Kim Ventrella On Waiting To Query Until You've Got Something Good

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 or the SAT (Successful Author Talk) is Kimberly Ventrella, author of THE SKELETON TREE. Kimberly believes that fiction is more true than true, and so she write worlds she wants to live in. Worlds where bad things happen, but also worlds where magic lives and people always find the courage to overcome.

Are you a Planner or Pantster?

Currently, I’d say I’m a Planner with the soul of a Pantser. Now that I have to turn in proposals before getting started on a longer project, I’m learning to love the art of outlining, but at heart I think I prefer discovery writing.

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

If we’re talking first drafts, then I have to write those fast, before the idea gets stale. So, anywhere from 10 days to a month on average; Skeleton Tree took two weeks. I usually don’t start a first draft, though, until I’ve already gone through a string of failed ideas. After I finish the draft, the self-editing and official editing process usually takes about a year.

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

I tend to start a bunch of projects that I scrap before I get to one I really like. I wish I had a more straightforward process, but I’ve had to accept that this is just how I write.

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

Novels always seemed like these magical, completely inexplicable creations that I could in no way conceptualize or hope to create. Then, the longer I was writing, the more I began to see how you could put one together piece by piece. It was a long process, though, in terms of demystifying the novel. And, of course, I still pick up books all the time and think, okay, I have no idea how this author did what they did and I could never hope to achieve it. I think that’s good, because it challenges us as writers to be constantly honing and improving our craft.

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

Only before I was agented, ha! How many zeroes are in a trillion? No, for reals, I would say about six or seven. Since then, I probably have another four or five.

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

Ha, another funny question! Have I ever quit on a manuscript? Let me see, yes! In fact, certain people (i.e. my agent) might say I quit way too easily. It goes back to my trial and error method of writing books. If one story isn’t working, I’m more than happy to move on to the next one, and the next one and the one after that. I’m sure (read: hopeful) that this will evolve as I grow and change as a writer, but it’s worked for me so far.

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

My agent is the indomitable Brianne Johnson of Writers House. I read in her Publishers Marketplace listing that she loves Roald Dahl and other creepy, dark middle grade novels, and I was hooked. I’d say my secret to landing my agent was to keep writing. I first queried a novel called QUIMBY. She said it was actually too creepy for her, ☺, but asked if I had anything else. Thankfully, I did!

How long did you query before landing your agent?  

My process was pretty short, but only because I basically didn’t query for the first ten years I was writing. I sent three queries for QUIMBY. Brianne asked me to revise and resubmit, or send her something else I’d written. I sent her SKELETON TREE, and the rest is history.

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

I would say don’t submit until you’ve written what you feel in your heart is a good book. I think, most of the time, you as the writer know in your gut whether or not you’ve achieved what you set out to achieve. If it’s not quite good enough, try again. If it’s the best possible way to tell the story, and you’ve done it to the best of your ability, then find an agent that’s a good match. If they get your writing, if they connect with it emotionally and stylistically, then it’s likely you’ll make an awesome team.

How much input do you have on cover art?

I loved Scholastic’s choice of artist for SKELETON TREE, and I was definitely given the opportunity to respond with my ideas for the cover. It was a big learning experience for me, because the Sales team brought up factors that I would have never considered, and they helped me appreciate and understand the choices that were made. In the end, Lisa Perrin created a beautiful cover, and I’m so happy that I discovered her as an artist (I’ve already ordered some of her other artwork for my apartment).

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

Early on in the design discussions, I had suggested making SKELETON TREE into a flipbook (i.e. when you flip the corner, you see a moving picture). My editor, Mallory Kass, actually made that happen! Now, when you flip the pages of the finished version, you will see a skeleton walking by and waving at you. I was so happy and surprised by Mallory’s persistence and belief in my idea.

How much of your own marketing do you?  

Scholastic is amazing at reaching the school and library markets, and I really couldn’t ask for more in terms of marketing. You can find me online on my site, Twitter, and Instagram.

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

I think the most important thing is to write a compelling book that readers will connect with emotionally. I also heard some awesome advice from author Ally Carter at a recent conference. She said the single best thing you can do to promote your first book is to write your second. I totally agree!

Do you think social media helps build your readership?

For middle grade authors, I think social media is especially great for connecting with librarians and educators.

Katherine Locke On Setting Hard Deadlines - And Holding Yourself To Them

Welcome to the SNOB - Second Novel Ominipresent 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 for the SNOB is Katherine Locke, author of THE GIRL WITH THE RED BALLOON and the forthcoming companion. She writes about what she cannot do: time-travel, magic, and espionage. Katherine not-so-secretly believes most YA stories are fairy tales and lives with two good cats, two bad cats, and one overly enthusiastic dog.

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

I only just turned in Book 2 so this is all fresh in my mind! It wasn’t that hard to leave behind the first novel and focus on the second because while I was still working on my first book with my editor, I’d written it in 2014, three years ago. I am not even sure I thoroughly remember that process. But it was hard to leave behind the feel of the first book. I had it stuck in my head that my second book (same world, different characters—more of a companion book) needed to have the same structure, voice and feel of the first book. That had me all sorts of stuck for several months.

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

I turned in my second book between BEA/Bookcon and ALA Annual, so it was a little bit of a balance this spring. But my first book was through copy-edits when I started drafting the second book. I only had to pause to do proofreads. I found that balancing drafting and marketing/editing isn’t difficult for me, but I really can’t draft two different books at the same time. I like to have one in brainstorm stage, one in drafting stage, and one in editing/copyedits stage.

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

I was very leery of feeling like my second book had been written for someone else. That’d happened before, and I didn’t want it to happen again. At the same time, I also always pick something to teach myself with each new book. And for my second book, I decided I wanted to learn how to write a tighter plot, something with more of a thriller feel. So I had to balance the desire to write something outside my wheelhouse with the desire to write something that also felt like a Katherine book.
As for the part where I inevitably have more cooks in the kitchen for this book, when I needed to make changes to the book, away from the proposal my editor had approved, she and my agent were very supportive. They both wanted me to write the book I could and wanted to write. I added a new point of view, changed the main arc and added another plotline for that new POV. They weren’t insubstantial changes. I should have known that was coming, though, because I did the same thing between drafts one and two of book one. In the end, I really felt like the book I turned in was my book, not for anyone else. But I sure hope other people enjoy it!

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

Definitely. I should have written Book 2 over the winter after the proposal was approved. But I was stuck between rage and despair after November and had a hard time getting going. Then my deadline moved up several months (the worst direction for a deadline to move) which turned into a blessing in disguise. I am extremely motivated by external deadlines. I wrote and revised my second book four times in 100 days.

That’s not my ideal schedule, but it was the one I had to work with, and that made me very efficient. I wrote every night, most mornings and 5-8 hours a day each weekend day (I have a dayjob, so sadly, I can’t write all day.) I used all the tricks in the book (blocking the internet, headphones, and using whatever process worked for the book) to get it done. Because there wasn’t an option not to get it done.

Like I said, though I’m very good at sitting down and doing the work when I need to, I have to set hard deadlines for myself and treat them as real deadlines. For my book 2, I took my editor’s deadline and worked backward from that to set my own first draft deadline. Friends, including some writer friends, would say, “Well, it’s not a real deadline. That one’s in June.” Except my deadline for the first draft to be done April 1st was just as real as that one, because otherwise I wouldn’t make my June deadline. I have to treat my own personal deadlines as real and as serious as any deadline imposed by a contract, editor, or agent.

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

I would have started Book 2 earlier. But, again, there were external world events and I know I wasn’t the only one derailed by those. But I would have started Book 2 earlier because that pace wasn’t my preferred pace. I should have also asked for phone calls about Book 2’s proposal with my editor prior to the first proposal that I eventually threw out the window. I think I was in the mindset that I’d mess her up when she was working on Book 1. I think talking it out with her would have solved my plot, POV and structural problems much faster and I would have written it with fewer tears. Or maybe not. I guess I’ll find out next time!

Amanda Hosch On First Lines That Appear From Nowhere

Inspiration is a funny thing. It can come to us like a lightning bolt, through the lyrics of a song, or in the fog of a dream. Ask any writer where their stories come from and you’ll get a myriad of answers, and in that vein I created the WHAT (What the Hell Are you Thinking?) interview. Always including in the WHAT is one random question to really dig down into the interviewees mind, and probably supply some illumination into my own as well.

Today's guest for the WHAT is Amanda Hosch, author of Mabel Opal Pear and the Rules For Spying, which releases October 1. Amanda loves writing, travel, and coffee. She lived abroad for almost a decade, teaching English as a Foreign Language. A fifth generation New Orleanian, Amanda now lives in Seattle with her husband, their two daughters, and a ghost cat. When not writing, she’s a reading tutor for elementary school kids or volunteering at the school library.

Ideas for our books can come from just about anywhere, and sometimes even we can’t pinpoint exactly how or why. Did you have a specific origin point for your book?

I was doing dishes when this strong voice popped into my head to say, “My parents swear they don’t hate me, but all the evidence contradicts their feeble denials.” Intrigued, I jotted the sentence down on a piece of paper. I didn’t know her name, but I knew her nickname was Moppet (after the kitten in Beatrix Potter), her parents were spies, and she knew their secret. It was summer so I didn’t have a lot of free time and I was querying a middle grade adventure. However, every time I sat down to manage my queries, Moppet shared more of her secrets. When my kids went back to school in September, I really knew Moppet’s backstory. I finished the rough draft in six weeks writing in three-hour intervals, three times a week. 

Once the original concept existed, how did you build a plot around it?

Mabel knows that her parents love her, despite her constant complaints at being left home when they are out on a mission. One of the first things I did was rewrite and expand the Moscow Rules from Mabel’s point-of-view. Once I had her Rules for a Successful Life as an Undercover Secret Agent, I build the plot around the question of how would an eleven-year-old act as a spy in her own home/hometown when the enemy was estranged family members who were eating up all of her favorite food?

Have you ever had the plot firmly in place, only to find it changing as the story moved from your mind to paper?

For other books, yes. But MOPRS, while changing and growing, stayed remarkably similar to how I envisioned it. If I were to physically plot out on a map the actions/places of MOPRS, it would look remarkably the same from the first draft to the final. However, the motives, reasons, and even how the characters move about changed so much. Plus, the HEGs went from being mean girls to being super-nice and friendly (way too friendly). Also, Mabel’s cousin Victoria changed a lot. She’s a much richer and fuller character now (thanks to amazing guidance from my amazing editor).

Do story ideas come to you often, or is fresh material hard to come by?

Sometime, the shiny new ideas come at me like a fire hose. Other times, it’s nothing.

How do you choose which story to write next, if you’ve got more than one percolating?

I’m currently working on two WIPs right now. One is a hot mess YA (historical) that breaks me all the time. Seriously, some days, I’m writing through the tears. However, it’s a story that I’ve felt compelled to tell for years and years. I never thought I was quite up to writing it until last year (see answer 6.) I probably would have quit writing it many times except for my writing group who are so encouraging.

The other one is a fun MG, which brings me joy to write. It’s similar to MOPRS in that I love the characters and the world. I haven’t shown it to anyone yet because I sort of need to keep it to myself for a bit. In many ways, it’s my reward to write the MG.

2016 was not an easy year. Do you draw any inspiration from the world around you, or do you use writing as pure escapism?

Oh, yes! I remember how I felt at the beginning of 2016—so optimistic and happy! I had a book deal (finally!) and my editor was a joy to work with. However, 2016 took a very bleak turn on Valentine’s Day morning. Got a call from a New Orleans police detective. As soon as she introduced herself, I knew what she was going to say. By the time she contacted me, my older brother had been dead for a few days. I flew out as soon as possible to officially identify his body. Before I left home, I wrote my brother’s obituary as an act of service to him. It took half a day, but I wanted to highlight the good he had done as a public school teacher.

This all happened when I was doing the final edits of MOPRS. It was only afterwards that I realized if I could write my brother’s obit, I could write anything—no matter how difficult (see hot mess of YA historical).

And then there was the election, which broke me all over again. So, yes, I’ve used my rage from the last year (and on-going rage this year) to fuel my writing, to keep me going when I feel like stopping, and remind myself that stories are needed.

However, writing and reading are also refuges for me, places of joy and replenishment. So, I try to honor that also.