Getting Published and Keeping the Whole Thing Going!

By Laura Childs, New York Times Bestselling Author of BROKEN BONE CHINA, releasing 3-5-19

Getting published – breaking into The Wonderful World of Seeing your Book on a Bookstore Shelf – is the one thing I get quizzed about constantly. How did I do it? Why did I do it? How long did it take? The truth is, it took 20 long years spent in advertising, writing TV, radio, and print ads, and heading my own ad agency, for me to finally get my nerve up.

When I did finally start writing, I hashed out screenplays evenings and weekends. These were crazy, high concept scripts like Beverly Hills Trashman (garbage collector woos wealthy socialite) and The Cheddar Cat (ad guy talks to an imaginary cat from his childhood). But after I’d written four screenplays, and Hollywood producers hadn’t come knocking on my door, I set that dream aside and did my own tough marketing analysis. That’s when I realized that only a hundred or so feature films are produced each year, but thousands of novels are released. Suffice it to say I immediately switched gears and began writing mysteries.

My very first mystery was Death by Darjeeling, a Tea Shop Mystery. It was released at a time when, no pun intended, tea was suddenly hot again. Tea shops were springing up like errant mushrooms, women were digging out their grandmother’s good china, and churches and women’s groups began hosting fancy teas. Basically, the slot machine went bing bong bing and cherries and oranges popped up. Once that happened, I kept writing and writing (occasionally coming up for food and air) until just a few years later I found myself writing three different mystery series (The Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbooking Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries). And they were regularly climbing onto the New York Times Bestseller List!

Writing three series meant tons of hard work, but it also built up a backlist faster than you could say Sorry, dear husband, I have to write again tonight. Creating three cozy mystery series also meant I could do some savvy cross-pollinating. That is, my newly released books always included sample chapters and synopses of upcoming books.

Did this multiple-book-and-backlist strategy work? Boom! Yes, absolutely. Did it make me a little crazy? Funny you should ask. Because when you write three series you also need to market the bejeebers out of them. You have to work your fanny off to get each and every book noticed by booksellers. You need to have book release parties (serving tea and tea sandwiches, no less), avail yourself to book clubs, and give talks at libraries. Of course I send out beaucoup press releases, run my own paid advertising, do radio interviews, and write guest blogs like crazy.

It’s a constant juggling act. There are dozens of moving parts and lots of evening and weekends spent trying to figure out delicious new ways to kill someone – and make it happen in the very first chapter without pages and pages of buildup. Because that’s what today’s time-sensitive readers want. A rip-roaring opening that’s scary and quirky, with a plot that speeds along like a bullet train. After 45 books, do I think I can keep this thing in the air for a few more years? Gosh, I hope so. Because I absolutely love it!

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Laura Childs is the New York Times, USA Today, and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbooking Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. Recently, Book Riot named her mysteries to their list of “25 of the All Time Best Cozy Mystery Series.” In her previous life Laura was CEO of her own marketing firm, authored several screenplays, and produced a reality TV show. She is married to Dr. Bob, a professor of Chinese art history, enjoys travel, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs. Find out more about the author and her mysterie at www.laurachilds.com or become a Facebook friend

@LauraChildsAuthor

Get Out There and Be a Tiger

By Laura Childs

As an author who writes three successful mystery series, I’m asked repeatedly to share a few of my writing tips. And my answer is always a resounding yes.

Because writing a book – and getting it published – is a brass ring (not gold, just brass) that’s out there for absolutely anyone to grab hold of. But be aware, there are a couple of things to be mindful of: You need to have a clear-cut vision in your head. And you must be utterly dogged in your pursuit.

Put another way, you have to be fearless.

Yes, I know that concept can be difficult for many people. We’re human, after all, so we’re all imbued with a modicum of self-doubt which can masquerade as modesty, timidity, or analysis paralysis.

Here’s the gut-wrenching thing when it comes to writing. You have to absolutely, totally believe in yourself and the book you have inside of you. Because if you don’t have faith, nobody else will either.

So let’s say you’ve noodled around countless ideas and finally settled on one that you think might make an absolutely brilliant novel. But perhaps you’re also experiencing fits and starts when putting pen to paper. Here’s a trick – start with a single paragraph, a kind of elevator test that succinctly explains the gist of your book. Now expand that paragraph into two pages. Is your story starting to gel? Is your concept getting a little more interesting? Do you see a few more possibilities for plot lines and characters? Now see if you can expand those two pages to thirty pages. This will entail writing a flushed-out outline that, along the way, will probably yield some sample dialogue, sub-plots, new characters, and descriptions.

Along the way, you should also be taking a writing course. Try to find one that’s taught by a real author who (ideally) specializes in your genre. Someone who’s been vetted and published by an actual publishing house. You could also ask this person for a critique.

You see where we’re going here? You’re learning while you write, and getting professional feedback. Which will eventually land the ball squarely in your court. Because now that you’ve got an outline and some newly acquired writing skills, you’ve got to seriously buckle down and write your novel. This could take several months, it could take years, depending on your circumstances. (My first novel took three years because I was still running an ad agency.) Please don’t get disheartened along the way – this is the writing process that we all go through. If you begin to experience serious doubt or burnout, set your manuscript aside for a few weeks. When you finally go back to it I promise it won’t be nearly as bad as you think.

Once your novel is finished, do not pop that bottle of champagne, do not think that all the hard work is over. Now you have to find an agent. You need to hi-ho yourself to a writer’s conference – mystery, romance, whatever, and pitch your little heart out to anyone who’ll listen. Again, put your self-consciousness on the back burner and sing and dance the heck out of that manuscript! 

You also need to mine your friends, business colleagues, and acquaintances for publishing contacts. When I was trying to sell my first thriller, I had an advertising friend who put me in touch with Mary Higgins Clark. Mary advised me to attend the Mystery Writers of American Symposium and, when I arrived, took me by the hand and introduced me to a dozen publishers, agents, and editors. I also worked the room like crazy and passed out little postcards that showed my book’s cover and featured a short synopsis. In the end I connected with a terrific agent who wasn’t able to sell my thriller, but did get me a three-book deal that jump-started my Tea Shop Mystery series – and my entire fiction writing career.

Thanks so much for reading this. Now go ahead and write that book so you can get out there and be a tiger!

Love,

Laura Childs

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Laura Childs is the New York Times, USA Today, and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbooking Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. Recently, Book Riot named her mysteries to their list of “25 of the All Time Best Cozy Mystery Series.” In her previous life Laura was CEO of her own marketing firm, authored several screenplays, and produced a reality TV show. She is married to Dr. Bob, a professor of Chinese art history, enjoys travel, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs. Released December 4^th – Laura’s new Cackleberry Club Mystery Eggs on Ice! Connect with Laura Childs at www.laurchilds.com or on Facebook at Laura Childs Author

The Art of Creating Character

By Gerry Schmitt

Of all the ingredients that go into writing a novel, I think character may be the most critical. An engaging plot and dynamic storyline are absolutely critical, too, since your main purpose is to entertain readers. But job one is to create a main character – your protagonist – that readers will either love, root for, or identify with. After all, great characters not only make us think, feel, and see things differently, they help up fall in love with the story.

If you’re writing a mystery or thriller, which is my specialty, it’s even an advantage to have a character that’s somewhat flawed, that reveals a touch of human frailty. And as your story progresses, your main character never has to evolve into a perfect human being, they just have to possess a good moral compass. You want your main character to be angry, outraged, or upset enough to take up the cause of going after the antagonist/killer and solving the mystery. Your character’s desire for final justice can be a powerful engine that drives the entire story.

When I begin writing a novel, I develop a loose outline on a large sheet of paper. I jot out notes for my first grab-my-reader-by-the-throat scene as well as a bang-up conclusion for my final chapter. And then I start adding secondary characters. I create scenes where my protagonist begins to rub elbows with various other characters, any number of which could be suspects as well as the antagonist/killer himself. These scenes also give me prime opportunities to sprinkle in clues along the way, as well as a few red herrings. When my paper outline starts to feel fairly gelled, I transfer it to my computer and tighten it up. Sometimes I even take that initial outline to around eighty pages. Then, I go back to chapter one and start writing. I judiciously put in character names and descriptions. But I never do a lot of back story on my characters. It’s always better to let their personalities be revealed by their actions. And sometimes, as you’re typing along, those pesky characters will begin to come alive and you end up with a little bit of magic on your page!

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Gerry Schmitt is the author of Shadow Girl, an Afton Tangler Thriller, and Little Girl Gone, the first book in the series. Writing under her pen name Laura Childs, she is the New York Times bestselling author of more than forty mysteries that include the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbooking Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. Her books have also been on the USA Today and Publisher’s Weekly bestseller lists. Gerry is the former CEO of her own marketing firm, has won dozens of TV and radio awards, and written and produced two reality TV shows. Social Media:  Author Website www.laurachilds.com Facebook laurachildsauthor