1. Are you going to quit your job and just write books?
This is probably the question I get most often, and my writer friends are laughing right now. Reading for pleasure is on the decline, and overall reading ability is declining with it. In the era of binge-watching Netflix, social media, and youtube at your fingertips, books can’t keep up. Even if they could, there’s very little money in book publishing for all but the handful of super successful authors. I was very grateful to earn enough with the sales of my last book to buy a new laptop and pay for a few nights in a hotel as I traveled for book promotions. So, no. I will happily be keeping my day job.
- Which character are you? (or worse: Am I in your book?)
unprotected was fiction, as is my new novel unattached. Neither of the main characters is me. The social workers, cops, foster parents, and attorneys in the book aren’t based on anyone I know. And the clients in the book are definitely not based on any of my former clients. Data privacy laws are strict and I didn’t want to do anything that would put me in HIPAA jail.
- How did you come up with the story?
I never know how to answer this. I wish I could say that I had a grand plan with an elaborate outline, but I didn’t have anything of the sort. It took me 12 years to write unprotected and three years to write unattached, and both times I had only a vague idea of where I was going with the story. The fun times were when an idea spilled out, landed on the page, and worked.
- Do you enjoy book signings?
I will say this as graciously as I can: no. I expected book signings to be exciting, but the truth is that I feel like the salespeople at mall kiosks selling perfume or cell phones. Book store customers know what they are looking for, and they recognize that I’m there to sell them something they never intended to buy. Honestly that’s fine with me. We all work hard for our money, and if someone doesn’t want to buy my book then I don’t want him to. But publishing is a business, so selling books is part of the deal. Most of the time at book signings people avoid eye contact and shuffle by my little table at the front of the store. At one of my signings, another author was there with 3 large boxes full of books. He huffed at me that he would sell out in two hours, and the jerk was right. He approached (accosted) everyone who entered the store saying, “Are you a mystery reader? Do you enjoy reading about local settings?” Some people wandered away, but his pushiness worked as his pile dwindled while few of my books moved. So I am learning to stretch myself, plaster on an uncomfortable smile, and have awkward conversations in order to sell a few books.
- I’ve always wanted to write a book….do you think I could get published?
I have been surprised by how many people have confessed to me that they have a secret, half-written novel on a laptop at home. Usually when people ask me this question they are stuck either because they aren’t sure how to finish, or they don’t think what they have written is good enough. My answer is always the same (borrowed from Dory in the movie Finding Nemo): Just keep writing!
For most of us amateur writers, the fear of it not being good enough is what keeps us from moving forward. I’ll be honest: there are parts of both of my books that make me cringe. I am well aware that I will never be known for my lyrical prose, and a writing instructor would put her red pen to work with my overuse of adverbs. Lyrical prose was never my goal. I write because I have stories in my head that I want to get on paper, and the process of writing is what I truly enjoy.
And in that spirit, stay tuned. My second novel, unattached, will be released in September, 2015 by North Star Press.
kristinleejohnson 