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 is Victoria Gilbert, who turned her early obsession with books into a dual career as an author and librarian. Victoria writes the Blue Ridge Library Mystery series and the Book Lover’s B&B series for Crooked Lane Books, and publishes fantasy with Snowy Wings Publishing. A member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime, Victoria is represented by Frances Black at Literary Counsel. She lives near Winston-Salem, NC with her husband, son, and some very spoiled cats. You can find buy links for all her currently published books here (and order via indie bookstores!)
Are you a Planner or Pantster?
I’m definitely a plotter. I always have been, but writing mysteries has pushed me to do more intricate plotting before writing each book. I truly can’t imagine adding in all the necessary clues and red herrings without careful plotting beforehand.
That being said, I do allow for some divergence from my outline when I’m actually writing the book. Sometimes in the writing process, things develop that work better for the story than my original plotting, and I will change details. I just try to adhere to the major plot points and arcs.
How long does it typically take you to write a novel, start to finish?
I have been on a 5 to 6-month contract schedule over the last few years, which is doable, as I can usually write the actual draft in about 3 to 4 months. Of course, they still need revision and editing before I turn them in! (For context: my books are generally around 80K words).
But I’ve discovered I’d like a little more time for pre-planning and research before I even start writing. So now I will have 7 months between my next contracted books.
Do you work on one project at a time, or are you a multi tasker?
I draft one project at a time, but since I am on a publisher’s release schedule of a book about every 6 – 7 months, I’m always also revising and proofing a prior turned-in manuscript while I’m writing my new one.
Did you have to overcome any fears that first time you sat down to write?
Well, it took me until I was around 55 to actually ever complete a novel, so I think I had fears all my life about not being “good enough.” (I also had another career that was demanding, and family responsibilities, so those were other factors).
I finally decided that I wasn’t getting any younger, and if I ever wanted to fulfill my childhood dream of writing a book, I’d better do it. So I sat down and wrote an adult scifi novel that was around 115k words – in a very short amount of time, actually. Then I wrote the sequel to that book, which I probably shouldn’t have done, since it never sold. Finally I wrote a YA Fantasy, CROWN OF ICE, which garnered me an agent and a pub. deal. I was 58 when CROWN published, by the way.
How many trunked books (if any) did you have before you were agented?
Two – the two adult scifi novels There was supposed to be a third book in that series, but I never finished it.
Have you ever quit on an ms, and how did you know it was time?
Oh yes, definitely. As I said, I abandoned the third adult scifi. I also have several shelved concepts – written up as proposals, which included a query/pitch, synopsis, and the first three to five chapters. These are ideas I developed, that my current agent pitched on proposal, but were never picked up. (Yes, this happens, even if you become somewhat “established.”)
In addition, I have the first third of a fantasy novel that was acquired by a former pub. on proposal – we got rights back on that manuscript when I left that publisher. I may finish that one someday, so it isn’t entirely “trunked.” (I may also revise the adult scifi mss. and finish the third books and self-pub. them someday – who knows?) I don’t like to think of any of my ideas as being totally “lost.” I save them on my computer/flash drives with the thought that I might return to them at some point.
Who is your agent and how did you get that "Yes!" out of them?
My agent story is a little different. I actually connected with my first agent through a Twitter contest. (That was for the CROWN OF ICE manuscript). She represented me for about two years, but then left the agent business. Fortunately, I was then picked up by her boss (the owner of the agency). Honestly, that was the best thing that ever happened to me. My current agent is Frances Black at Literary Counsel, and she has been a tremendous help to my career, as well as a great supporter of all my writing efforts.
How long did you query before landing your agent?
I queried CROWN OF ICE for about three months before I got my agent and, basically, a publishing offer simultaneously. I can’t remember how many queries I sent out but I did get a lot of rejections as well as interest and requests.
Any advice to aspiring writers out there on conquering query hell?
Try different avenues – traditional querying, Twitter or other contests, conferences, and so on. There’s no one path that works better than all others.
Also, study other successful queries. You can find these on various websites. Study blurbs of books in your genre or your areas of interest. Work with mentors who can help you hone your query. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Writing queries is hard, but it is a task you need to learn, especially because – guess what? – once you have an agent you are going to have write queries (now called “pitches” or “blurbs”) for your book(s) when they go out on submission. So it is worth spending time to learn how to do it well.
How did that feel, the first time you saw your book for sale?
It was wonderful, but a little surreal. I’d always wanted to be an author, and then, I was.
But… My journey was a little complicated. I was writing SF/F and working with a small traditional publisher. I thought that was going to continue (and I did have ongoing contracts) but then some things happened that made my agent and I decide to pull my books and rights from that publisher.
That was pretty devastating, although it was the right decision. But I had to reinvent myself at that point, and that’s when I switched genres. I wrote a cozy mystery (A MURDER FOR THE BOOKS, book one in the Blue Ridge Library Mystery series) under my current pen name. That book sold very quickly, in a 3-book deal, to Crooked Lane Books. Four years later, I have four books out in that series, with a 5th book, A DEADLY EDITION, due out in December. I also have another series – the Book Lover’s B&B series – with Crooked Lane. Book one, BOOKED FOR DEATH, was published on August 11, 2020, and book two, RESERVED FOR MURDER will release in June 2021.
How much input do you have on cover art?
Crooked Lane Books allows my agent and me a good amount of input. First, they always ask me to send them information on the book that I feel is relevant to the cover before they even commission a design. Then they send a preliminary sketch and ask us for our input. We can have some back and forth about details before everyone agrees on the final direction for the cover, but usually that is very limited. Happily, I’ve always loved my covers for my cozy mystery series books.
What's something you learned from the process that surprised you?
I think I didn’t really understand the publishing marketplace very well when I started. I knew it was competitive, but I thought if a book was written well, intriguing, and unique it would sell. But that isn’t always true. Publishing is a business, and publishers need to make money to survive, just like everyone else. Sometimes a book can be great, but it doesn’t fit into the market, so everyone (usually) passes on it. I’m not making a judgement about this (although I do think we need a lot more diversity in all aspects of publishing) but it is something one has to bear in mind. Now, I’m talking about traditional publishing. There is also the indie publishing option now, and I think that is equally valid.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that an author needs to think long and hard and decide what they want out of their writing career. Sometimes traditional publishing is the best route, and sometimes it isn’t. It all depends on the book(s) and the author. I’ve done both indie publishing and traditional, and while I personally prefer trad. pub., there are certain books I want to write that I’ve realized don’t fit the traditional market and will probably need to be indie pubbed.
How much of your own marketing do you?
I try to do a reasonable amount of my own marketing. My publisher does a lot too, but they have numerous authors to support and promote. They can’t be expected to do everything for me.
In addition to my own accounts, I do guest blog posts and interviews, as well as video and podcast interviews on other bloggers’ channels. Here’s a link to my website page listing my media appearances.
I have a website and blog, an author Facebook page, a Twitter account, an Amazon author page, and an Instagram account. I also post the book trailers I create on my YouTube channel.
When do you build your platform? After an agent? Or should you be working before?
I think you can build a social media platform before you have an agent, but I also do not believe it is absolutely necessary to have a significant social media presence in order to get an agent. Some people will say that you need that, but in my experience, agents care a LOT more about the quality of your query and pages and, ultimately, your full manuscript, than they do how many followers you have on any social media platform.
Do you think social media helps build your readership?
I believe it helps to build friendships and networks in the publishing industry, and to connect with readers, but I’m not sure it has much impact on sales. Which is fine by me. I use social media to let readers (and potential readers) know about my new books and projects, but I don’t try to use it as a direct sales tool.
I think it is more important to be genuine, welcoming, and helpful to readers and other authors than it is to try to use social media to sell books. Readers who connect with you will seek out your books!