Emma Pass On Writing the Second Novel

Welcome to another of my fabulous acronym-based interviews. The second novel is no easy feat, and with that in mind I put together a series of questions for debuts who are tackling the next obstacle in their career path. I call it the SNOB - Second Novel Omnipresent Blues. Whether you’re under contract or trying to snag another deal, you’re a professional now, with the pressures of a published novelist compounded with the still-present nagging self-doubt of the noobie. How to deal?

Today's guest is fellow Lucky13er Emma Pass. Emma has been making up stories for as long as she can remember. Her debut novel, ACID, is out now from Corgi/Random House in the UK, and from Delacorte in the US.  It won the 2014 North East Teenage Book Award, was shortlisted for the Doncaster Book Award, was nominated for the 2014 CILIP Carnegie Medal and has been longlisted for the 2014 Branford Boase Award and a Silver Inky Award in Australia. Her second novel, THE FEARLESS, is out on 24th April 2014 from Corgi/Random House and in early 2015 from Delacorte. By day, she works as a library assistant and lives with her husband and crazy greyhound G-Dog in the North East Midlands.

Is it hard to leave behind the first novel and focus on the second? 

It is! While I was trying to write THE FEARLESS, I was also editing/copyediting/reading proof pages for ACID, and it was sometimes quite difficult to balance working on a rough first draft (the part of the writing process I always find the hardest) with working on a polished, almost finished novel… and wondering if THE FEARLESS would ever reach that stage! 

At what point do you start diverting your energies from promoting your debut and writing / polishing / editing your second?

A lot of this stuff has to be done concurrently – there's no other way round it when there's only a year between your novels being released. And ACID released in the US just a few weeks ago, so I've been doing online promo stuff for it all over again just as THE FEARLESS is due to hit the shelves in the UK. But it's all good – and I hope there'll be lots of love for THE FEARLESS when Delacorte publish it in the US in 2015!

Your first book landed an agent and an editor, and hopefully some fans. Who are you writing the second one for? Them, or yourself?

First and foremost, myself. I have to love the story I'm writing; love the characters and the journey they're embarking on. Plus, if you think too much about what other people are going to say about the book, especially at the early stages, it can paralyse you.

Is there a new balance of time management to address once you’re a professional author? 

Definitely. It's easy to get sucked into spending lots of time online, chatting to readers and other authors, instead of writing. I was definitely more productive before I discovered Twitter! But on the other hand, I didn't have the incredible support network of fellow authors that I have now, so I wouldn't change anything. I do try and limit my online time now, but it's so tempting when you hit a plot snarl and the only other option for procrastination is doing the dishes…

The other thing that keeps me very busy is workshops and school visits. I love doing them, but it's very time consuming. I've found the trick is to fit writing in whenever you can – even if you only have an hour, get 500 words done. Every little helps! Luckily, I have a very understanding husband who doesn't mind me sitting in bed next to him tapping away on my laptop in the mornings while he's trying to get a bit more sleep.

What did you do differently the second time around, with the perspective of a published author?

Well, I definitely panicked more! When I wrote ACID, my debut, I only had an agent, not a publisher, and several years to write and polish it. THE FEARLESS was written in a much shorter space of time, under a deadline, and I was terrified, after hearing some horror stories from other writers, that my editor would hate it when it was done! But she didn't, and was really encouraging, which was a big help in calming my nerves.

However, all that fear (how ironic, eh?!) turned out to be a good thing in the end, because it showed me I can write an entire novel under the pressure of a deadline and contract – something I would never have believed I could do a few years ago. I've learnt new things with each novel – not just about writing but what I can do as a writer. And I think that's really important.

On Submission with Christine Kohler

If there's one thing that many aspiring writers have few clues about, it's the submission process. There are good reasons for that; authors aren't exactly encouraged to talk in detail about our own submission experiences, and - just like agent hunting - everyone's story is different. I managed to cobble together a few non-specific questions that some debut authors have agreed to answer (bless them). And so I bring you the submission interview series - Submission Hell - It's True. Yes, it's the SHIT.

Today's guest is debut Christine Kohler, whose title NO SURRENDER SOLDIER is available from Merit Press (Adams Media/ F+W Media), now!

How much did you know about the submission process before you were out on subs yourself?

Though NO SURRENDER SOLDIER is my debut YA novel, I have been writing professionally for 30 years, with 16 children’s books in different genres and ages prior to this novel. I was very fortunate in high school to have had a mentor, Norma Atkins, who had been a journalist and a radio advertising writer and executive.

Did anything about the process surprise you?

My first question in submitting my first book in the early 1980s was what to do about illustrations. I had asked a magazine editor and he offered me a job. I took the job and called someone else who said not to worry about illustrations, just sell the text. So I sold that picture story book to the second publisher I sent it to, then sold them a series.  

Did you research the editors you knew had your ms? Do you recommend doing that?

Absolutely I recommend researching editors. In the case of NO SURRENDER SOLDIER, even though I had an agent at Curtis Brown Ltd., I still kept an eye out for new YA imprints. When I read the announcement that Adams Media/F+W Media was starting Merit Press and had hired the Jacquelyn Mitchard as executive editor, I e-mailed my agent in Spring 2012 and suggested she submit my contemporary YA novel GRIDIRON GIRLS. What I didn’t know was that my agent was not only leaving Curtis Brown, but agenting. By Fall 2012 I had forgotten about the e-mail, but hadn’t forgotten about Jackie at Merit Press. I e-mailed and asked if I could submit without an agent. She said, “Yes,” and I submitted NO SURRENDER SOLDIER.    

What was the average amount of time it took to hear back from editors?

When I’ve sold a book, I’ve heard back from the editor quickly.

What do you think is the best way for an author with a ms. out on submission to deal with the anxiety?

It is easy to say to put it out of your mind and get to work on something else, but as one who tends to obsess, I’d be a hypocrite to say it’s easy.  

How did you deal rejections emotionally? How did ms. rejections compare to query rejections?

Query rejections just roll off me; they are to be expected in this business. I receive a high percentage of personalize rejection letters, and most of the time it’s a matter of “not what I’m looking for at this time.”

The most difficult rejections are ones where there has been a “maybe,” especially if I do pre-contract revisions, then a rejection. The several times this has happened I’ve spent one to two years in pre-contract revisions, I felt a huge let-down to point of depression, and I’m not one who normally gets depressed.

If you got feedback on a rejection, how did you process it? How do you compare processing an editor’s feedback as compared to a beta reader’s?

It depends on the feedback and not on who gives it. If I get feedback that seems off, as if the person didn’t get my work, then the first day I rant until I peel myself off the ceiling and sort out what is useful and what is way off base. But if I get a really good, hard critique then I love it, embrace it, and break it down into specific points.

NO SURRENDER SOLDIER is a good example. I had submitted NO SURRENDER SOLDIER to Christy Ottaviano at Henry Holt years ago. She sent me a one-page revision letter and said she was interested in acquiring NO SURRENDER SOLDIER if I would revise it pre-contract. I still have that letter, even though at the end of the year when I re-submitted Christy had to turn it down because she was going home to have another baby and cut back on her list. (She now has her own imprint.)

When my Curtis Brown agent read NO SURRENDER SOLDIER she loved it and gave me a 14-page revision letter. It was great! I will always be grateful to her for that critique. I revised NO SURRENDER SOLDIER once more then submitted it to Jackie, who offered me a contract. My ms. was so well polished by that point that I only had a light 10-point easy revision letter from Ashley, an editor at Merit Press, before it was printed.      

When you got your YES! how did that feel? How did you find out--email, phone, smoke signal?

Although Jackie Mitchard and I had talked a couple of times on the phone before NO SURRENDER SOLDIER went to the committee, when they accepted it Jackie e-mailed me right away, “We got a yes!” Without a doubt I was excited, but my husband constantly tells me I’m not allowed to celebrate until I cash the check. (Then we still don’t celebrate.) I have actually signed contracts and then editors have been laid off and I’ve been paid a kill fee, so that’s why he feels this way. But still, yeah, I was excited, yet anxious to negotiate and sign the contract.

Did you have to wait a period of time before sharing your big news, because of details being ironed out? Was that difficult?

No one asked me to stay mum, but I did on my own for the reasons I just explained. Yes, it is always hard for me to sit on a secret.

Interview with Gayle Rosengren

I'm lucky (or cunning) enough to have lured yet another successful writer over to my blog for an SAT - Successful Author Talk. SAT authors have conquered the query, slain the synopsis and attained the pinnacle of published. How'd they do it? Let's ask 'em!

Today's guest for the SAT (Successful Author Talk) is Gayle Rosengren, author of WHAT THE MOON SAID, a historical MG novel set during the Great Depression. Gayle writes full-time in her home just outside of Madison, Wisconsin, where she lives with her husband, Don, and slightly neurotic rescue dog, Fiona. Gayle is living her dream, writing books she hopes will make the same difference in children's lives as her favorite books and authors made in hers.

Are you a Planner or Pantster?

I'm a planner. I don't like to write even my first sentence until I have a good idea what my last one will be. It's not that I rigidly cling to the vision I have in place when I begin a new manuscript. If I come up with something better as I'm going along--as I often do-- I'm delighted to go with it. But I won't begin without a destination and a plan in mind for getting there. It's too easy to get lost somewhere in the deep dark woods of the middle and never find the right path out into the sunlight again.

Although I don't outline per se, I do block out chapters with a sentence or two describing what should take place. I find this to be the most efficient way to keep the action moving and the plot from stalling. Again, if better ideas evolve as I'm writing, I welcome them most happily, but chapter-blocking keeps me focused on the primary plot points. And knowing where I'm going enables me to see the most natural ways to get from "here to there" often several chapters in advance.

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

In an ideal world, the first draft takes an average of three months. At this point I run it past my critique group to get their input. Then I go through it a second time, editing with their comments and suggestions in mind. During this same pass, I also do a lot of line editing. The first time I'm too eager to get the story down to worry overmuch about how pretty it is. The second draft is my opportunity to make it smooth and shiny. It may take a month or more. At this point, I send it to my editor, and when she sends me her thoughts and suggestions, I revisit the manuscript with them in mind. This is usually where it goes from pretty to downright gorgeous and will end up ready to send to copyediting. These three drafts usually total approximately nine months of work: In. An. Ideal. World. When everything goes well.  Some books are more of a struggle than others, though. Those can take years instead of months, requiring much hair-pulling and entire rewrites not once but twice or three times. Argh! Just like every child, every manuscript is different.

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

At first I worked on one project at a time, but I've learned to be a multi-tasker-extraordinaire. While one book is being considered by my editor, I'm busy working on a new one or reviewing copyedits on a previous one. Time is precious. If I'm not writing manuscripts, I'm preparing presentations for school and library visits, I'm doing online interviews or scheduling appearances at book fairs and literary events, or updating my website. Being a writer is a multi-faceted profession these days, so being able to multi-task is more and more important.

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

I have always been writing--since back in elementary school--so writing is as natural as breathing to me. Nothing scary about that. Much scarier to think of NOT writing.  

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

I'm not agented.  I'm one of a rare and dying breed who connected with her editor at a conference.  And I don't really have a trunk. On the contrary; because I write relatively quickly and hate doing submissions, I have a few manuscripts that have not yet been seen by editorial eyes. I refer to them as my arsenal. ☺

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

I've taken breaks on a few manuscripts, but I've never completely quit on one. Some of my breaks have been years long, but I never count any manuscript "out" because it's always about something I felt passionately about, and if the manuscript didn't work, it was probably because somehow my writing hadn't done the idea justice. These manuscripts simmer on the back burner of my mind like a stew that just needs time and seasoning and occasional gentle stirring for the juices to blend. Eventually I'll either lose my passion for a story or serve it up. 

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

I'm still not over the giddiness I feel when I see or hold my book. It was a long-held dream that finally came true. It may sound corny, but I think I will savor the joy of it forever.

How much input do you have on cover art?

Not much, really. I was asked for some ideas of what I thought the farmhouse should look like, but that was about it. The artwork was finished when I saw it for the first time. And I was so delighted by it that all I could do was hyperventilate and say "Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, it's beautiful!  I love it!"  --

Does that count as input?

I have absolute faith in the Putnam/Penguin art team. They gave What the Moon Said the most exquisite cover without any help from me, and I'm sure they'll do the same for my next book. 

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

I had no idea how much of my writing time would need to be diverted to social networking and marketing. At first this was disconcerting, but now that I'm seeing the positive results, I'm glad I'm doing it. I think with a first book especially you must give it all you've got; that's the best way to ensure that there's a second book. Obviously there is a point when a writer has to ease back on the throttle to give the majority of her time and energy back to writing. But in the beginning, the more you can do to promote your book, the better.

How much of your own marketing do you? 

I do a lot of my own marketing, but lately I'm finding that the more I do, the more help I'm receiving from others. It's so sweet and so very much appreciated!  I might send out a tweet about an appearance I'll be doing and several of my "people" from blogs and SCBWI and my debut groups and bookstores forward my tweet to other book people.  I post a photo from  a recent appearance on my Facebook page and the same thing happens.  I've said it before (although The Beatles said it first!)  but it's worth repeating: In book marketing as in so many things in life, we "get by with a little help from our friends".  

I have a site, a Facebook, and a Twitter. I do not have a blog of my own, although I have nothing but admiration for those writers who can maintain one in addition to their manuscript-writing. I'd be burnt out in a matter of a few weeks! 

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

I didn't worry about building platform until after I had an offer for my book. Then I set up a website--very rudimentary at first, containing only the most basic information about myself and my book on a very pretty home page. Then I added to it gradually over the next year until publication and continue to add to it now.

After the website was begun, I joined two debut children's authors' groups: Class of 2K14, which has a maximum of 20 members, requires an initial payment of dues, and is focused on marketing; and OneFourKidLit, which is more of a support and information-sharing group. Both have websites that promote all the members' books and both have proven invaluable. I highly recommend joining both groups if you can.

I have long been a member of SCBWI, and it is another awesome source of support and information and is a super advisory group on marketing.  If you're not already a member, join at once!    

Do you think social media helps build your readership?

Absolutely. Readers need to know about your book before they can read it. Sure, most young readers will just stumble on an MG novel in their public or school library, but the librarian needs to hear about it so she'll place that book order. And even if she sees it in a journal with good reviews, her funds are limited. Whether she chooses your book or another one may come down to which one she heard good things about in an online blog or literary chatter on Twitter. 

The truth is there is no accurate way to measure what "works" and what doesn't when it comes to social networking, but getting your title out there in a positive way certainly can't hurt.