Interview with Shawn Proctor

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 Shawn Proctor, a fellow author of short stories who is published in the latest anthology from Elephant's Bookshelf Press alongside myself. Shawn's writing resides at the intersection where the traditions of literature and pulp fiction meet. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Rosemont College and is the book editor for Nerd Caliber. His work has been nominated for Best New American Voices and published in several literary journals and anthologies, including Apiary, Anthology Philly, and Schuylkill Valley Journal.

Short stories aren't easy to write, and - if we're being honest - even harder to get published. So with a fellow short-scribbler to jaw with, I asked Shawn a few questions.

Do you find writing short stories to be harder or easier than writing novel length projects?

I started by writing short stories because I believed the power of storytelling went back to mythology and fantasy and horror stories, rooted in the oral tradition. They were the kind of tales that kept you awake. They were short and haunting.

Over time, I realized that novels have the same potential, but they immerse the reader more than a short story. The end goal is still to create a lasting impression. I have less experience writing novels, so crafting a longer yet focused story is an exciting challenge.

Do you tend to work in the same genre with shorts as you do with novels, or do you feel free to dabble a bit more?

In the last two years I have been writing more superhero fiction, including a novel and a prequel short story that's coming out next month from This Mutant Life. However, I tend to be much more experimental in shorter pieces and write fiction that straddles two or three genres, mostly because there's less plot to manage. I worry less about what to call the genre and more about telling a knock-you-on-your-butt story.

What has your experience of publishing with an Indie been like?

Generally, I have had positive experiences with Indies. As an author, you are your own best advocate though. Keep your head. Read the contract. Understand what could happen if things don't work out. In short: hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

Matt Sinclair at Elephant's Bookshelf has been awesome. He communicates all of the details very well and is a great partner in all phases of the publishing process. Matt's gets it. He wants writers he works with to succeed. Better yet, he's a guy I could imagine talking with over a beer.

As a reader, have you ever discovered a new writer or genre that you like through an anthology?

Absolutely. I always read the "best of" anthologies that come out each year, including Best American Short Stories and the Pushcart. You get to see the new work from familiar names along with emerging authors.   

Indie anthologies are the center of publishing right now and for good reason. There are fewer journals and many of the ones left either running endless contests or charge for submitting, which I ethically oppose. Anthologies fill the gap where literary journals used to shine. They are where you're going to find the stars of tomorrow.

EBP's seasonal anthologies all fall under a theme. Did you write your short story "Just A Perfect Day" to fit the theme, or was this a story that already existed and it was a good fit for submitting?

This was a very odd horror story called "Leaving the American Sector" that I wrote a few years ago after a trip to Germany. I believed in the concept, but was never sure how to make the love-gone-awry beginning mesh with the Lovecraftian turn in the end. It turned out that by cutting the supernatural elements it became a surreal story about love tainted by delusion. 

"Just A Perfect Day" is about a relationship that is supposed to be working, but it's not. Do you think it's human nature to resent it when others fall short of our expectations?

We're fixed in our own point-of-view and that means even when we say in the moment, "It's not your fault, it's me," we mean, "It's totally your fault." It takes time to realize that maybe those failings weren't as monumental as they seemed. It takes perspective to consider that perhaps my expectations were unfair. 

What's next for you, as a writer?

I'm finishing up a revision of my novel Stand-In Heroes, which is a story in which two people receive half of a fallen superhero's powers. They have to learn to quickly learn to use their abilities because the man who killed the hero is coming for them next.

Tales of capes and costumes are obviously exciting, but the novel also examines the lives and relationships of two people who must find extraordinary courage to oppose a threat to the entire city.

Interview with YARN Founder Kerri Majors

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 Kerri Majors, author of This is Not a Writing Manual: Notes for the Young Writer in the Real World, out July 9 from Writer’s Digest. Publishers Weekly called TINAWM “Candid, honest advice and reflection from a writer who’s been there,” and Kirkus described TINAWM as “An upbeat and honest guide for teens already considering writing careers.”

Majors is also the founder and editor of YARN, an award-winning literary journal of YA writing. Her short fiction and essays have been featured in publications across the United States. She earned her MFA from Columbia and now lives in Massachusetts with her husband and daughter.

One thing I really enjoyed about your book was the honesty. You talk about the goal of being published, but also about recognizing reality and the fact that it might not happen. I found that very refreshing from the "If You Believe In Yourself It Will Happen" mentality. Did you worry that being straight-up might cost you readers?

Thanks, Mindy. I really did try to be totally candid in this book. Otherwise, what was the point? (That was what I thought, anyway.)

I hope that honesty won’t cost me readers! It’s funny—I never considered that till you asked, and I’m glad I didn’t because it might have made me think twice. I suppose I hope that younger readers who are turned off by the honesty might still keep the book, or remember it, and find/read it later, when they clue in to the fact that “Oh, yeah, this writing thing is hard…That Kerri Majors chick I used to think was full of crap had something to say about that…” ☺ And that’s fine with me.  

You mention a lot about learning from other venues - TV shows, artwork, audio books - and of course, reading other novels. I agree with you 100% that reading can count as writing if you are paying attention to what is working (and not working) in any particular book. However, I know a lot of authors try not to read while they are working on a WIP for fear of accidentally adopting the voice of what they are reading. Do you read fiction while drafting?

I am always reading something, and I probably read 80% fiction and 20% nonfiction these days, though that ratio is shifting to include more nonfiction. I’m not the kind of writer who is easily influenced by what I’m reading, but I have friends who are—and they just try to read writers who are totally different than they are while in the midst of a draft. Or, sometimes, they read for strategic influence. For instance, a novelist who’s really interested in language and beautiful prose might read poetry on purpose while drafting a novel or story.

Something else you are very straightforward about is having a day job. We all do! Very, very few people make enough off their writing to live on, something I'm not sure the general public understands. One of the things that resonated with me was the idea of making sure that any choice you made, career or hobby wise, wasn't going to "kill your creative writing." How can one tell before leaping in whether a certain job is going to be the knife to the brain of their writing?

I think sometimes it’s just trial and error. I was convinced, after college, that working in museums would be the perfect kind of day job to complement my writing. I was wrong, but I never would have known that unless I tried.  

I hope that’s something the book liberates writers to do: experiment. If you are committed to your writing, and to taking the long view of the writing life, then you have time to figure out the right day job that will fit with your writing.

Also, the right day job will probably change over time, as you get older, maybe married, maybe have a kid or two, or you might want to travel more (or less!). There are lots of factors.

Time management is huge. It's one of the first things you address in your book. Do you have any general advice for the on-the-go writers of the world to help get those ideas from mind to paper?

Be consistent. Probably the worst buzz kill for a piece of writing is to neglect it too long. You derail everything if you work too sporadically or take breaks that are too long, because when you return to the project, you wind up spending more time reviewing than getting new words on the page.  

If you only have one day per week to work on your writing, do it—every week. Write it down in your planner and commit to it (if it’s early in the morning, don’t go out the night before!). Then, between writing sessions, try to think about the writing a bit (on the treadmill, driving to work, cycling to classes, etc). That will keep your head in the work, so that you can keep moving forward every time you sit down to it.

Envy is something you talk about as well, quite openly. It's very easy for any writer - published or unpublished - to look at the bigger sales of someone else and wish it were theirs. We all deal with this emotion from time to time in real life, but what's the best way to handle this in the creative world?

I’m not sure I have much to add to what I wrote in the chapter except that I think admitting you have envy is a good first step. Then cut yourself a break. As my friend said, it’s a natural human emotion. Don’t beat yourself up for feeling it. Instead, try to channel all that energy into something productive—more writing, or something that will lift your spirits in other ways (call an old friend, volunteer to babysit for someone you know needs help…that sort of thing). Being miserable is not going to help your writing, so you need to find a way to channel the envy or set it aside.

Lastly, workshops and writer's groups are mentioned in your book as a great way to get feedback and grow as a writer while connected with people like you at the same time. You give some great advice for starting your own group in a face-to-face format, and also recommend some specific online sites. Can you tell us more about the importance of good writing buddies, and how to find them?

I can’t say enough about the importance of community for the writer. In fact, the incredible support and warmth of the larger YA community is a big part of the reason I’ve stayed with it so long. Other YA writers are like, “You’re a writer? You published a book? Welcome to the party!” This just isn’t true for other categories of literature.

So community is essential for feeling part of something bigger than yourself—and since so much of writing is solitary, that’s really nice. And in the world of literature, no one cares if you’re a big dork, because, let’s face it, most of us were/are dorks, too.

The best way to find more writing buddies and writer’s groups, and to broaden your community in general is to put yourself out there. Go online—Twitter, Yeah Write, Figment, etc—and join the conversations. Ask your librarian and English teachers about writing groups. If you see an ad for a class or group of writers, sign yourself up! It’s mostly up to you. You need to put your hand up and say “Hi, I’m Kerri, and I’m a writer,” before anyone else will know or care. And then people will care, and it’ll be awesome. 

Are Contests Worth It?

We all know there's more than one way to put yourself in front of an agent. Queries, conferences, and referrals are all possible doors to representation. And then there's the c-word.

Contests.

Contests with agent participants vying for queries, partials and fulls from the entrants are sexier than the tried and true methods. I think it's our form of reality television, with high stakes and even higher refresh rates. Bloggers that host contests featuring high quality agents can expect a traffic boost, and a bevy of writers grateful to them for the chance to put themselves in front of an agent... but the rest of the world is watching too.

So is it worth it?

Personally, I think you have to have even thicker skin than the average querier to throw yourself into this particular ring. Some contests have anonymous entries, but if you've been around publishing long enough you know exactly how insular this community is. Writing communities are vital to most writer's success, but that also means that your anonymous entry in Contest #342 isn't so anonymous. After all, you've been flogging that book around for the last six months.

I think that's the kicker for a lot of people - public humiliation. A few years ago I had an "I Will If You Will" agreement with a CP and we both tossed our hats into the ring of a highly trafficked, much-anticipated annual contest. I walked away with eight total requests, two of them being fulls. My CP... had zero. The experience not only soured her on contests, but was a pretty rough kick in the self-confidence for her as well.

Now, I want to follow this up by saying that my apparent victories amounted to nothing. My partial requests fizzled into passes, and my fulls fell into a hole. All the requesting agents were very nice, professional people, but I ended up having to nudge them when I received an offer of representation... on a different project six months later. I don't want this to be perceived as a criticism of agents, because it's not. I have one, and I love her. However, I think we're all human, and sometimes we get caught up in a moment where excitement gets the better of us. Ask anyone who ever overpaid for something on eBay as the auction closed.

And my CP?

I gave her a bit of a prod and a pep-talk and would have resorted to flat goading and bullying if she hadn't pulled herself up off the ground and entered a contest yet again. Which she did. With a bright new ms to bolster her confidence, she threw herself headlong into the melee of the very same contest that had punched her in the brain the year before and... zero requests.

She wasn't anxious to enter another contest anytime soon, but a year after that she had a new ms with an amazing hook. Another big contest was on the horizon and she knew her concept was strong, her writing solid, and her hook... well her hook was contest fodder like manure is a fertilizer. She somewhat reluctantly entered and was accepted. Her entry was posted and shortly thereafter she received a request for a full from an agent not even participating in the contest who had been cruising the entries. She received seven full requests from participating agents, which turned into five offers of representation. Ahem. Yes, you read that right.

She's represented by Jennifer Laughran now.

My other CP is one that needs no prodding to enter a contest. She's a veritable encyclopedia of contest names, hosts, and timeframes. She's the first to tell anyone that contests are definitely worth it, and that putting yourself out there can turn into a fantastic experience. She's played the contest game to the max, receiving fourteen requests for one manuscript over the course of a few different contests, three of whom were cruising agents who contacted her through her website after seeing her entry.

Those numbers definitely sound good, but that particular ms wasn't the one that landed her in the sweet spot. She ended up shelving it and entering something new and fresh in a highly-trafficked contest from which she garnered eight full requests, two from agents who were cruising the entries and not officially involved in the contest. She was offered representation by three of these agents.

She's represented by Suzie Townsend now.

And me? I landed Adriann Ranta through the good old-fashioned query path, but I admit that contests do make my tin-can heart rattle a little faster. So I decided to host one. The PAPfest (yes, it says that) had its first run this past February, and there may be another PAP in your future (they are annual, you know). Two of our participants secured representation, one from a participating agent and one through a cruiser.

In the end, I think the question isn't "Are Contests Worth It?" but, "Are Contests Right For Me?" Contests can be nerve-wracking and downright embarrassing, but they can also bring elation, and a boost of self-confidence, even if you don't secure representation at the end of the day.