Interview With Stasia Kehoe

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 is Stasia Kehoe, author of AUDITION which was released by Viking on October 12, 2011.

Are you a Planner or Pantster?

Both!  I don’t write formal outlines but I do tend to keep a lot of notes.  I jot character descriptions, snippets of dialogue, ideas for backstory or plot twists in notebooks or on scraps of paper.  Then, I write very much pantster-style, constantly asking “and then what happens?” Still, I am very informed by my notes and all the thinking I’ve been doing.

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

Oh gosh.  It depends on how you look at it.  The idea-marinating, note-keeping phase can last for ages.  The first-draft probably takes several months.  Revision is unpredictable.  Sometimes it’s quick; other times I pretty much rewrite the whole novel.

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

As much as I feel drawn to the “slutty new idea” when in the throes of revision or the mushy middle of a manuscript, I have learned that working through one project at a time yields the best results!

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

I started writing in eighth grade and I was so concerned about getting my angsty problems onto paper that I didn’t really think of it as writing—so no fears.  The fears come later—thinking about whether your next book should be similar and totally different and, honestly (even though you try not to look too much), there are moments when you feel yourself kind of influenced by how readers respond to your work.

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

Oooh.  Not telling.  Let’s just say, a lot.

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

I think the more you write, the more you have a sense of your style and if you’re on the right track.  I recently heard author Blake Nelson say that one of the joys of being a full-time writer was having the luxury of scrapping things you’ve started.  Plenty of time to say “this doesn’t work, I’ll go another way.”

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

My agent is the lovely Catherine Drayton who requested my full manuscript from a query letter I sent her.  I should mention that, before querying agents, I had gotten some interest from a fabulous editor.  Another agent I met at a conference advised that I note this in my queries, which I did.

How long did you query before landing your agent? 

Okay, you’re going to hate me.  I sent eight queries and landed an agent in a week, selecting from multiple offers of representation.  THEN AGAIN, I am 44 years old and this is my first published novel.  So, I guess you could say the whole agent-landing process took me thirty years plus seven days.

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

Go to conferences.  Take writing classes.  Study the art of query-writing but remember that the most important thing is the manuscript.  Some agents don’t even look at queries because they feel that the work should sell itself.  So, if you’re a lousy query-writer, seek out agents who don’t really care that much (you’ll probably connect with them better anyway) and then write a quick, clean query and get going!

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

The book is on sale in two days but people have been Tweeting me pix of it on shelves at Books-a-Million or emailing to tell me that Amazon has said it’s on the way.  It feels surreal.

How much input do you have on cover art?

Probably about as much as most debut authors ☺

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

About the publishing process? Well, I’ve worked in publishing for a long time—for Random House, Simon & Schuster, and others—so I had a pretty clear picture of the game before we started.  I guess the thing that has surprised me the most is that I’m not as tough as I thought I was, personally.

How much of your own marketing do you?  

I do a TON of my own marketing.  I have a blog www.swardkehoe.blogspot.com; a website www.stasiawardkehoe.com; a book tour website www.stagesonpages.com; a Facebook page Audition by Stasia Ward Kehoe; and I’m on Twitter @swkehoe.  I’m doing a month-long blog tour and organizing a live book tour for a group of 12 authors who write about the performing arts.

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

Ahhh, that inimitable word: platform.  Not sure what it even means.  I mean, technically, I do but how to translate that into what writers should do…?  I started my blog years before my book deal and I’m grateful that I had some time to kind of find my blogging stride.  I think that before you are published the best thing to do is to develop a virtual presence that feels comfortable, natural.  If you love Dr. Who, or eating out, or writing silly haikus, blog about that and some book stuff, too.  Be yourself because when the journey from deal to publication gets rolling, you’ll have to answer so many questions, write so much content, that it’s really nice if you’ve already found an identity comfort zone for your virtual life.

Do you think social media helps build your readership?

Yes, I definitely think that social media has helped build awareness about AUDITION.  It’s also connected me to lots of amazing writers and bloggers with such passion for YA literature.  Both great things!

Interview with Amy Reed

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!

Amy Reed was born and raised in and around Seattle, where she attended a total of eight schools by the time she was eighteen. She eventually graduated from film school, promptly decided she wanted nothing to do with filmmaking, returned to her original and impractical love of writing, and earned her MFA from New College of California. Her short work has been published in journals such as Kitchen Sink, Contrary, and Fiction. Her Young Adult novel CLEAN has been described as “The Breakfast Club in rehab." You can read my review of CLEAN here.

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

BEAUTIFUL took me about two years, CLEAN and my third book, CRAZY (coming out next summer), took me one year each. I think the next one will take closer to two years.

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

I focus on one project at a time, but new ideas are always popping in my head and I’ll write a lot of notes to follow up on later.

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

The fear of failure is always there. I’ve gotten better at turning it off, but sometimes it’s still really hard.

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

BEAUTIFUL was my first attempt at a novel, but I have a few short stories that never got published.

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

I’ve quit on short stories plenty of times. I knew it was time when I stopped caring about my characters.

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

My agent is the wonderful Amy Tipton at Signature Literary Agency. I sent her a traditional blind query and she responded really quickly with a request for a full manuscript. I think I got such a quick response because I mentioned in the first sentence that we went to the same MFA program. It was a very small and unique program (Writing & Consciousness MFA, now at California Institute of Integral Studies) and I was pretty sure we’d be soul mates based on the fact that we both went there.

How long did you query before landing your agent?

In retrospect, I think I got really lucky and got to avoid a long depressing experience for the most part. I sent around a dozen queries to adult lit agents before I realized my manuscript was YA (an agent kindly informed me of this--I honestly had no idea!) Then I queried a total of two YA agents, and received interest from both of them pretty quickly.

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

Do A LOT of research. It’s a waste of time to query agents who aren’t interested in the kind of work you do, and it can be demoralizing to keep receiving those rejections. Find out who represents the writers you admire (and hopefully resemble) the most. A great way to do this is by checking out the acknowledgments in your favorite books. Each agent has very specific guidelines; follow them perfectly. Don’t assume you’ll be sending each agent the same letter or packet. And finally, be patient. They get really annoyed when you start calling after a week asking if they’ve read your manuscript.

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

It was surreal. It’s still surreal. It’s hard to believe I have achieved a dream I’ve had since I was a little kid.

How much input do you have on cover art?

Very little. My editor sends me drafts and give feedback, but ultimately it is always up to the publisher. I work in publishing too, and authors meddling in their cover design is kind of a running joke in the industry. Cover designers are professionals who understand how to combine design and marketing. Authors do not often have this expertise.

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

How kind, supportive, and generous the YA community is, how humble and down to earth YA authors are. I feel very lucky to be in their company.

How much of your own marketing do you? 

A lot. I’ve done a lot to build relationships with bloggers, and I’m active on Facebook and Twitter. I also have a website/blog that I update mostly with news about my books, etc. I tried blogging for a while, but decided I’d rather spend my precious writing time actually writing books.

Do you think social media helps build your readership?

Absolutely! Since my main audience is teenagers, it makes sense that I would reach them where they are: online. YA is totally centered around the social media community, especially bloggers. I think bloggers do more for YA books than probably any traditional media outlet. It’s such an incredible grassroots community that has been built by readers themselves. I really credit bloggers for spreading the word about BEAUTIFUL and CLEAN. I absolutely love them! I can’t thank bloggers enough for their support.

Artistic Cross Training With Hilary Graham

In the course of my internet wanderings I came across Hilary Graham, a screenwriter turned YA author whose artistic journey fit in so perfectly with our philosophy here at From the Write Angle that I thought I might relocate an SAT to my second blogging home.

Hilary Weisman Graham is a screenwriter, novelist, and director whose work spans nearly two decades. Her debut young adult novel, REUNITED (Simon & Schuster), is due out in June 2012.

Hilary's essays have appeared in The Sun, Utne Reader, and Imagine Magazine. An Emmy-nominated television producer, her broadcast credits include WMUR's Chronicle, the nationally syndicated television show Wild Web (CBS/Eyemark), as well as freelance work for The Discovery Health Channel, Access Hollywood, A&E's Biography, and PBS's Zoom.

In the summer of 2007, Hilary was selected as a contestant on the Mark Burnett/Steven Spielberg produced reality series On the Lot: The Search for America's Next Great Director. Out of a pool of 12,000 submissions, Hilary made it onto the show as one of the eighteen finalists and stayed in the competition until only nine contestants remained, making her the longest-standing female director.

What skills do you find come in useful in both screenwriting and novel writing?

One of my most prized skills as a writer is my ability to allow myself to write crappy first drafts. It took me YEARS to learn to do this, but it's really an invaluable part of my process. RARELY do I get it right the first time. As in basically never. So it's nice to be able to let myself off the hook for getting it wrong and so I can give myself the space I need to work it out in rewrites.

I am also a very disciplined writer, a skill that gives me the benefit of creating lots of new material (and occasionally gets in the way of my self-care). i.e, there are times my writing (and my sanity) would probably be better served by stepping AWAY from the computer and going to yoga class. ;)

Are you a Planner or Pantster? Do you find that you use the same approach in both screenwriting and novel writing?

I'm a Planner with Pantster tendencies. I ALWAYS outline my fiction, though in the past, I have written screenplays without outlines. As I've matured as a writer, I've learned that it's crucial for me to know where I'm going plot-wise before delving into a screenplay or a novel. That being said, I view my outlines as malleable things and use them with the assumption that there will be changes. A strong structure also gives me freedom to explore my characters and plot without worrying that I might go off the rails. Some of the best moments in my work are the result of discoveries I've made along the way.

Do you work on one project at a time, or are you a multitasker? Do you tend to focus on screenwriting all at one time, then novel-length works? Or do you mish-mash?

In a perfect world I'd focus on one project at a time, but since this is reality (sigh) I've learned to live as a multitasker. Luckily, I do it quite well. Of course, there are stretches of time when I'll only work on my book, or a screenplay, and I feel that's the ideal way to work. However, there have been weeks when I've juggled my book, a screenplay, a treatment for a TV show, AND a pitch for a new screenplay. And yes, it was exhausting as it sounds. But if I can get myself into the right frame of mind, it can actually be creatively stimulating to have multiple storylines rolling around in my head, and sometimes, if I'm lucky, the various plots and characters end up informing each other. Though I might not be the most pleasant person to be around when I've got four different projects in my brain. ;) And I will say that in the screenwriting world, it pays to be a multitasker since the ability to generate new material is so important.

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

I have a really hard time letting go of a project and I almost never do it. In fact, the only project I can recall giving up on is a recent effort to make a video trailer for a completed script I've written. I wanted the video to be hilarious and have the potential to go viral, but it just wasn't gelling. So I tossed it aside and I haven't looked back.

But typically, I'd rather work myself to the bone to try and fix something I care about and make it great than to give up on it. However, there are TONS of ideas in my filing cabinet that will never even get off the ground, because the concepts don't seem appealing to me anymore, or because they fail to excite me in the way they (presumably) did once. But even then, I still can't bear to throw ANYTHING away.

Who is your agent and how did you get that "Yes!" out of them? Did you consciously choose an agent who repped both screenwriting and novels?

I signed with my amazing manager—Seth Jaret of Jaret Entertainment—after I was on the FOX reality show ON THE LOT: THE SEARCH FOR AMERICA'S NEXT GREAT DIRECTOR (which aired on FOX the summer of 2007 and was produced by Mark Burnett/Steven Spielberg). Seth represents my screenwriting efforts and he hooked me up with my book agent, Steve Malk at Writer's House. I think Steve and Seth share quite a few screenwriter/YA novelist clients.

How much of your own marketing do you?

It's funny you should ask because I'm doing it all right now! My website (which currently only details my film career) should be updated in the next couple of weeks. I also have a brand spankin' new blog, an Author Page on Facebook, I'm on YouTube, and of course, I'm on Twitter.

As REUNITED's release date gets closer (June, 2012), I'm planning to do a HUGE online campaign to promote interest in the book. I've already shot a killer BOOK TRAILER (since I'm a filmmaker, too) and it will be released as soon as the book's available for sale. (But watch for teasers on my YouTube page & Blog.) And as June 2012 gets closer, I plan to start doing contests and giveaways on my blog on my blog as well as creating a big web presence for the band in the book, Level3.

Because REUNITED focuses so heavily on music (it's the story of three ex-best friends on a cross-country road trip to see their old favorite band, Level3, in concert) I figured there was a huge opportunity to promote REUNITED using Level3's music.

A professionally produced version of Level3's hit single “Parade” is already in the works! This song will be available for download on my website (for free) and possibly even in the e-book version.

I'm really hoping to attract a following for the band, and Level3 Myspace and Facebook pages should be live within the next few weeks.

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

Hmmm. I'm not sure I know the answer to this one. I think these days, it never hurts to “brand” yourself if you've got something to sell.

Do you think social media helps build your readership?

Gosh, after all I'm planning to do, I sure hope so. ;) But going to the Book Bloggers Convention in NYC this past May meeting so many wonderful bloggers really helped me understand the power the internet has to foster a book's success. And on a personal level, I'm really looking forward to being able to connect with my readers online.

Do you have other artistic outlets that help inspire your writing? What are they?