Sharon is giving away a copy of her leader’s manual for starting a Life Story group to everyone who comments on this interview in the next week!

With a publishing industry that is ever in flux, it can be hard for an aspiring author to figure out what information is relevant and what she needs to do to be successful. Recognizing this, literary agent Andrea Hurst and writer and blogger Katie Flanagan present a series of weekly interviews with publishing industry specialists. The AUTHORNOMICS Series features literary agents, editors, authors, marketing experts and more talking about their opinions on the publishing industry, writing, and what a writer needs to know.

Interview with Author and Blogger Sharon Lippincott

Sharon Lippincott is a life writing teacher and coach and the author The Heart and Craft of Lifestory Writing, The Albuquerque Years, Meetings: Do’s, Don’ts, and Donuts, and the popular Heart and Craft of Lifestory Writing blog and stories and essays in assorted publications. She serves on the Advisory Board of NAMW and  teaches lifestory, memoir, and creative writing classes at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh. She leads writing groups at Gilda’s Club and the Pittsburgh Psychoanalytic Center. She is currently collaborating with the Allegheny County Library Association to establish lifestory writing groups in county libraries.

1.      On your blog, you talk a lot about Life Writing. What is Life Writing?

That’s a big question. Life Writing is a multi-faceted category including any form of written self-expression on some aspect of your life, whether experiences, reflections, or perceptions. It includes spontaneous writing (i.e., journal entries, personal letters, emails, and simple free-writing), short, free-standing pieces (stories and essays) and the complex umbrella category of memoir, which synthesizes aspects of all the above. In its broadest definition, it can also include writing true accounts of the lives of others.

2.      You started writing to share your memories with your grandchildren. Do you find writing more difficult than telling stories orally?

In one way, yes. It’s easy to spin a yarn on the spur of the moment. But crafting a fine oral story for formal presentation takes at least as much time and effort as polishing a written one, plus the time to practice enough to ensure a flawless delivery. The two use overlapping skill sets, but story telling involves as much performance skill as verbal.

3.      What was your process for learning the craft of writing?

The most powerful learning experience I had was writing my first published book, Meetings: Do’s, Don’ts and Donuts. Up until then, all my writing had been intuitive. The content of that book was solid enough to sell it, but two editors emptied at least a barrel of red ink each, and fewer than a dozen sentences survived intact as I wrote them. They were compassionate about it, and that was a learning experience! Since I began writing life stories in 1998, I have voraciously read books about writing as well as fiction and memoir, and a few years ago I began publishing reviews of most books I read. Studying a book deeply enough to review it is quite an education. I’ve belonged to many writing groups,  attended classes workshops and conferences, and listened to dozens of hours of audio downloads from organizations like National Association of Memoir Writers and International Association for Journal Writing. I also learn more than any of the students when I teach. But I’ve learned most of all by writing, revising, and revising some more.

4.      You teach several classes, including one on Writing for the Health of It. How does writing help a person heal?

That is another huge topic. Well over 200 studies based on the initial work of James Pennebaker on expressive writing have demonstrated that simple expressive writing is good for both physical and emotional health.  Journal therapists incorporate journal writing into various psychotherapy modalities, and Linda Joy Myers’ book, The Power of Memoir, explains how writing memoir can heal. Each of these modalities involves a change of perspective — seeing things from someone else’s point of view — or considering other ways of explaining and understanding things. Beyond that, writing brings focus and closure to memories, cutting through rumination cycles and clearing the mind. There are many scientific ways of explaining it, but legions of us write simply because it makes us feel good.

5. What advice would you give to somebody starting to write down their own life story? Where should they begin? How do they make a “story” out of their lives?

A memoir written by recipe will be as appealing as a paint-by-numbers picture. In the first chapter of my book, The Heart and Craft of Lifestory Writing, I emphasize that there is no “right” way to go about this process. Some people like to plan their project in detail before they write a single word. Others jump in and write, with little forethought and revel in the messiness. Some set out to fill a volume, others want to write one or a few stories of things they remember. The only wrong way to write a life story is to keep it locked in your head. Like your writer’s voice, your writing style is as personal as your finger print, and you’ll do well to find and honor it. That said, my general advice is to do a memory dump, striving to list at least 100 poignant memories. Cluster them if you wish, by time or topic, and start writing your way through the list in any order you wish. Transforming these vignettes into a longer story is more complex, as you identify a story arc and begin to develop the short pieces into scenes, adding dialog and description.  A high percentage of memoirists write multiple drafts before they find a structure that works.

6.      On your blog, you talk about the “courage to bare your soul.” How does a writer find that courage?

Find a supportive and compassionate writing group, preferably one specifically for lifestory or memoir writers. Take a little time to assess your comfort level with the group, then share a story with a small amount of risk and see how it goes. Over time you may feel safe about sharing more openly. A major benefit of sharing intimate stories is the sense of freedom that comes from disclosing a secret and being met with acceptance and compassion. The bonus is that your courage may inspire others to do likewise. Someone recently said in a Facebook Group, “I am so relieved to read that someone else felt (that way) — I thought I was the only one!” Sharing connects people in powerful  and dramatic ways.  Another tactic is to write your story quietly, then begin showing it to people you mention in it. You can ease your way into that by starting with supportive readers, discussing how to handle the tougher ones.  By the way, you neither must nor should tell everything. Follow the Hypocratic Oath: First of all, do no harm — to either self or others.

7.      How important is it when writing memoirs to stick to the facts, and how important is it to capture the atmosphere of the experience?

If you can verify data, such as dates, names of people in photos, and other demographical information, do so, to maintain credibility and avoid confusing future historians or genealogists. However, evidence abounds that even if they stand shoulder-to-shoulder, no two people experience an event in exactly the same way. Your memories and interpretations, whatever they are, have made you the person you are. They are your “truth” and your story, so unless someone sincerely convinces you of an error, tell it the way you remember it. The real challenge comes when you begin questioning your memories and discover that assumptions held for decades may not be quite what you thought. Should this happen, you will have rich material for a highly introspective memoir!

8.      There has been a surge of memoirs on the market recently. Why do you think they are suddenly appealing to both writers and readers?

Several factors may be at work. The craft of memoir has developed over the years, resulting in more sophisticated, well-written volumes, many filled with juicy material that few would have considered disclosing a few decades ago, so the genre has become more generally interesting to read. Word has gotten out about the healing power of writing memoir. And the publishing industry has dramatically changed, making it feasible and affordable to self-publish a memoir, through one means or another, that may be read by only a few people.

9.      What is the difference between memoir and a book based on a true story?

A memoir is written by the person who lived the story, and it is assumed to be true in every respect. Expectations of veracity are lower for a book based on a true story. We expect it to be altered and shaped to hide identities, facts, and various details, conveying the sense of the story rather than the particulars. These books may or may not be written by or with the person who had the experience.

10.  Do you have any classes or new books coming out soon to share with our audience?

Thanks for asking! Beginning on February 8, the National Association of Memoir Writers is sponsoring my 3-week tele-course, “Soaring High and Digging Deep: Tools for Refining Your Memoir.” These tools are designed to help memoir writers find and clarify the thread of their story. Details are on the NAMW website. I am also in the process of working with the Allegheny County Library Association in southwestern Pennsylvania to prepare staff to start lifestory writing groups in county libraries in 2012 as part of our 2012 “One Book, One Community” program. I have a vision of 100 new lifestory writing groups beginning this year all over the country, and toward that end, I have released a general version of the leaders manual for widespread distribution. Anyone who finds my email address on my blog is welcome to request a free copy.

The winner of a signed book from Jennie Shortridge is Bernadette! Thanks so much for reading our blog.

Andrea Hurst has over 25 years experience as a published author, developmental editor for publishers, and skilled literary agent. She works with both major and regional publishing houses, and her client list includes emerging new voices and New York Times best-selling authors. Andrea represents high profile Adult Nonfiction and well crafted fiction. Her clients and their books have appeared on the Oprah Show, Ellen DeGeneres Show, Good Morning America, National Geographic network and in the New York Times.

Katie Flanagan is a fiction major at Northwestern University. She is currently an editor with Booktrope Publishing and Pink Fish Press. In the past, she has interned with Andrea Hurst Literary Management and the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts. Her favorite genre is women’s fiction, but she reads any fiction put in front of her. Check out her blog about the writing life at katieflanagan.wordpress.com and follow her on Twitter at @K_Flanagan.

Jennie will be giving away a signed book to a random reader of this blog! Comment below within the week to enter.

With a publishing industry that is ever in flux, it can be hard for an aspiring author to figure out what information is relevant and what she needs to do to be successful. Recognizing this, literary agent Andrea Hurst and writer and blogger Katie Flanagan present a series of weekly interviews with publishing industry specialists. The AUTHORNOMICS Series features literary agents, editors, authors, marketing experts and more talking about their opinions on the publishing industry, writing, and what a writer needs to know.

Interview with Jennie Shortridge

Seattle author Jennie Shortridge has published four bestselling novels: When She Flew, Love and Biology at the Center of the Universe, Eating Heaven, and Riding with the Queen. When not writing, teaching writers workshops, or volunteering with kids at 826 Seattle, Jennie stays busy as a founding member ofSeattle7Writers.org, a collective of Northwest authors devoted both to raising funds for community literacy projects and to raising awareness of Northwest literature. In her previous lives she has been a magazine freelancer, a traditional businesswoman, a plumber, a cook, and a working musician. For her personal website, go to http://jennieshortridge.com; for more information about the Seattle7, go to http://seattle7writers.org/.

1. Many authors say the sophomore book is the hardest to write. You’ve now written four books; which was the most difficult for you and why?

My second book was quick and easy to write, because it was the first novel I’d ever written (although not very well the first time around). My third book was much harder because I didn’t have a ready-made idea to run with, and I discovered that story as I wrote it. I learned my lesson about going into the writing process better prepared (especially once deadlines enter the picture!), I’ve studied structure more and more with each book, and like the idea of having this road map to refer to, even though I may take side-trips or change course all together. It has made subsequent books more satisfying to write.

2. In all of your books, one of the things that stands out is your expert use of voice. In Eating Heaven your characters come across as real and relatable. Can you give us some insights on how you get your characters to jump off the page?

Well, thank you! That is the highest compliment for me, because it’s what I truly strive to do when writing. It’s also the most fun part of the process for me. Before I begin a novel, I write pages and pages about the characters—their histories, backgrounds, peculiarities, strengths, traits. I want to know what makes them tick. I want to know what drives them and what scares them most. I want to know how they’ve been hurt, and by whom. Then, when I’m ready to write the story, I employ a really closely held viewpoint, whether in first or third person. I like to be right inside each character as I write, and see, hear, feel, touch, taste, and smell what they do, both physically and emotionally.

3. Many writers have trouble getting an outstanding first page and hooking the reader early. Your books accomplish this with ease. Is there any advice you can share with writers on how to capture the audience’s attention from the very beginning?

Again, thank you for the vote of confidence! The “ease” comes with rewriting those openings over and over and over, constantly distilling it down and down, and pulling the ending of the book back to the beginning, and vice versa, to create the sense of a full circle. What is promised in the opening sentence must be delivered by the end, so I want to make sure it all correlates. But more than that, that beginning has to compel the reader on, to create a mystery right out of the starting gate. “Why?” I want the reader to ask, and then feed her just enough of the answer to pull her into another why, and then another. As most writers will say, the beginning pages take the most work of the entire book.

4. You’ve had plenty of day jobs, but right now you’re a full-time writer. What do recommend for someone planning their career knowing they want to be a novelist?

Win the lottery. Marry someone who loves his or her job. Have a sizable trust fund. Truly, it’s impossible to say with any certainty whether you will make enough to live on as a novelist, especially in the beginning. And these days, even if you’ve published successfully but have sales slip on one title, you may go backward in pay, or lose the ability to get published all together. It’s a tough damn world. I am very lucky to have the emotional and financial support of a patron, my husband, who feels that the work I do is important in the world. Some years I do okay. Other years are lean because I won’t be getting an advance for a while, and teaching doesn’t pay very well. I don’t believe anyone should venture into it without some other means of financial support.

5. Your novel, When She Flew, took a lot of research to produce an authentic story. Do you have any suggestions for authors who are looking to incorporate research into their writing?

Here is what I’ve found, first through my magazine and newspaper freelancing, and now with fiction writing: People love to be asked to talk about themselves or about what they know. Especially by a writer! I’ve asked all kinds of people to either let me interview them, or to read certain pages to check for accuracy and veracity (a psychologist reads everything for me, for instance, and four different police officers helped me with When She Flew). I’ve never paid anyone except for in thank yous, coffees, lunches, and copies of the books they helped with.

6. Hotel Angeline has 36 voices throughout the novel. What was it like writing this novel with so many people? How did it affect your writing process knowing that this novel had to tell a cohesive story?

As the organizer of the event, along with Garth Stein, we convened an editorial board the week before to create a story idea and arc. I then took the input from that meeting (which included wonderful plotters Elizabeth George, Robert Dugoni, and Maria Semple) and created a story map, showing each participating author what her or his chapter must accomplish, who was on stage, etc. They then had the freedom to write what they wanted, as long as they met their chapter goals, and everyone was really awesome about doing just that. I wrote the very first chapter, so I actually had it the easiest! (For more information about Hotel Angeline, go to http://www.openroadmedia.com/authors/the-novel-live-authors.aspx.)

7. You have started doing book discussions on Skype. How do you find working with book groups online? What are some of the issues that have come about from using Skype instead of one-on-one contact? What are some of the benefits?

Skype and other online video chat forums are just so much better than the old speaker phone meetings (which I still do, too). Seeing faces, communicating directly with readers who are in another state or on the opposite coast, is just wonderful. Of course, the technology has a long way to go to be perfect, and there can be issues of dropouts and bad sound quality, but we always muddle through, and bond more for the experience.

8. What is the most important thing you have learned for successfully promoting your books?

You need to be a valuable partner with your publisher when the time comes to get the word out about your book. You shouldn’t have to go it alone, but often end up doing that anyway, especially early in your career. Find ways that you enjoy promoting, whether it’s guest blogging for online book blogs, or getting out to all of the bookstores you can to meet and greet the booksellers. Work to your strengths. And remember, you are the best advocate for your book, and no one cares more than you do about its success.

9. As a co-founder of Seattle7 Writers, can you tell us more about what this wonderful organization does to help support the written word and the Northwest Writer?

Our mission is really to connect writers, readers, booksellers, librarians and anyone who feels a part of this wonderful community. We plan events that bring people together around writing and reading; we bring authors out of their little writing holes to spend time with other writers and readers; and we advocate for literacy in the community by raising money for such organizations as Writers in the Schools, 826 Seattle, and Powerful Schools. This year we’ve added Path With Art, which provides art and writing classes to adults in transition from homelessness, addiction, and hardship.

10. As a novelist you have a very effective author blog. What are your tips for other authors who are trying to create their own presence online?

When I heard what Jonathan Evison does to create his online presence (which is phenomenal) I finally understood: I must spend time online, everyday, to keep those lines of communication open with readers. And so I devote probably an hour or so most days to doing just that, either writing blog posts or posting great resources or advocating for wonderful writers and books. It’s actually fun for me because I’m a pretty social person, and sitting behind a computer all day can be lonely!

11. Can you give us a sneak peek into the next book you are writing?

As with When She Flew, I’ve chosen a story from the news that compelled me, but this time I’m fictionalizing it even more. It’s the story of a couple who are about to be married when the woman runs away, having experienced a condition called dissociative fugue, a type of amnesia caused by emotional trauma. The story begins as she waits in a San Francisco psyche ward for her fiancé to come pick her up and take her home to Seattle. She doesn’t know him, she doesn’t know herself, and she becomes almost an amateur sleuth in trying to figure out who she is and what happened to her. It’s nearly complete, actually! I’m really enjoying writing this one, which I’m doing from both the man’s and woman’s perspective. With any luck, it might be out in fall 2012, or early spring the following year.

12. Do you have any special events coming up where writers can hear you speak or a book signing that writers can attend?

I often teach at area conferences and workshops, and you can find details on my website, www.jennieshortridge.com.

Andrea Hurst has over 25 years experience as a published author, developmental editor for publishers, and skilled literary agent. She works with both major and regional publishing houses, and her client list includes emerging new voices and New York Times best-selling authors. Andrea represents high profile Adult Nonfiction and well crafted fiction. Her clients and their books have appeared on the Oprah Show, Ellen DeGeneres Show, Good Morning America, National Geographic network and in the New York Times.

Katie Flanagan is a fiction major at Northwestern University. She is currently an editor with Booktrope Publishing and Pink Fish Press. In the past, she has interned with Andrea Hurst Literary Management and the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts. Her favorite genre is women’s fiction, but she reads any fiction put in front of her. Check out her blog about the writing life at katieflanagan.wordpress.com and follow her on Twitter at @K_Flanagan.

Susanna Margolis has ghostwritten more than 25 nonfiction books—and countless articles and speeches—on a range of subjects. She is the author of the adventure travel guides Walking Europe From Top to Bottom and Adventuring in the Pacific, and she is a contributor to The Sierra Club Guides to the National Parks: California, Hawaii, and American Samoa. She is co-author, with Judith Dunford, of the novel Cashing In under the joint pen name Antonia Gowar. She lives in New York City. Find out more at www.susannamargolis.com.

The word “process” suggests a level of deliberate planning that I really cannot claim. In my case, I’m not sure whether I fell, jumped, or was pushed into ghostwriting; I think it was part accident, part natural progression. As a freelance, you’re always poised to change direction and/or jump into the next opportunity. And as someone who had done a lot of speechwriting, in which you really have to get inside somebody else’s voice, I suppose writing books was the next logical step—an extended stay inside another person’s voice. In any event, when the opportunity presented itself, I took it.

2. Is it a difficult field for a writer to break into? For those who are interested in becoming a ghostwriter, what steps would you suggest?

What is distinctive about ghostwriting is that you are writing for someone else: you have a client. So it is useful to seek out projects in which you interact directly with the person you’re working for. You need to learn how to hear what he or she is saying—and not saying—and you will have to adapt to different personalities and different levels of articulateness. You may also need to learn a subject matter that is totally unfamiliar to you, so knowing how to do basic research in any field is essential.

3. What are some of the advantages of using a ghostwriter? What are some of the challenges?

The authors I work with are typically people who have something interesting and important to say but simply have no idea how to go about saying it. Nor do they have the time, in most cases, for the sustained work of writing a book. So they turn to a professional writer. The challenge for said professional writer is to capture what the author has to say and relay it to a wide audience clearly and compellingly. Both sides of that equation—capturing and relaying—can be thorny. Sometimes it is difficult even to understand clearly what the author wants to say, so you must somehow get it out of the person. And then you must organize and write the material in a way that both gets the message across and keeps readers’ interest. But the point is that you, the ghostwriter, are not in charge of the message; you cannot control the content of what the author wants to say. Yet you have the responsibility to transmit it with clarity and cogency. That can be a challenge.

4. As a ghostwriter, how directly do you work with the author and how do you maintain their voice and their vision?

I work directly with the author from start to finish, and I find that one of the best ways to maintain the author’s voice and vision is to quote him or her directly. With permission, if we’re face to face, I will tape a conversation and take notes. If I’m interviewing by phone, which I prefer, I can take down what is being said virtually verbatim. It is not atypical for authors to fail to connect the dots when they talk about a  subject they know so well, and that is what I have to be sure to get from them by probing, cajoling, encouraging—whatever it takes. But once they get going, most speak powerfully and passionately about the subject, and that’s what I want to get down in their own words.

5. What is the difference between working as a book doctor or editor for a client versus doing rewrite?

I think it’s a matter of degree. The truth is I’m puzzled by the proliferation of different terms for editing: content editing, developmental editing, copy editing, rewrite, doctoring, etc. In all cases, the name of the game is to do whatever it takes to communicate what the author is trying to communicate; you’re there to bring forth what the author intends. That may take a total rewrite, or some reorganizing, or just a blue pencil here or there. I would make a distinction between ghostwriting a manuscript from scratch versus being presented with a manuscript to edit or doctor, but as I say, total rewrite may be part of that latter process, if needed.

6. One of the services you offer is book proposal writing. How important do you think it is for nonfiction authors do have a strong proposal?  For fiction authors?

Fiction or nonfiction, the proposal is everything. It is what sells the book to a publisher. And as I tell my clients, it’s also the hardest part of the book-writing process. The proposal is where author and writer together “find” the book, figure out its core message, how it will work, why it is different. And it’s where you map out the book, chapter by chapter. But once it’s done, the book virtually writes itself.

7. Tell us about some of your favorite projects you have worked on.

I know this sounds saccharine, but I just love the process. Put me in front of a blank screen and I’m happy and excited, and I’ve honestly felt that way about all the books I’ve written—and there are a lot of them! Partly, I enjoy learning about subjects I basically know nothing about, and I like the detective work involved in figuring out how I’m going to present a subject to readers. But I suppose some of my favorite projects are those in which I get to tell stories about different people. Gay Dads, authored by David Strah, was a favorite for that reason; the stories of gay men becoming fathers were really very moving. And for Billion Dollar Mistake and The Big Win, both by Stephen L. Weiss, I got to meet and interview a bunch of gazillionaires and hear the stories of how they made, in one case, and lost, in the other case, huge fortunes in a single blow. They constituted a very colorful cast of characters, so that was fun.

8. You have done just about every kind of writing there is, from school curricula to websites to novels. How have you honed your skills? Do you find each kind of writing requires a different skill?

Honestly, I think writing is writing. One way or the other, whatever the medium, you are trying to get something across to an audience of strangers, so you must find what works to achieve that—adapt your voice, shift the style, whatever. In fiction, you create different characters; each speaks and thinks in his or her unique voice. In the kind of nonfiction writing I do, you write for the client’s unique voice or for the occasion or the medium or the format. The one difference in writing is between good writing and bad writing. And I do think the more you write, the better you get.

9. What type of writing do you enjoy doing the most?

I really love speechwriting. But I go back to what I said earlier: I just love the process. Subject matter doesn’t count; finding a way to tell the story is what I like.

10. You have authored two adventure travel books. What goes into travel writing? Did     you have to go to the Pacific Islands to write about them?

Yes, I spent about seven months traveling in the Pacific, and for an earlier book, Walking Europe From Top to Bottom, I hiked from Holland on the North Sea to Nice on the Mediterranean. Obviously, being there is essential. But it’s work, of course. Especially when you’re hopping from island to island in a vast ocean, you figure it won’t be easy to get back here to check up on your facts, so you’d best be thorough and exacting while you have the chance. The same with the walk across Europe: I’ve often thought I’d like to do the walk again—this time without having to take notes.

11. Can you talk about the process of getting your travel books published? Would you consider self-publishing in today’s changing market?

I’m afraid getting the travel books published was fairly easy: I wrote a proposal for the first book, sold it to Sierra Club Books, and they asked me to do the second one. But it would be much harder to do that today, at a time when publishing is changing before our very eyes. I would certainly consider self-publishing, and I tell my clients to consider it as well. It is an increasingly viable option. Even distribution, which commercial publishers once had sole and exclusive dominion over, can now be done over the internet. But I think self-publishing takes a lot of work; you have to build a platform and sell yourself. Not easy.

12. Do you have any upcoming projects we can look out for?

I worked on a couple of very interesting money books coming out this spring. One, The Big Win, which I mentioned earlier, is about big-time investors and the particular investments that really made a killing for them. That’s by Steve Weiss. The other, by Jerry A. Webman, is about how to invest in the current economic environment—a very timely, very smart book. It’s called MoneyShift: How to Profit From What You Can’t Control. And then I’m working on a proposal for another delightful author, but as the ghost, I don’t think I can say just yet what that one is about…

Andrea Hurst has over 25 years experience as a published author, developmental editor for publishers, and skilled literary agent. She works with both major and regional publishing houses, and her client list includes emerging new voices and New York Times best-selling authors. Andrea represents high profile Adult Nonfiction and well crafted fiction. Her clients and their books have appeared on the Oprah Show, Ellen DeGeneres Show, Good Morning America, National Geographic network and in the New York Times.

Katie Flanagan is a fiction major at Northwestern University. She is currently an editor with Booktrope Publishing and Pink Fish Press. In the past, she has interned with Andrea Hurst Literary Management and the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts. Her favorite genre is women’s fiction, but she reads any fiction put in front of her. Check out her blog about the writing life at katieflanagan.wordpress.com and follow her on Twitter at @K_Flanagan.

With a publishing industry that is ever in flux, it can be hard for an aspiring author to figure out what information is relevant and what she needs to do to be successful. Recognizing this, literary agent Andrea Hurst and writer and blogger Katie Flanagan present a series of weekly interviews with publishing industry specialists. The AUTHORNOMICS Series features literary agents, editors, authors, marketing experts and more talking about their opinions on the publishing industry, writing, and what a writer needs to know.

Interview with Author Rhys Bowen

Rhys Bowen is the author of two historical mystery series: the Molly Murphy Mysteries set in 1900s New York City and the lighter bestselling Royal Spyness mysteries about a penniless minor royal in 1930s England. Her books have been nominated for every major mystery award and she has won 11 to date, including Agatha, Anthony and MacAvity. Rhys is a transplanted Brit who now divides her time between California and Arizona.

1. You have many successful series, including mysteries under the name Rhys Bowen and children’s books under Janet Quin-Harkin name. What are some of the difficulties you’ve had in maintaining different pseudonyms? What are the advantages?

I had to adopt a pseudonym when I started writing mysteries as my editor and agent felt I would pre-judged as a children’s author. The disadvantage was that I had built a reputation as a YA author and had to start from square one again.  The advantage is that Rhys Bowen is a cool name and I love being Rhys. People ask me how to pronounce it and it’s a great ice breaker.

2. Many historical novels take years of research before they are written. Your historical mysteries come out quickly. How much research do you do before launching a series? How much research do you do between each book?

When I wrote Murphy’s Law I just knew I wanted to set a book on Ellis Island, so I did a lot of research on that and on the Transatlantic crossing. Then of  course Molly steps ashore in Manhattan and I realized how little I knew about New York in 1901. It’s been ongoing research ever since. I do a lot of advance reading before I start each book and of course I’m often in New York, just prowling around Molly’s haunts.

For the Lady Georgie books it was easier in many ways because I married into an upper class British family and am at home with the manners and speech that Georgie uses. Of course I research everything to do with the royal family and real people like Coco Chanel so that everything they say is authentic.

3. You are writing several series at the same time. Do you have a system for keeping track of what is going on in each one? How do you decide which one to write when you sit down?

That’s easy. I write two books a year—one Molly and one Georgie. I have contracts to turn the books in at a set time so I write to deliver on time. It’s three months of intense work to get a first draft done and I am so focused that I never even think about the other series while I’m writing. As for keeping track—you remember what each of your family members has been doing, don’t you? It’s pretty much the same for my heroines.

4. How do you get inspiration for each book?

I decide where I’d like to set a story—which kind of environment in New York, for example, then I research it and start writing. I knew very little when I start and wait for things to happen.

5. In your Molly Murphy Mysteries, the protagonist Molly Murphy starts out as a poor Irish immigrant and through her adventures in turn-of-the-century New York City ends up rubbing elbows with the notable members of society and is even present at big historical events. How much can a historical author tinker with people and events that actually happened without risking the integrity of the event?

I don’t change historical events and who is to say whether Molly was present at them or not? Obviously I’m writing historical fiction.

6. Molly Murphy, the first-person protagonist of the Molly Murphy Mysteries, is the modern woman born into the wrong time, making it both believable that she would have the gumption to do everything she does and also giving us modern gals someone to relate to. But the other characters she encounters have the mentality of the 1900’s, often creating problems. How do you go about learning the culture of the different time periods you write in so you can create such a believable world?

She wasn’t as unusual as you might think. Young women were doing extraordinary things in 1901 and Molly is in many ways representative of the spirit of the suffrage movement. I model her in some ways on real people—Nellie Bly, policewoman Isabella Goodwin.. both of whom appear in the stories and I look  back at my grandmother and great aunts.

7. What advice do you have for writers who are trying to write in more than one genre?

The same advice I’d give any writer—don’t ever write something because you think it will sell. Write where your passion is. I enjoy spending part of the year in Molly’s difficult world of Old New York and the other part chuckling at Lady Georgie’s mishaps in a comedy of manners in 1930s England.

8. How did you learn the craft of writing?

I have been a writer all my life. I have always written and always read a lot too. Along the way one develops a style and learns how to craft a story.

9. What is your writing ritual?

Up early. Check email. Start by revising everything I’d written the previous day then go on to write a minimum of 5 pages. Not allowed to leave until pages are written. That way I know I can get my first draft finished in 3 months. Then give to readers whose opinions I value then complete rewrite.

10. In this New Year, what are some of your writer resolutions?

Not to say yes to so many speaking engagements but only the ones I really want to go to. Not to check my Amazon stats every day! Not to worry about bestsellerdom.

11.  Many of our readers are aspiring writers encountering problems like how to finish that novel and then how to get it published. As a successful writer, is it all smooth sailing? What are some of the problems you encounter?

Of course it’s not smooth sailing, especially now when publishers are cutting back and only take on projects they know will be instantly successful. There is no place any more for the emerging genius who might take a few novels to hone his craft. And one needs an agent even before a publisher will look at work. It’s a crowded marketplace with a shrinking number of places to sell books so any new book has to be unique and outstanding.

12. How has your experience as a writer changed in this tumultuous time of the publishing industry?

I’ve been lucky in that I’ve been a selling professional writer all my life, but it has upset me to see so many fine bookstores go under and the market constantly shrinking.

13.  Do you have any upcoming books or appearances we can look out for?

I’ll have two books out this year: Hush Now, Don’t You Cry—a Molly Murphy novel in March and then a new Lady Georgie book, The Twelve Days of Christmas, due out next November. I’ll be speaking at bookstores for both of those and my schedule will be up on my website, www.rhysbowen.com.

Andrea Hurst has over 25 years experience as a published author, developmental editor for publishers, and skilled literary agent. She works with both major and regional publishing houses, and her client list includes emerging new voices and New York Times best-selling authors. Andrea represents high profile Adult Nonfiction and well crafted fiction. Her clients and their books have appeared on the Oprah Show, Ellen DeGeneres Show, Good Morning America, National Geographic network and in the New York Times.

Katie Flanagan is a fiction major at Northwestern University. She is currently an editor with Booktrope Publishing and Pink Fish Press. In the past, she has interned with Andrea Hurst Literary Management and the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts. Her favorite genre is women’s fiction, but she reads any fiction put in front of her. Check out her blog about the writing life at katieflanagan.wordpress.com and follow her on Twitter at @K_Flanagan.

The winner of Andrea Hurst’s critique of a first chapter or up to 600 words is M. Christine Weber! Thank you for reading our blog!

Andrea is offering a developmental edit of up to 600 words! Comment on this interview within the week to enter!

With a publishing industry that is ever in flux, it can be hard for an aspiring author to figure out what information is relevant and what she needs to do to be successful. Recognizing this, literary agent Andrea Hurst and writer and blogger Katie Flanagan present a series of weekly interviews with publishing industry specialists. The AUTHORNOMICS Series features literary agents, editors, authors, marketing experts and more talking about their opinions on the publishing industry, writing, and what a writer needs to know.

How to Start the New Year Write with Andrea Hurst

Andrea Hurst Signing Her Books

President of Andrea Hurst Literary Management, Andrea works with both major and regional publishing houses, and her client list includes emerging new voices and New York Times best-selling authors. Andrea represents high profile adult nonfiction and well-crafted fiction. Her clients and their books have appeared on the Oprah Show, Ellen DeGeneres Show, Good Morning America, National Geographic network and in the New York Times.

In addition to working in the publishing field for over 25 years, Andrea is a published author, skilled development editor, keynote speaker, and educator. She is the founder of www.justwriteon.com, a site that offers expert instruction and resources for writers. She enjoys working with authors who have something meaningful to share and are driven by their enthusiasm and desire to create books that touch lives and make a difference. Author of The Lazy Dog’s Guide to Enlightenment and Everybody’s Natural Food Cookbook.

1. This New Year, what are some realistic resolutions writers can make to write more?

I saw a funny magnet at a writer’s store and it said, “Back away from the refrigerator. Good. Now go back to your desk and write!”  That about sums it up.  Where ever you need to put that sign to remind yourself to write, that is my suggestion.

2. What are the do’s and don’ts when setting writing goals?

I find that if I set my goals too high it is easy to get discouraged and use that as an excuse to stop writing. Often I underestimate how long a project will take to finish.  So the best tip I can give is to be reasonable with your goals and no matter what keep going back.

3. What are some of your writing resolutions this year?

I will finally have the draft done for my first novel in a day or two.  And I will celebrate! For me it is a struggle when I tend to put working on everyone else’s book before my own.  My number one resolution this year is to make sure my own book gets edited and published. (Interesting thought, I may just take my book straight to Kindle and Nook format.) I am a much happier person when I put my work on the same priority list my authors I work with get.

4. What are realistic publishing goals for a writer to set this year?

Getting your book published is a whole new game these days.  Anyone can do print on demand publishing or produce an eBook.  I suggest really looking at your goals and ask yourself:

• Is my book written and edited to the best of my ability?
• How can I best reach my audience? What is my marketing plan?
• What is my time frame for getting my book out?
• How important is distribution?
• Should I go traditional or the Indie route?

If you decide to look for an agent, realistically this could take many months.  The same goes for finding a publisher.  If you book is picked up by a publisher, it usually will not come out to book stores for at least a year.

5. Where can a writer turn for advice and direction?

There are many excellent blogs for writers including Chuck’s Sambucino’s blog on finding an agent, Jane Friedman’s blog for writers, and Michael Larsen’s blog on publishing and writing.  For fiction and memoir writer’s I also recommend The Writer’s Journey, Writing the Breakout Novel and Self Editing for Fiction Writers. Writer’s Digest offers wonderful classes and I will be teaching a webinar for them in March.

6. What are some tricks for getting over writer’s block?

Last week I asked this question at Just Write, my free writer’s drop-in group that meets on the pier every Wednesday in Coupeville, WA.  There were many suggestions, but the one that has worked for me is to lay the project down you are working on and start another one. Going for a walk always helps too.  Sometimes it is all the voices in our heads that tell us our work is not good enough, or we will never finish, or no one will ever buy the book, etc.  I had to get to the point where I really did not care what anyone else thought of my writing, and just decide to write the book for the pleasure of it.  All books have an audience and I know my book will find one too.

7. Let’s say a writer has just finished writing a manuscript. What is the first step in the revision process?

After you have done all of the self-editing you can, I highly suggest you have a professional editor that comes recommended review your work.  Yes, your husband or your best friend may be good at grammar, but unless they are experienced book editors, they may not be the best choice.  Always have your work copyedited before you send it out to agents, editors or the public.

8. How do you see the role of the literary agent changing in the coming years?

Many agents I know and work with are diversifying. Many agents are acting as consultants or working with clients who want to publish non-traditionally.  At our agency, we offer separate author services through our consulting division for both authors seeking traditional and alternative ways of publishing their book. Everything is changing in publishing and agent’s roles will probably change as well.  One thing that remains constant is that readers want a good story and a well-written book.

Everyone at Andrea Hurst Literary Management wishes all of our readers a happy and successful New Year! Here’s to all of your writing and publishing dreams coming true!

The winner of Laurie McLean’s three-chapter critique is Marcy Kate! Thank you for reading our blog!

Andrea Hurst has over 25 years experience as a published author, developmental editor for publishers, and skilled literary agent. She works with both major and regional publishing houses, and her client list includes emerging new voices and New York Times best-selling authors. Andrea represents high profile Adult Nonfiction and well crafted fiction. Her clients and their books have appeared on the Oprah Show, Ellen DeGeneres Show, Good Morning America, National Geographic network and in the New York Times.

Katie Flanagan is a fiction major at Northwestern University. She is currently an editor with Booktrope Publishing and Pink Fish Press. In the past, she has interned with Andrea Hurst Literary Management and the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts. Her favorite genre is women’s fiction, but she reads any fiction put in front of her. Check out her blog about the writing life at katieflanagan.wordpress.com and follow her on Twitter at @K_Flanagan.

Chuck is giving away a copy of the 2012 Guide to Literary Agents! Comment on this post within one week to win. Good luck!

With a publishing industry that is ever in flux, it can be hard for an aspiring author to figure out what information is relevant and what she needs to do to be successful. Recognizing this, literary agent Andrea Hurst and writer and blogger Katie Flanagan will be introducing a series of weekly interviews with publishing industry specialists. The AUTHORNOMICS Series features literary agents, editors, authors, marketing experts and more talking about their opinions on the publishing industry, writing, and what a writer needs to know.

Interview with Author, Editor, Journalist, Playwright and Expert Chuck Sambuchino

Chuck Sambuchino is an editor and a writer. He works for Writer’s Digest Books and edits GUIDE TO LITERARY AGENTS (guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog) as well as CHILDREN’S WRITER’S & ILLUSTRATOR’S MARKET. His humor book, HOW TO SURVIVE A GARDEN GNOME ATTACK (gnomeattack.com), was released in Sept. 2010 and has been featured by Reader’s Digest, USA Today, the New York Times and AOL News. The film rights were recently optioned by Sony and director Robert Zemeckis. His first book was writing-related: the third edition of FORMATTING & SUBMITTING YOUR MANUSCRIPT (2009).
Besides that, he is a produced playwright, magazine freelancer, husband, cover band guitarist, chocolate chip cookie fiend, and owner of a flabby-yet-lovable dog named Graham.

1. You’ve been involved in all sorts of writing arts, including newspaper journalism, playwriting, editing, blogging and, of course, authoring a humor book. Do you have a favorite role?

Not really. I’ve always kind of had ADD, which is why my writing career has been something like “I wanna write plays! … Wait, I wanna write articles! … Nope, I wanna be an editor! … Sike! I guess I seriously want to write books! … Sike again. I’m gonna sell this screenplay or bust!”

I would have to say book writing has been the most rewarding because of the reach of books. I mean, if you write a great article, it kind of goes unnoticed and then fades away forever. But people read books and tweet about them and shake your hand at events. It’s great to get out and meet people and get feedback.

2. As editor for the Guide to Literary Agents, what is your best advice on getting an agent?

I’ve blogged more than 1,500 posts for four years on this very question, so it’s tough to boil it down to one point because there are many. But try this one: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Keep writing. A lot of first books don’t sell. I just heard this week from a writer whose first book fell flat on submission, but her second book got her an agent. So, again—keep writing. You get better as you go.

3. With the publishing business in transformation, do you see the role of a literary agent changing as well?

I think we’ve seen agents take a more aggressive approach to selling subsidiary rights like foreign rights and film rights. As book advances (payments) continue to slowly slide downward, agents are adapting to make sure they can make money. Also, I’ve seen an agent recently start a side business formatting e-books; others have started editing manuscripts on the side. I recognize that is all a slippery gray area with the AAR, but agents are simply adapting to a changing market and trying to make money, same as everyone else.

4. You have been to many writers conferences over the years.  What are some of the most beneficial things a writer can do at a conference to help their writing career?

Do everything. Attend lots of sessions. Go to every event. Pitch agents. Get up early. Go to bed late. Schmooze and meet friends over drinks. Take notes. There is usually a ton of stuff going on—and it’s all for the taking.

5. What is your view on custom and print on demand publishing? How does a strong social media presence affect this choice?

If you’re talking about self-publishing your book or e-book, I would say my thought is this: If you have the means to get your work out there and promote it, then this can be a very profitable avenue for you. If you have a great platform (social media like Twitter and a blog factor into this), then you can self-publish a book and spread the word easily—getting people to buy your work. Self-publishing can be a great thing, but you have to know what you’re getting into (and it seems most people do not).

That said, I personally am still a fan of traditional publishing. When How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack came out, the book got good placement at Borders as well as Barnes & Noble. It got mentions in USA Today, Reader’s Digest, and more. We recently learned that Sony is going to option the film rights. Italy bought rights to it, as well. I mention all this good news to prove an important point: Methinks none of this would have happened without the work of my publisher and agent. And that says a heck of a lot about traditional publishing.

6. You keep a blog for the site of How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack as well as the Guide to Literary Agents blog. Do you have any advice for an author setting up a new blog?

It takes time to develop a readership—and I’m talking years—so be patient. A blog must have a focus and must have takeaway value for the reader; otherwise, it is more for your sake their theirs (and will not attract many readers). Include art and white space in posts. Invite good guest posts. Write good guest posts for others. Try to maintain some regularity. Have fun. Pay attention to your titles, as that will be what people search for through Google.

7. How did you come up with the idea for a book on surviving a garden gnome attack?

I was thinking about the movie THE FULL MONTY and remembered a quick scene with a garden gnome. I started to think about how tacky and creepy they are, wondering why anyone would actually own one in real life. Then I thought: Certainly if they creep me out, then they must creep out others, as well. That was the genesis.

8. Do you have any upcoming projects or events you can tell us about?

Mwahahahaha. I’m always cooking up humor book concepts, screenplays, and more—but nothing I can share right just now.

9.  What is the best piece of advice someone has given you in the publishing industry, and what do you think is the most important thing a writer today needs to know to succeed?

Again, this is hard to boil down to a single point. How about this one? I once heard a screenwriter say: “If you’re writing a spec and you’re not having fun, something’s wrong.” What they meant was this: In life, you will write some things for love and some things for money. So if you’re writing some fiction for love (as opposed to being commissioned to write a novel), then you should be having fun. Not every minute will be fun (I myself love first drafts but hate rewrites), but most of it should be.

Also, recently, I read something dynamite written by literary agent Mary Kole. See, when I tried my hand at a middle grade novel in 2009, my problem wasn’t plot. I love plot. My problem was character. Mary wrote that if you’re writing a main character in a children’s novel, they can be loved or they can be hated. Both approaches will attract readers. “It’s the mushy middle ground you should be afraid of,” she said. That struck a chord with me, because sometimes my characters enter the mushy middle ground area.

The winner of Bharti Kirchner’s The Bold Vegetarian is Hannah Jayne! Thanks for reading and commenting on our blog!

Andrea Hurst has over 25 years experience as a published author, developmental editor for publishers, and skilled literary agent. She works with both major and regional publishing houses, and her client list includes emerging new voices and New York Times best-selling authors. Andrea represents high profile Adult Nonfiction and well crafted fiction. Her clients and their books have appeared on the Oprah Show, Ellen DeGeneres Show, Good Morning America, National Geographic network and in the New York Times.

Katie Flanagan is a fiction major at Northwestern University. She is currently an editor with Booktrope and a reader for Pink Fish Press. In the past, she has interned with Andrea Hurst Literary Management and the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts. Her favorite genre is women’s fiction, but she reads any fiction put in front of her. Check out her blog about the writing life at katieflanagan.wordpress.com and follow her on Twitter at @K_Flanagan.

Sheila Bender has authored over a dozen books, including Creative Writing DeMystified, Writing and Publishing Personal Essays, A New Theology: Turning to Poetry  in a Time of Grief and A Year in the Life: Journaling for Self-Discovery. She is founder of WritingItReal.com, a resource and instructional site for writers, and a frequent presenter at regional and national writers’ conferences. She lives in Port Townsend, WA, with a view of Discovery Bay, which seems a fitting name to her when she sits down to write.

Find out more about Sheila at www.writingitreal.com.

Sheila is giving away a copy of Writing and Publishing Personal Essays to a random commenter on this blog! Leave a comment within the next week to enter.

1. As an author of poems, essays and memoirs, what has been your favorite genre to work in?

It is hard to say I have a favorite genre. Once I get into the meat of any piece of writing, I feel completely absorbed in finding its shape and the insight it is moving me toward. I read quite a bit of poetry, essays and memoir and write a lot of prose these days. However, when something snags my emotional attention, when an image or a sound won’t go away, when I want to see what there is at the bottom of my mind and heart, I usually write poems. But as a writer, I know that our obsessions remain the same whatever genre we are writing in; we examine the world through the lens of what preoccupies us. So, although I’ve written a poem on a subject I am investigating emotionally, that doesn’t rule out writing prose. It is kind of fun to alternate longer relaxed lines and paragraphs with the compression a poem demands. And then, of course, there is sudden nonfiction, like the kind Brevity magazine publishes online, where the prose poem and short nonfiction run into each other. That is a very enjoyable genre to work in.

2. What inspired you to start teaching writing and publishing books on how to write?

By the time I began writing as a poet, I had already been a classroom teacher for middle school students, a day care center director and staff trainer as well as a parent educator. Teaching is what I do. So, once I was a publishing poet and earned a Master of Arts in Creative Writing, I could teach freshman composition and research writing as well as poetry and fiction classes at colleges; it was a natural jump for me to write instructional books and articles on writing. I saw in the college classrooms that when it came to writing, I was teaching differently after having studied with poets than I was taught as an undergraduate.  Combining the lessons of the poets with my English major background in rhetorical styles allowed me to greatly facilitate my students’ writing and they wrote beautifully. Some of them eventually published pieces they wrote for class. I love what I can do as a teacher. Therefore, deciding to write instructional books for those who want to write was a task I eagerly took on. And happily, people tell me the books I’ve written have helped them start and continue writing.

3. One of your goals as a teacher is to help writers revise more effectively. What are some of the common revision problems you see?

I think the most common revision problem I see is learning where your essay or poem or memoir is headed—on its own, without you as the author directing it or trying too hard to fill people in so they’ll notice you writing the piece. Our words are smarter than we are, my poet teachers often said. They are if we let them take over. Where is the work in flow? Where is it labored? Where does the writer seem to be trying to write the story rather than writing it—giving us background info that slows us down as readers, for instance, or using abstract words instead of using specifics that allow us to be in the experience as readers rather than merely being told about the experience and the writer’s reaction to it. I could teach for days about revision, but the quickest way to help a writer who faces revision is what I call my three-step response method. A trusted reader will tell the writer three things: what phrases and words struck them, how they felt reading the piece (both feelings they knew they were supposed to have and feelings that got in the way such as confusion or feeling lost or left out), and where they are interested to know more.  Having this information is very valuable to the writer who must revise. It is empowering to know you were heard and to know where your words may have led your reader astray and that the reader wants to know more. You may not have to tell them everything they want to know—fixing up places where you left them out or confused them fixes a lot of problems and leads to reader satisfaction even without all of the questions answered.  Some of the questions readers report about drafts of writing come from not being able to figure out exactly what the piece wants them to focus on.

A problem in revising is jumping too soon to the editing stage and forgetting to linger over the shaping stage. The  three-step response method helps the writer see more of the shape of their work and how to sculpt it before the critical editor voice does its work—spelling, paragraphing, sentence variety, punctuation. The editing stage is very important, but I always tell my editor brain to hold off—if it gives me time to shape well, there will be a much better piece for the editor brain to work on, and I will really value that work.

4. Your recent memoir, A New Theology: Turning to Poetry in a Time of Grief, has just come out. How instrumental do you feel poetry is for writers who need an emotional outlet? Is there any advice that you could give to writers who want to try their hand at poetry?

I think writing poetry helps any writer—the use of metaphor, compression, images and sound are the lyric values that enliven all writing. Trying one’s hand at poetry is a way of concentrating on these craft elements and seeing how powerful images and sound are for relaying experience and emotion.  However, if someone is “afraid” of poetry or feels they “don’t get” poetry, I’d leave it alone and read prose that has the same lyric values. Maybe reading Naomi Shihab Nye’s book of paragraphs Mint Snowball would be a good idea.  Or someone interested in the lyric elements of the writing craft who doesn’t like to read poetry might find inspiration in the short pieces on Brevity magazine or those in another online magazine, fraglit.

All creative writing provides an emotional outlet, and all writing does involve poetry. Some prose writers just don’t identify their voice as being poetic because it is not flowery or difficult to access like they imagine poetry must be.  Reading the poems of Billy Collins or Ted Kooser will demonstrate the fact that contemporary poetry is not difficult to understand.

5. Most of your published books focus on teaching others how to write, but your most recent book, A New Theology, is much more personal. How did these writing experiences differ?

For one thing, writing A New Theology took much longer. When I write instructional books I am looking for the most effective, hands-on way to help others write what it is they have to write. Since I spend a lot of time in classrooms and teaching workshops, I have many tricks up my sleeve that I can translate into book instruction. Writing a memoir about the months after the death of my son meant asking questions that would be hard to answer, but questions I was burning to know the answer to: How will our family and the family of my son’s fiancee live through the day they would have married, five months after the snow boarding accident that took his life? What is mortality? What is immortality? How will I go on without the presence of my son? How will I remember him? It takes time, and for me, much writing to find answers. And then even after the manuscript I wrote answered those questions, to be of value to readers, my book had to make contact with them—one editor told me that my prose had to be as accessible as my poetry—that was very interesting to me as I usually think that people find poetry inaccessible. I learned from her how to let the prose stand for itself without what she called “an overlay of grief” blurring the content. In making the book work for readers, I found it worked at a deeper level for me.

6. In your books, you often focus on the importance of journaling. Do you still keep a journal? How does journaling shape your own writing experience?

Journaling for me is the act of making sure I write every day—whether that is email, beginnings of new poems or essays, instructional articles, or phrases that come to me or ones I borrow from my reading or overheard conversations. There is a lot of writing in my life, and I try to keep it organized as if it were all one journal, whose contents I might use in any combination.

Sometimes, when I keep a print journal, it is a box of slips of paper. Other times, I have purchased notebooks for journals during a trip or during a repeated activity like biking—I  take myself out on my bike, stop for a break, journal, and continue biking.  The importance of journaling for a writer is to write, write, write and if you use prompts in journal writing, you may start creating new work without even having intended to do so.  Also, journals are wonderful places to record your thoughts, questions and findings when you are working on a longer project that will require you find your thinking and notes and information. Journals offer a place to come to as a writer, a space to be a writer, away from the tasks that make one feel “not a writer.”  However, when you are a writer, everything is writing, and what you do during your day, as long as you record it and write about it, is part of your writing life. Lifejournal.com has an add on called LifeJournal for Writers, for which I wrote content. The product has just come out in a Mac edition and provides an organized place for keeping one’s writing, whether it is spontaneous, from prompts or part of a whole.

7. For many years now, you have been reading the work of young writers and judging various contests featuring personal essays. How have writing styles and themes changed in young writers through the years?

Actually, my most recent judging has been for a contest for writers over 50. They write about caretaking parents, what it feels like to age, relating to adult children, becoming grandparents, maturing in marriages or in separations. They write about changing careers, about their gardens, close calls, neighbors and travels.

Younger writers wonder about their futures and write about alienation from the way things are. The youngest writers write what is right there for them: on a panel I did recently, writer Judith Kitchen told a story about a young writer from years ago in one of her author-in-the schools visits. When asked to write what grass would say if it could talk, he wrote: “Grass doesn’t talk. The crickets speak for it.” I love these two lines together. I think they demonstrate how the concrete thinking of younger writers brings poetry onto the page. I think the differences between younger and older writers may be mostly ones of trusting images—the older we get, the more schooling we’ve had, the easier it is for us to think that abstractions and summaries are more important than the concrete.

I love reading writing from any age group.

8. You mention on your website that you wish to help writers allow writing to take a more serious place in the writers’ lives. Do you have any advice on how to make writing a serious priority in a world full of so many distractions?

I think one way is to start by committing a doable amount of time to your writing. In the classes I teach, we accomplish amazing writing in 10 to 20 minute exercises. I think we all need to look for those ten minutes that we can commit to writing. My idea is that after we have words on a page, the writing will find a way to make us sit down for longer. I think that keeping a pad and pen or a laptop or iPad with you in your car and arriving at work a bit early and writing in your car before you go into work is one place to find this time. Another is at lunch, of course, or right when you get home from work. It isn’t the ten minutes that is so hard to find—it is feeling like you can shift from not writing to writing. You can. Imagine you are at a cluttered desk and instead of cleaning it up and organizing the papers so you can write, you just put your arms out in front of you and push the papers and clutter away to each side of the desk. Now you have the space to write for ten minutes. Set a timer if that helps. After you have written, you can pick up the clutter of life.

And you have to feel free to write what is in your heart and mind with specifics that  appeal to the five senses. The specifics and sensory information are what allow you to enter the experience you have already had and are now writing about. If it is hard to “just” write, I recommend keeping prompts nearby (many books and websites are out there with scores and scores of prompts). You can make your own prompts easily, too: Write a letter to someone you really want to know about your life right now. Turn the radio on and off and write from whatever snatch of conversation, lyrics or instrumental music you heard. Open a book and point. Copy the phrase your finger points to and let yourself write whatever you think of because of that phrase. Open the dictionary and find a word you don’t know the meaning of. Make up a definition. Or read the actual definition and write about what it makes you think of in your life’s events.

9. What is the most important advice you would share for someone who is just starting out as a writer?

Believe in yourself. Believe that it is important that you write, that as you write you will learn more and more about yourself and about how to put more on the page.  And find a group of writers to belong to who will affirm this—whether they are group that meets together to write, meets together to listen to one another’s writing, or functions as a writer’s group that is hoping to develop and polish pieces of writing.

10.  Your magazine, Writing It Real, was launched in 2002. Can you talk about the magazine offers writers and why you decided to publish it online?

The magazine and website offers writers instruction, inspiration, and craft discussions aimed at helping people keep on writing. The articles offer writing exercises, sample revision processes (we show drafts of essays and poems from beginning to end and the three-step responses that helped the writer write their way to a finished piece).  We have author interviews with working writers and samples of their work as well as much more. The articles feel to me like what I’d do in a classroom—teach, bring in guests, enjoy the work of people writing in many genres.

In 2002, I’d already published many books on writing, and I knew how long it took to get the instruction out to people because of book publication timelines. Online meant I could offer something every week. And my husband, who still is co-publisher with me, is a professional computer expert. So, I had what I needed to launch. Today, through the website, I offer much more than just the articles. We are launching a new design at some point in December that includes a members’ forum in which members of Writing It Real can post not only questions and answers about writing and writers, but information about their own books, blogs, and websites. I am excited to be able to make the Writing It Real community of writers more visible. It is the kind of community I was advising writers to find when you asked me what advice I’d give new writers.

11. You have several books published targeted to writers. What are the avenues you have used to get your books published?

My first book was co-written, and we published with Warner. Through a friend, I had met a young man who was off to New York for an internship there. I told him about the book. When he got to his new office, he interested the editor he was working for in taking a look at the book. Meanwhile, the same friend who introduced me to him led me to a friend who led me to the agent my co-author and I hired, a woman starting out on her own, who was interested in acquiring a list. Ultimately, the agent and the editor helped us shape the book a bit and it became a stronger manuscript by the time Warner published it.  That book went on to have a second longer edition published by a regional press we hooked up, Blue Heron Press in Portland (I think we met the publishers at a writers’ conference), and when they went out of business we published it again with Booktrope, an organization that offers free electronic books as well as print editions. They came to my attention when my sister called me to tell me about a friend of hers who was involved.

My agent sold my book on essay writing to Writer’s Digest Books and then that press asked me to write three more books for them. When those books went out of print, I retrieved the copyright (just the formality of requesting it) and have seen the books republished in print and electronic form. I met a small publisher in San Diego through a book publicist, and he brought out Writing and Publishing Personal Essays, Second Edition.  My colleague Ruth Folit of Lifejournal.com has made two other of my out-of-print books, Writing Personal Poetry and A Year in the Life, Journaling for Self-Discovery, available as  ebooks. Soon, I’ll be publishing with another small press who is interested in bringing out a series of Writing It Real books.

I have also published with McGraw-Hill’s education department. They approached me about writing books for two of their series: their Perfect Phrases series (I wrote Perfect Phrases for College Application Essays, about perfect phrases for researching oneself for material and phrases for creating order in an essay) and their DeMystified series (I wrote Creative Writing DeMystified). I’d been asked to write the Perfect Phrases book when a book packager for McGraw-Hill contacted my boss at Accepted.com, an organization for whom I was an editor. Then the McGraw-Hill editor for that book contacted me directly for the DeMystified book.

My memoir, A New  Theology: Turning to Poetry in a Time of Grief, was turned down by my agent and one other. Both said it was powerful and ought to be published, but they didn’t feel they could sell it. I was eager to have the book published because I wanted to raise money with the proceeds for a camp scholarship fund in my son Seth Bender’s name. One night, I sent a query by email to about ten presses. I heard back from three and sent the book out to all three presses that expressed interest. One was the University of Nebraska press, known for being a memoir press. Imago was ready to publish it but said I had to wait for the university press to let me know their decision as it would be prestigious. It took months, but I finally received a gracious rejection letting me know turning my book down had more to do with the press than my work. Leila Joiner at Imago went right to work and the book still came out in a timely way. If a big press ever wanted to pick that book up, it would be wonderful as more people would hear about the book. Those who read it tell me it has a healing affect.

12. You organize an annual writers’ conference with Writing It Real. What can writers get out of your conference that they might not find elsewhere?

I think there are several reasons to attend a writer’s conference—first of all, the days you attend are earmarked for submersing yourself in the life of a writer. And then you receive enrichment in lectures, writing sessions, and networking and you meet new colleagues to connect with in an ongoing way after the conference. It is a treat to experience so much of what you love to hear about all in one place and time. One of the great benefits to me of teaching is being invited to present at conferences because outside of giving my presentations, I get to be an attendee and enjoy the perks of the weekend.

13. Do you have any upcoming projects we should look out for?

Oh, yes! We still have six casitas left for any who want to attend our annual Writing It Real conference, which is at the historic COD Ranch in Oracle, AZ this March 1-4. People can email conference@writingitreal.com for more information or read the material under “conference” at WritingItReal.com. This is the fifteenth time that Jack Heffron, Meg Files and I have come together to teach. We offer craft lectures and exercise sessions and individual consults as well as manuscript workshops.

Also this year, I am doing two exciting conferences with other colleagues:  January 27-29, I am joining Ruth Folit in Sarasota, FL, for a weekend of Journaling Like the Pros: Write Right Now! You can read about this weekend intensive at

Finally, along with Susan Bono of Tiny Lights Magazine: A Journal of Personal Narrative, I am taking writers to Istanbul, Turkey, to visit the city and join in the Writing Istanbul project my colleague there, Yesim Cimcoz, directs. People can email me at info@writingitreal.com to learn more about this one.

I am continuing to work with Pixelita Press here in Port Townsend on the Writing It Real books series they proposed. First one up is a complete collection of my poems, Behind Us the Way Grows Wider. They’ve already created a video in which I talk about writing and teaching writing. You can view it here.

I shouldn’t leave out my new website design—my hard working designer at HoffmanGraphics.com has done an amazing job of adding functionality to my website that I think all writer members will greatly appreciate once we launch the new site—hopefully by the end of 2011.

Andrea Hurst has over 25 years experience as a published author, developmental editor for publishers, and skilled literary agent. She works with both major and regional publishing houses, and her client list includes emerging new voices and New York Times best-selling authors. Andrea represents high profile Adult Nonfiction and well crafted fiction. Her clients and their books have appeared on the Oprah Show, Ellen DeGeneres Show, Good Morning America, National Geographic network and in the New York Times.

Katie Flanagan is a fiction major at Northwestern University. She is currently an editor with Booktrope and a reader for Pink Fish Press. In the past, she has interned with Andrea Hurst Literary Management and the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts. Her favorite genre is women’s fiction, but she reads any fiction put in front of her. Check out her blog about the writing life at katieflanagan.wordpress.com and follow her on Twitter at @K_Flanagan.