A David Mehegan Interview

By Amy MacKinnon

I have long admired the work of Boston Globe reporter David Mehegan. Part of my "dream big" scenario was to be profiled by him, he really is the best. He coaxes everything out of a writer. I'll never forget his interview with author Janet Fitch and how she revealed her struggle to write a follow-up to White Oleander. If such a writer as Fitch found it a challenge, then my anonymous struggle to write a first was okay. There have been so many over the years. And now it's my turn. He even called my agent and publisher, and really, their words will stay with me forever. Read it here.

He also recorded a podcast of me reading an excerpt from Tethered.

Why?

By Amy MacKinnon

We each write for different reasons, though last week I couldn't possibly tell you mine. I've been wondering about this a lot lately, why it is we writers are eager to rip away the cloak that shields us from public scrutiny and misinterpretation. Most would tell you it isn't for the money (how many published authors earn a living wage from writing?); it's not for the glory (try facing down an empty bookstore or sitting next to a New York Times bestselling author at a signing); it's not for any sense of immortality (I'm still hoping this one might be true among my descendents).

Last Friday, Patry Francis, Lynne, and I wondered at this conundrum over tea and cakes (for those of you wondering, Patry's doing well and gorgeous to boot). When each of us started writing, we hoped against all reason that we would eventually sell our books, that they would be read by people who connected with them, and maybe one of us hoped for more beyond that-- a scenario too magnificent to lay down black-and-white. Haven't you done the same? And we've been lucky, we know it and are grateful. But this isn't a business for the faint of heart. As Gail Konop Baker once wrote to me as consolation after a particularly awful day, "This can be a tear your heart out kind of business." Some days I've truly feel that wrenching in my chest.

But I think I finally figured out why I write: I don't understand a world in which there is unfathomable pain.

I wrote about the real Precious Doe, Erica Michelle Marie Green who was killed by her parents; about my friends' four-year-old daughter, Mary Katherine, who died of a brain tumor; about the unbearable weight some cops have to bear when dealing with the seediest aspects of our society. Why is the world like it is? Why?

I don't write to entertain readers for vanity or fame. I write because, at least on the page, I can give each of these people some measure of comfort in a world of my making. It's all I can do.

So What's It Like?

By Amy MacKinnon

My email inbox is more full than ever before.  I've heard from long ago friends and complete strangers, all of whom have been supportive and kind.  To know there are people out there actually reading Tethered is a little jarring though, like someone poking around the shadowlands within me.

Neighbors I've never met have stopped by to ask if I'm the one who wrote the book and then wished me well.

My father called the other day to say when he started his car, the radio came on, and my voice filled the space.  "You're like a Hollywood celebrity, Amy," he said.  There was a catch, but he swallowed it.  "Your mother and I are real proud of you."  I didn't tell him it was a very local show and the interview lasted only six minutes; we all want to believe our children are somehow special.

I've scrubbed the bathrooms and the windowsills, I've managed to vacuum every other day.  The laundry still gets away from me.

I walked past my local Barnes & Noble the other day and was a bit wistful to see the display window filled with books that came out the same time as mine.  This is my turf, I thought.  In the next moment, I accepted that my book was one among many and as Lynne says, we each have our own journey.  With my next step, I noticed another display window.  In it was a poster-sized photo of me and copies of only my book.  It reminded me to keep moving forward.

Most people don't know who I am, don't know that I've written a book, and don't care.

I've received my first 1-star review on Amazon.  I expected it to hurt.  Instead, it made me wonder about the laws of attraction.

I received my first newspaper review from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.  This from a writing instructor.

My children and I finished their back-to-school shopping.  They'll be leaving me in a week's time, gone for hours each day.  I'll miss them terribly.

Yesterday at my local library, the place I learned to read, a librarian asked if I was the author of "that book."  She said there was a wait-list and she looked forward to reading it.  Another woman approached me with her two children in tow, "I saw you in the paper, you wrote that book. Congratulations." After I mumbled a thank you, she then turned to her kids and said, "This is a real live author, she wrote a book..."  Something to that effect.  I was too embarrassed, too shy to hear anymore much less do the proper thing and greet her children.  I promise to do better next time.

Yesterday, I went to the doctor's, the pharmacy, supermarket, and corner store.  No one knew or cared who I was.

Also yesterday, a package arrived from New York, something from my agent.  I opened it and was stunned to discover a gorgeous fountain pen inscribed with the title of my book and its pub day. She believes in me and that is why you need an agent.

Tomorrow I'll be doing a reading in Cambridge, MA with Brunonia Barry, author of The Lace Reader.  It's sponsored by two favorites: Grub Street and Porter Square Books.  Those will be some coattails.

I received a charming note from Ann Patchett in response to one I wrote her.  It's tucked away in the first copy of Tethered I received from my publisher.  If my house were on fire and my children safely out, I would race back in to save both. 

I sleep through the night now.

Pre-Pub Tour

By Amy MacKinnon

Well, the big day has arrived. I'm off to Chicago and then Grand Rapids on pre-pub tour. The folks at Shaye Areheart Books and Random House are gracious enough -- and excited enough-- to send me out to meet with booksellers in advance of the publication of Tethered. I will get to meet with folks from Lake Forest Books, 57th Street & Seminary Coop, Centuries and Sleuths, Schuler's, Borders, and many more.

We'll have lovely dinners arranged by the lovelier regional sales rep and we'll have the chance to talk books. Imagine, just imagine, sitting down with people who care as much about words as you do. Who've devoted their lives to bringing people good stories by favorite authors. It will be delightful.

I'll let you know everything when I get back. And if you happen to live in either of these fine cities and see me gawking along, give me a wave. I'll be the one floating down the street.

Acknowledge

By Amy MacKinnon

(I spoke too soon. The "good news" I intended to share with you today will have to wait just a bit longer. But as soon as I can open the circle, you'll be the first to know.)

Writing is often described as a solitary life and it's true. We sit alone for hours at a time, living in worlds only we know, separating ourselves from our true lives that are inhabited by real people (though it's difficult to believe our characters don't truly exist and you'll never convince me they don't). We must be alone.

But writing a book is not a completely solitary venture. If you're fortunate, you have a writers' group like mine with whom you can share your worlds. Then there are the people who've helped you along the way, either knowingly or not. Count them up and you may be surprised by the number of hands who've pulled you along.

When you needed to know what type of police-issued firearm your local officer carries you made the trip to the department and someone welcomed you, gave you a tour of the station and an ear-full of cop talk. How it informed your dialogue and the details of your setting. Or perhaps it was a hospital, school, rehab center, or in my case, funeral parlor. Someone gave you the gift of expertise and even more valuable, their time.

There are those who may never know how they've influenced your writing either through their own, in an interview, or both. For me, Terry Gross and Jonathan Franzen, Julia Glass and Amanda Eyre Ward, Alice Sebold and Stephen King, Karen Fisher and Michael Lowenthal, Arthur Golden, Scott Heim, Betsy Lerner, Charles Frazier, and Carolyn See. I turned to them again and again to guide me.

Who was the first person to believe in your writing? For me, it was an English teacher my junior year of high school. Roberta Erickson was elegantly beautiful and shared my passion for words. I so looked forward to her classes. Deconstructing Shakespeare and complex sentences were a joy. She encouraged me, took me aside to tell me I could write. She planted a seed that year, though it took years to grow. Later, three more people believed full-on I would one day publish a book: my children. Their support never faltered. Not once. Then along came the women of my writers' group and I had yet more unconditional support.

There were editors, too. I was a stay-at-home mom with absolutely no writing experience when I solicited my first newspaper assignment. I'll never know what made the editor take a chance on me, but if she hadn't I doubt I would ever have pursued a book. Another editor gave me the chance to do a monthly column and another a national platform on the op-ed page. They each gave me the gift of allowing me to try.

And so many, many more.

Enough family and friends, strangers and officials to overflow my office and fill my downstairs. When you consider it, writing a book isn't as solitary a venture as is so often described. Not one bit.

So what brings this all up? Last week, I wrote my acknowledgment. It's something I've long dreamed of -- you have too. Drafts were started as a diversion from the doubt of wondering if that manuscript would ever be read by anyone else. It fueled me to think there had to be some way, some small gesture I could make to repay others' faith in me. Perhaps more than any other part of the publishing process, writing the acknowledgment has been the most satisfying aspect of all.

I did leave out one person, though, and I feel terrible. I intend to check if it's too late to revise, I hope it's not. But if so, let me present it here. That someone who encouraged me soon after I revised my manuscript, who was there when I began querying, celebrated when I hooked my dream agent, who supported me through the dark days, and then shared my tears when the book finally sold is you. You.

Thank you.

Identity and Mushrooms

Posted by Lynne

It took me a long time to assert my identity as a writer. Parenting articles placed in magazines or online, even a monthly column in a regional parenting paper, didn't quite hold enough weight to stake my claim.

Believe it or not, in the early months after Negotiation Generation sold to Penguin, I still felt others would perceive me more as an expert with a book than a writer. Eighteen days after my parenting book hit the shelves, my novel sold to St Martin's. And within minutes my definition of myself included writer.

As holiday gatherings begin to litter the calendar--with some having already taken place--I realize I'm a novice at declaring myself a writer, an author. My social repartee is stilted, my responses to the predictable questions and remarks weak and unpracticed.

At a recent party, I went on for ten minutes, giving a detailed retort to the comment: "You should get on Oprah." I explained the way it happens and how many people each year jockey for a coveted book pick. I lightly offered that getting on Oprah was as likely as getting struck by lightning.

Muse of this blog, the dear Carolyn See writes in her marvelous book, Making a Literary Life that writers must become adept at saying thank you for compliments and no kidding for anything else he or she doesn't choose to discuss at length.

While I've used both phrases a lot in the last few months, I still enjoy conversations about writing and publishing and do choose to have them in social situations. But I'm here to warn you about the trap you might fall into if you too wade into discussions unprepared.

What in the world would you say to the following--

I have an idea for a book. Maybe you could write it for me.

I've written a chapter of my book. Will you read it and tell me if it's good?

I only read happy books. Is yours a happy book?

Can you give me your agent's/editor's phone number? If she likes your work, she'll love mine.

Who will play the lead when your book is turned into a movie?

I know a writer who self-published. She's making a ton of money--why would you want an agent?

Lengthy explanations and oodles of education don't cut it in the face of these faulty perceptions, these comments that show a limited understanding of the muse and the marketplace. My answers are getting better day-by-day, because I don't feel an obligation to set things straight. I chat, I smile and I commit to nothing. I choose instead to offer resources. I recommend this blog and the ones listed in our links section to the right. I tell the emerging writer about books that changed my writing life, those that nurture equal parts inspiration and perspiration.

If the person I'm chatting with is truly at the beginning stages of the journey toward a writing life, he or she will do the necessary homework, put in the time. I'd be humbled to part of the process that encourages this writer to walk further down the road. Yet if the conversation is as important to the person as the ingredients in stuffed mushrooms, I've made it nothing more than it is--party conversation.

I've worked hard to be able to say I'm a writer. While I'm committed to showing other writers the way, I know it must be earned. Each writer must walk her own path--no kidding.

Care to share how you claim your identity as a writer, while at the same time chit chat about the writing life?

Ins and Outs of Book Tour

By Lynne

While there is debate over the worthiness of a book tour due to its expense, low turn outs and minimal impact on book sales, I'm of the opinion that there is an enormous benefit to connecting with readers, creating word of mouth book sales and doing whatever I can to let readers know about my book. And the teacher in me can't resist sharing my tips for making book tour successful--and fun.

Before you hit the road

• Confirm the details of the event with your contact at the agency or book store. Offer to send along anything else they need to promote the event.
  
• Plan to stay with friends or family to reduce any expenses you'll incur. (Reality check: Your publisher isn't likely to pay for the full tour.) This will also increase the likelihood that they will come to your events and bring friends.
• Pack clothes in the same color family and those that don't wrinkle--this allows you to pack light and sleep as late as possible because you don't have to get up to iron.
• Bring along healthy snacks so you won't be hungry or forced to eat junk or fast food.
• Ask a friend or family member to check your email and phone messages while you are away. You won't always have the time or the WiFi connection to do it yourself.
• Leave a copy of your itinerary for your family so they know when they can call you or expect you to call them.
  

On the Road

• Always arrive early for any book signings or events; being late is unfair to the people who organized your events and it makes you begin your talk stressed.
• Have water and mints available for the "dry throat while speaking" phenomenon.
  
• Be prepared for anything. No promotion, no books, no turnout? While I haven't run into these things yet, thank goodness, I'm prepared for anything. Don't take it personally; even though this means the world to you, to others it may be just another day in the life.
• People want to meet and talk with you--make the time to answer questions, personalize your signing and thank them for coming or buying a book.
  
• Be positive and smile, even if you're exhausted. Word of mouth happens when you write a good book and make a nice impression.
• Every single person you meet is important. Whether you talk with one person or one hundred people, each one made the time to come and hear your message--be grateful.
  
• Stop in at bookstores in the area you're visiting. Bring bookmarks to leave at the stores where you sign stock and an over-sized postcard of your book information at places where your book isn't on shelves. (This drop in method of book tour has resulted in several events for me--Read how to, by J. A. Konrath)
• Always read a snippet of your book, even if your audience is small. People want to know what they will be buying. (In my case, I ask participants the ages of their children and their biggest struggles and then read a section that would appeal to them.)
• Politely ask staff if you can place your books in various--appropriate--places within the bookstore. If you are nice and did a good job at the event, they are more than pleased to give you prime real estate. And don't forget to offer to sign remaining copies.
  
• Sleep, eat well, walk where and when you can, and limit alcohol. Book tour is nothing short of exhausting--staying healthy is critical to finishing strong.
  

After you return home

• Write thank you notes to organizers. Relationship building is key and it's just good manners to thank anyone who's assisted you on your journey.
• Catch up on email and phone messages. Leaving them longer than a few days isn't good for business or friendships.
• Squeeze in time off or more sleep before you head out again. (Can you tell I love my bed?)
  

For those of you who have recently published, please share your tips for a successful book tour. And feel free to post questions in the comment section today. I'm happy to share more details.

Great Answers to Interviewer Questions

by Hannah

I've been ruminating, not unlike a cow. I read a great interview with Robert B. Parker in the Sunday magazine, and three points he made keep returning to me, all on topics that have come up within these posts as well as within the Writers Group on the side. I thought I'd share to see how you feel about them. If nothing else, he offers great examples of how to answer interviewer questions when doing the promotional dance.

First, asked whether he ever gets bored with his character, Spenser (remember Robert Urich as Spenser for Hire twenty years ago?), Parker says yes and no. He says he doesn't get bored with Spenser, but with writing five days a week, 50 weeks a year. (Only two weeks' vacation?) My favorite part: "Writers love distraction. All that crap about going off into the woods and writing all day? I don't buy it. I can't wait for the mailman to come. Your phone call has made my morning." That he feels that way makes me smile; at the same time, his answer highlights how success does come when you push beyond that awful urge to be distracted, day in and day out, year after year.

His second interesting point was his answer to a question on the art of writing suspense. "The art of writing a mystery is just the art of writing fiction... you create interesting characters and put them into interesting circumstances and figure out how to get them out of them. No one is usually surprised at the outcome of my books." Interesting characters, interesting situations, get them out. Bingo. And to look at Parker's last point from the opposite angle, what does it mean to be totally surprised at the end of a book? Do we really want the end to be a surprise, or do we want to be pleasantly surprised at how we got to the end?

Finally, the interviewer asks Parker why he doesn't read anything written about him or his books. "I don't think it's good for me. I'm doing the best I can... The material that's written about me is useful for biographers, and reviews are useful for readers. They're not useful for me. I like the Hemingway line: If you believe the good stuff they write about you, you have to believe the bad. Also, the bad stuff hurts my feelings."

Words of wisdom. It is important to have readers you trust, and to trust the readers you choose, which are not necessarily the same things. Once it's out in the wide world, if you truly have done the best you can, all you can do is to continue to trust your readers. Then get back to that desk, push away those distractions, and write about interesting characters in interesting situations. So let's get writing!