, UNTAMED, was published by Prizm Books in May 2015.

Ideas for our books can come from just about anywhere, and sometimes even we can’t pinpoint exactly how or why. Did you have a specific origin point for your book?

Normally, I can’t pinpoint exactly where my ideas come from—usually, they come from a mixture of things… but with UNTAMED I do have a specific origin point: the music video for ‘La La La’ by Naughty Boy featuring Sam Smith. More specifically, it was a scene in this video, where I saw what I interpreted as a human heart being sold at a market (whether it was actually a pig’s heart, I’m not sure) and I just thought what if people can buy emotions at an everyday market like that (as a human heart can represent love, passion, commitment, etc.)? And that’s where the idea came from really. Of course, it soon grew into something much, much bigger, as I combined it with research and imagination. 

Once the original concept existed, how did you build a plot around it?

So, once I had this premise worked out—that people would be able to buy the emotions they wanted to feel—I started thinking about characters. For me, characters always drive the plot, so once I’d created a handful of characters that I absolutely fell in love with, the plot came pretty fast. At this point, I started on the world-building, and decided I wanted a strong dystopian regime in place that tried to eradicate all negative emotions—at the expense of humanity. And I also wanted conflict. A lot of conflict. From then on, the plot just grew and grew, thanks to my characters and their actions. 

Have you ever had the plot firmly in place, only to find it changing as the story moved from your mind to paper?

Yes! This happens quite a lot. I’m just trying to think back to when I was writing the first draft of UNTAMED… there were quite a few plot points that changed dramatically when I went from my plan to the first draft. Mainly, these changes were caused by the characters not doing what I wanted. They all had different ideas, and a couple of them reacted totally different to how I expected, throwing the story off in a whole new direction. 

But most of my big changes occur when I’m going from the first draft to the second. Usually, by the time I’ve finished the first draft, I know the characters really well, and I’ve got loads of ideas about what needs changing. With UNTAMED, one of the major changes was who the love interest of my main character was going to be; another character just wasn’t happy about my plans at all—to the extent that the original love interest got written out in the second draft. 

And these changes happen all the time! I’m currently working on book two in the Untamed Series, FRAGMENTED, and I’ve just finished rewriting a massive section. It still leads to the same place, but uses different means to get there that are more appropriate to the characters and the story.

Do story ideas come to you often, or is fresh material hard to come by?

I always seem to have ideas! And I can’t type fast enough! 

I’m currently actively working on three different projects (the next two Untamed books, and a new dystopian novel for adults), and I’m feeling a bit overloaded by just how much motivation and inspiration I have. Sure, I have days where I can’t be bothered to write and the thought of sitting down with my laptop again fills me with dread—but at the same time, I want to write, I need to. And when I have, I feel a lot better. It’s addictive. 

How do you choose which story to write next, if you’ve got more than one percolating?

Ah, now this is something I still haven’t quite perfected. I always seem to be overrun with ideas, and tend to work on more than one story at a time—though, even then I always have one main one. Still, it gets a bit hectic, and I keep separate notebooks for each project so I don’t mix my ideas up. At the moment, I’m working on Untamed book two (as my main project), and then writing scenes and bits and pieces of Untamed book three, and my new work-in-progress.

I tend to just go with the story that I want to write that day. Unless I’m on a deadline! 

Sometimes the perfect word eludes me. If I can’t come up with it in the moment I usually write something in ALL CAPS like A GREAT WORD HERE and move on to catch it later in revision. Do you roll with the flow, or go find that word right away?

I do the ALL CAPS THING all the time! And you know what? I’m so glad I’m not the only one! I think that if I stopped every time I couldn’t find the perfect word, I’d definitely disrupt the flow of the story—particularly if it’s the first draft. And I’ve found I work best when I get the first draft down as quickly as possible. I completed draft one of UNTAMED in around 24 days, then spent the following 18 months fixing things, rewriting and revising, and working through edits with the lovely editor my publisher assigned me. 

So yeah, my first drafts tend to resemble a bit of a patchwork really. They’re filled with notes, comments, highlighted sections that need rewriting and lots of capitalized reminders. 

Anyway, the later drafts are for finding the perfect words, right? I usually don’t allow myself to start editing, changing words or doing major research (unless it’s absolutely necessary) until I’ve finished a draft for fear of disrupting the rhythm I’ve created.