tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12971042787279604672024-02-07T15:07:44.499-08:00Bestseller Story bestsellerstoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02692067592439974747noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1297104278727960467.post-58878824246876304422016-09-14T19:53:00.000-07:002018-04-24T05:06:44.360-07:00INTERVIEW 16- KIRTIDA GAUTAM INTERVIEWS SAMIRA AHMED<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: normal;"><b>SAMIRA AHMED</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.samiraahmed.com/" target="_blank">SAMIRA AHMED</a></b> was born in Bombay, India, and grew up in Batavia, Illinois, in a house that smelled like fried onions, spices, and potpourri. She currently resides in the Chicago area. She’s lived in Vermont, New York City, and Kauai, where she spent a year searching for the perfect mango.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A graduate of the University of Chicago, she taught high school English for seven years, worked to create over 70 small high schools in New York City, and fought to secure billions of additional dollars to fairly fund public schools throughout New York State. She’s appeared in the New York Times, New York Daily News, Fox News, NBC, NY1, NPR, and on BBC Radio. Her creative non-fiction has appeared in Jaggery Lit, The Fem, Entropy, and Claudius Speaks. <i>Swimming Lessons</i>, her debut novel, will be published in Spring 2018 by SoHo Teen (an imprint of SoHo Press). You can follow her on Twitter </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18.4px;"><a href="https://twitter.com/sam_aye_ahm" target="_blank">@sam_aye_ahm</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18.4px; text-indent: -0.25in;">Give the readers some </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i style="line-height: 18.4px; text-indent: -0.25in;">Swimming Lessons</i><span style="line-height: 18.4px; text-indent: -0.25in;"> :)</span></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18.4px; text-indent: -0.25in;"> What inspired you to write your debut novel?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18.4px;">Actual swimming lessons! At least in part. I wrote a piece for a personal essay class I was taking called “Indians Can’t Swim”—a humorous take on my love-hate relationship with the beach, my failed attempts at learning to swim and finally doing so when I was older. It got me thinking about navigating cultures as a teen, challenging yourself to do something that scares you, and defying expectations.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18.4px;">Those ideas gave birth to Maya, my main character, a high school senior who does all three.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18.4px; text-indent: -0.25in;">Tell us about an unforgettable moment that took place while you were writing </span><i style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Swimming Lessons</span></i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18.4px; text-indent: -0.25in;">? Something that will stay with you for the rest of your life.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18.4px;">Typing the last sentence of the very first draft of my book. </span><i style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.28px; line-height: 18.4px; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">Swimming Lessons</span></i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18.4px;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> is the first book I’ve ever written and I began it as a challenge to myself. I was curious if I could take a little seed of an idea and build a world around it. That first draft was very, very rough, but finishing it felt like an important personal accomplishment. I really knew very little about publishing or finding an agent and really wrote the book for myself. I was on vacation, sitting in a sunny back porch in Napa, light streaming in the windows and wondering how to end the story. An image came to me and I grabbed my computer and got it all down as I’d imagined it. Thousands of words from that first draft were altered, edited out, but that last paragraph I wrote is still the last paragraph of the story.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18.4px; text-indent: -0.25in;">Who is your first reader and critic?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18.4px;">My husband. Even before the story is a story, when it’s just a seed, he knows about it. He’s my sounding board, voice of reason, cheerleader, and light when I need it most.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18.4px; text-indent: -0.25in;">Tell us about your journey of finding a literary agent.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18.4px;">It was the Tweet heard round the world! (Well, my world at least.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I entered <a href="http://www.brenda-drake.com/pitmad/" target="_blank">#PitMatch</a>, the brainchild of Jessica Sinsheimer and <a href="https://twitter.com/brendadrake" target="_blank">Brenda Drake</a>. My literary cupid, <a href="https://twitter.com/lauratims" target="_blank">Laura Tims</a>, matched me with <a href="http://ericsmithrocks.com/" target="_blank">Eric Smith</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here’s my Tweet & Eric’s response: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://twitter.com/sam_aye_ahm" target="_blank">@sam_aye_ahm</a>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wants to make films & kiss boys—her Muslim parents forbid both. Will a terrorist & Islamophobia shatter her dreams? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://twitter.com/ericsmithrocks" target="_blank">@ericsmithrocks:</a> *<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">breaks mouse clicking like button so hard*<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I sent him my query and manuscript. Four days later Eric offered representation and here we are. Social media for the win!</span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18.4px; text-indent: -0.25in;">Can you give the aspiring writers any advice of what they should do during the Query Process?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18.4px;">1.Your manuscript should not merely be finished, but revised and polished. Make it the best it can be.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">2. Do your research. Query Tracker, MSWL, Query Shark, Writer’s Digest, agent blogs, and literary agency websites. These are some of the websites you should be looking into to research the agents who might be good fits for your book. Learn the querying guidelines for each agent (they vary!). I researched agents obsessively before sending out even a single query.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">3. Unless you are entering a Twitter contest (they work, really! See my answer to #4), do not pitch on Twitter. Also, don’t pitch agents on their blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, or by accosting them at events.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">4. Follow agency guidelines.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">5. Be professional in all your interactions that includes social media. Publishing is a business. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">6. Be prepared for rejection. Everyone gets rejected. Rejections hurts, but try not to take it personally. Brush yourself off and query again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">7. Believe in yourself. Believe in your story. And do the work.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18.4px; text-indent: -0.25in;">Describe a day when you bless your heart for choosing your occupation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18.4px;">This is virtually every day for me. I still can’t believe that </span><i style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.28px; line-height: 18.4px; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">Swimming Lessons</span></i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18.4px;"> will be on the shelves. Any time a story idea comes to me and I jot it down and can let my imagination run with it, when I can give life to a character or a place, I feel incredibly fortunate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18.4px; text-indent: -0.25in;">Describe a day when you curse your brain for not stopping you from choosing your occupation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18.4px;">The day has not yet arrived and I hope it never does. Writing is essentially my third career after teaching and working in non-profit, so even long hours of revision feel like good work. But I will say editing and finding mistakes even after you’ve read a passage for what feels like the thousandth time, can be rather frustrating.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18.4px; text-indent: -0.25in;">If you have to make a movie of your life, what would it look like?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18.4px;">Lots of coffee and little sleep. Running around with my family, laughing. Random errands. An inordinate amount of pastries and fried food.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Me, staring out the window, scribbling ideas in a notebook with a Hi-Tec-C Pen, researching topics that might seem shady without any context. Re-reading passages from favorite short stories, poems, and novels.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Clearly, Idris Elba, Oscar Isaac, and Ryan Gosling will fight over the role of my love interest. Good luck, gentlemen.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;">Related Posts:</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;"><a href="http://bestsellerstory.blogspot.com/2016/08/one-on-one-with-liteary-agents-lauren.html" target="_blank">Kirtida Gautam one on one with Lauren Spieller</a></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;"><a href="http://bestsellerstory.blogspot.com/2016/08/interview-1-one-on-one-with-liteary.html" target="_blank">Kirtida Gautam one on one with Sara Megibow </a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://bestsellerstory.blogspot.com/2016/02/interview-5-kirtida-gautam-interviews.html" target="_blank">Kirtida Gautam interviews Karen Fortunati </a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://bestsellerstory.blogspot.com/2016/06/interview-14-kirtida-gautam-interviews.html" target="_blank">Kirtida Gautam interviews Eric Smith </a></span><br />
<a href="http://bestsellerstory.blogspot.com/2016/08/interview-15-kirtida-gautam-interviews.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Kirtida Gautam interviews </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 28.8px;">Olivia Rivers</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;">Kirtida Gautam is a clinical psychologist and an author. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;">Follow her on Twitter</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/KirtidaGautam" style="line-height: 27.6px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">@KirtidaGautam </a></span></span></div>
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bestsellerstoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02692067592439974747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1297104278727960467.post-77170104672143152302016-08-30T14:36:00.000-07:002018-04-24T05:06:36.851-07:00ONE ON ONE WITH LITERARY AGENTS: LAUREN SPIELLER <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lauren Spieller is an author and an assistant literary agent living in Brooklyn. Before joining Triada US, she worked in literary scouting, and as an editorial consultant. She is the author of </span></span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 26px;"><a href="http://www.laurenspieller.com/the-wanderings-of-dessa-rose/" target="_blank">The Wanderings of Dessa Rose</a>. </i></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">First an author, then an editor, and now a literary agent. You juggle many hats! Which role do you love the most and why?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">This may sound like lip service, but I truly love them all equally. I’ve always seen these roles as complimentary, almost like two (or three?) sides of the same coin. I’m particularly excited to be representing clients of my own, as my favorite part of working in publishing has always been helping authors shape their stories. I took great pleasure in doing so as an editorial consultant, and I continue to love it as an agent and a critique partner!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>“Without courage our fidelity becomes conformism,” says Rollo May. As a literary agent who seeks diverse voices, what is your take? Which rules of fidelity will you let your authors break?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is such an interesting question. I’d like to first provide the original quote for readers, which is a bit longer, and provides some context: “Courage is not a virtue of value among other personal values like love or fidelity. It is the foundation that underlies and gives reality to all other virtues and personal values. Without courage our love pales into mere dependency. Without courage our fidelity becomes conformism.”<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As far as I understand it, Rollo May was talking about the role courage plays in the development of one’s character. It’s the piece that elevates our virtues, that makes them not only possible, but </span><i style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">meaningful.</i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> So when he says “without courage our fidelity becomes conformism,” he’s suggesting that courage is the ingredient that makes us faithful and true to an idea because we </span><i style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">believe</i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> in faithfulness, not just because faithfulness is what is expected of us. This idea, applied to the role of diversity in literature, suggests that there are two approaches to including diverse voices: one of conformism, in which we feel it is important to include diverse voices because everyone else is doing it, and one of courage and fidelity, which suggests that we believe it is truly important to represent diverse voices and experiences because they have intrinsic value, and it is the </span><i style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">right</i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> thing to do.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I like to think that I am a part of this second camp. Then again, I would hope that all agents and editors fall into this camp when they say they welcome diverse voices, or #ownvoices. That might be naïve, but at the end of the day, I think what really matters is that we are giving diverse writers—be they people of color, LGBTQ, neurodiverse, or some other type of “minority”--the opportunity to share their stories, and their voices, with the world, regardless of why we’re doing it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As for which “rules” I’m willing to let an author break, that’s a harder question. I am particularly invested in finding #ownvoices writers, which is to say, writers who have lived the experiences they are writing about. But I also understand that research is a wonderful tool, and done right, can produce a story full of excellent representation. Even then, however, I am a big believer in sensitivity reads and ongoing research, and it’s important for writers to recognize that their work will—and should—be critiqued and discussed, even after it is published. That’s how we all learn and grow.<i><u></u><u></u></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>If you could go back in time and say something to your 10-years younger self, what would the message be?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I’d tell her to skip the LSAT classes, because she doesn’t actually want to go to law school. Those classes were expensive!<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">If you could give one piece of advice to writers, what would it be?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I’d tell them to </span><i style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">read read read</i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, especially books in their genre/age category that have been published in the last five years</span><i style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Books are the best writing class there out there, and the best way to learn to write something for a specific audience is to </span><i style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">read</i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> something for that audience.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Describe a day when you curse your brain for not stopping you from choosing your occupation.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There are days when my reading is pilling up, and all I want to do is watch a Netflix marathon of Law & Order SVU. But I’ve learned to get my reading done, and then set aside a few hours each night, or a full day if I can manage it, for binge TV watching/time with friends/etc. It’s important to refill the well of creativity and energy once in a while!<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Today was a day like that! This morning I spent a few hours editing Mary Widdick’s amazing Psychological Thriller, which is a pure pleasure. I also had coffee with a friend in the industry, and then read a few chapters of a manuscript I’m considering for representation. This evening I’m having a drink with a fellow agent, and then I’ll dive back into Mary’s novel. Not a bad day. Not bad at all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">TriadaUS Assistant <span name="searchHitInReadingPane">Literary</span> <span name="searchHitInReadingPane">Agent</span> </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span name="searchHitInReadingPane">Lauren</span><wbr></wbr> <span name="searchHitInReadingPane">Spieller</span> has</span><span style="background-color: white;"> a background in <span name="searchHitInReadingPane">literary </span>scouting and editorial consulting. She has a sharp editorial eye, and is passionate about author advocacy. </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span name="searchHitInReadingPane">Lauren</span> is seeking Middle Grade and Young Adult fiction, as well as commercial Adult fiction and non-fiction. </span><span style="background-color: white;">Whatever the age category or genre, <span name="searchHitInReadingPane">Lauren</span> is passionate about finding diverse voices. Visit </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.triadaus.com/&source=gmail&ust=1472678086287000&usg=AFQjCNGbz4kc6JUFM-p9kUVCubWYJudTaw" href="http://www.triadaus.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">www.triadaus.com</a><span style="background-color: white;"> for her full wishlist, and follow her on Twitter </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://twitter.com/laurenspieller" target="_blank"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f5f8fa; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">@</span><span class="u-linkComplex-target" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f5f8fa; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: 14px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none !important;">laurenspieller</span></a><span id="goog_334083016"></span><span id="goog_334083017"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span style="background-color: white;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;">Related Posts:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;"><a href="http://bestsellerstory.blogspot.com/2016/08/interview-1-one-on-one-with-liteary.html" target="_blank">Kirtida Gautam one on one with Sara Megibow </a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://bestsellerstory.blogspot.com/2016/02/interview-5-kirtida-gautam-interviews.html" target="_blank">Kirtida Gautam interviews Karen Fortunati </a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://bestsellerstory.blogspot.com/2016/06/interview-14-kirtida-gautam-interviews.html" target="_blank">Kirtida Gautam interviews Eric Smith </a></span><br />
<a href="http://bestsellerstory.blogspot.com/2016/08/interview-15-kirtida-gautam-interviews.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Kirtida Gautam interviews </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 28.8px;">Olivia Rivers</span></a><br />
<a href="http://bestsellerstory.blogspot.com/2016/06/interview-13-kirtida-gautam-interviews.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Kirtida Gautam interviews </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.5px; line-height: 21.125px;">Marieke Nijkamp </span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;">Kirtida Gautam is a clinical psychologist, screenplay writer, and an author. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;">Follow her on Twitter</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/KirtidaGautam" style="line-height: 27.6px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">@KirtidaGautam </a></span></span></div>
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bestsellerstoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02692067592439974747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1297104278727960467.post-68102588657325254052016-08-26T12:14:00.000-07:002018-04-24T05:06:20.497-07:00ONE ON ONE WITH LITERARY AGENTS: SARA MEGIBOW<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 18.4px;">ONE ON ONE WITH LITERARY AGENTS</span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">SARA MEGIBOW</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18.4px;">To have Sara Megibow here for this interview is a joy I can't describe in words. Sara is one of the most special people in my cyber life. Back in January 2016, when I started Query Process, she was the first literary agent I started to follow on social media. She was the first literary agent who replied to my Direct Message on Twitter. And I was like, OMG, literary agents actually reply to messages! She was the first literary agent who very promptly, within 3 days, replied to my query letter for my second book of Yin Yang Series. And requested me for the partial manuscript. She rejected the manuscript, and now I clearly understand why. But the feeling it generated in me was unforgettable. I danced on <i>Something Big</i> song of Shawn Mendes. It's like a Yogi is trying to find the God and sees the first glimpse of Him. It might take Yogi years to reach his goal, but now he knows, it's TRUTH. It was that kind of feeling. The process works! And therefore, I am so happy that she is the first literary agent I am interviewing for my <i>One on One With Literary Agents</i> interview section on Bestseller Story blog. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Kirtida: Hi Sara, first thanks so much for taking out time for this interview. I am an author from India. Back home, we hardly hear about literary agent’s role in publishing a book. There are few agents, but as most of the publishing houses, including Big 5 of India accept unsolicited manuscripts, authors approach the publishing houses directly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Only after I moved to USA, I realized the extremely important role literary agents play in publishing industry. And to be honest, now I understand why there is a much better quality control of books in USA. The literary agents with their razor sharp eyes and knack for picking books that have a Unique Selling Point do bring a lot on the table. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #bf9000;">Tell the readers what is the best way to approach literary agents? Is querying the only way? And what is the best way to approach Query process?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sara: Thanks Kirtida! Yes, the process of querying a literary agent can be overwhelming and opaque – I’ve worked in publishing for over 10 years and queries are still one of those things about which I get the most questions from writers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">One important thing to remember is that my week is broken down like this: 95% of my time is spent on my current clients – shopping their books, negotiating contracts, selling subsidiary rights, etc. Only 5% of each week is spent reading queries and/or sample pages. My mom still thinks I sit around with a mug of coffee and read books all day while nothing could be further from the truth!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Another important thing to remember is that my query slush pile is not filled with junk. The queries I see are very good. Publishing is incredibly competitive, though, so I’m looking for queries that represent something truly exceptional – a book that demonstrates superior craft and a story that I fall head-over-heels in love with. Queries that get a “no thank you” are still good and the writer should feel proud of themselves for their hard work.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here’s my process: I receive roughly 25,000 queries per year. If the query demonstrates superior writing and a unique pitch then I ask to read the first 50 pages of the manuscript. From 25,000 queries I ask for 800-900 of these sample pages. If the sample pages are amazing to the point that I Just Can’t Stop Reading, I ask to read the full manuscript. Last year I read 63 full manuscripts and I’m on track to read about 45 this year. After reading the full manuscript I either pass or offer representation and I only offer representation if I absolutely love a book AND have a strong strategy for making money for the author on that book. I’ve passed on books that I know will make money but that I just don’t love and conversely I’ve passed on books that I love but I don’t know how to make money on them. In 2015 I signed 4 new clients and in 2016 I’ve (so far) signed 7 new clients. Yes, the odds are staggering but in 10+ years in publishing I still find the query process to be the most effective in terms of finding new clients. The vast majority of my clients came from the query slush pile.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18.4px;">Some of my most recent clients include:</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.4px;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Margaret Rogerson, author of THE GREEN WELL – a young adult fantasy that sold to Simon & Schuster this past June.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.margaretrogerson.com/">http://www.margaretrogerson.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Frederick Turner, author of APOCALYPSE – an epic science fiction poem that sold to Baen Books over the summer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://frederickturnerpoet.com/">http://frederickturnerpoet.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Spencer Ellsworth, author of A RED PEACE – the first in a science fiction space opera trilogy that sold to TOR just last week. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://spencerellsworth.com/">http://spencerellsworth.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #bf9000;">Kirtida: Tell us something behind the scenes about being a literary agent and your relationship to books. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sara: I’ve always been a reader and lover of bookstores and libraries. Curled up on the couch with a good book is my happy place.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Something behind-the-scenes. Hmm. My husband is a musician so I try to be the kind of agent I’d want his band to have. I communicate with my clients frequently and celebrate every success with them. Publishing is a hard business – just like music is a hard business – so I want to be the kind of agent that helps my clients feel supported and happy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18.4px;"><span style="color: #bf9000;">Sara: Tell us something behind the scenes about being a writer looking for a literary agent.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18.4px;">Kirtida: This is the first time I am answering a question on this blog. Feels different :) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I am less than a year old in publishing industry, learning the rules of the game. In the USA industry operates differently and much more effectively. I spend most of my non-writing time studying the industry. And so far, it has been great learning. There are days when I feel despondent and then my husband cuss his Maker why he came home for dinner. But most of the days, query process is fun. Part of the game. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18.4px;">I meet a lot of writers, who are extremely helpful. I meet literary agents online, finding out how book business works. I attend writer’s conference, another thing I never saw in India. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">What I learnt early, thanks to Carly Watters’s book </span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Published-21st-Century-Literary-ebook/dp/B00FRU4M5C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472235768&sr=8-1&keywords=getting+published+in+21st+century" style="font-weight: normal;" target="_blank">Getting Published in the 21st Century: Advice from a Literary Agent</a> </i><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">is that literary agents are real people who are as passionate about books as authors, if not more. And then I met some wonderful people, like you, on Twitter, who validated my belief that agents are vivid readers and die-hard book lovers. </span></span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Kirtida: Tell us about your most recent success story.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sara: To me, every book is a success story. My authors work so hard – putting blood, sweat and tears into each and every one of their books. From the moment they press “send” it’s our job to get those books into readers hands. The day I walk into a bookstore to buy a client’s book – that’s my favorite day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Still as you asked for a success story so here’s one for you…</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://twitter.com/KarenFortunati" target="_blank">Karen Fortunati</a> came to me via the query slush pile in early 2015 with <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Weight-Zero-Karen-Fortunati/dp/1101938897/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472235667&sr=8-1&keywords=weight+of+zero" target="_blank">The Weight of Zero</a></i> – a contemporary young adult novel with an intense and hopeful look at mental health issues. I asked to read the full manuscript right away, offered representation shortly thereafter and submitted it to the editor at Delacorte/ Penguin Random House on an exclusive that same week. Two weeks later we had an offer for publication and the book debuts in hard cover this fall – October 11, 2016.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This book has been a whirlwind! Karen is amazingly talented, hard working and brilliant – she’s a joy to represent and I can’t wait to get her book in readers’ hands. <a href="https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/karen-fortunati/the-weight-of-zero/" target="_blank"><i>The Weight of Zero</i> was featured in Seventeen Magazineand Kirkus reviewed it saying, “An honest, informative, and ultimatelyoptimistic novel about living with mental illness.</a>”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Weight of Zero and Karen’s debut as an author is a success story I’m proud to share. Follow her journey on her website:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://karenfortunati.com/">http://karenfortunati.com</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">(Kirtida: I have read the Advance Review Copy of <i>The Weight of Zero</i> and as a Clinical Psychologist, I have made it an agenda to recommend the novel to as many readers as I can reach. This book is THAT good. Entertaining, informative, emotional-- all at the same time.) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #bf9000;">Sara: Can you share a success story from your writing career so far?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Writing my debut novel <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29933340-iam16icanrape?ac=1&from_search=true" target="_blank"><i>#iAm16iCan</i></a> has been the most exhilarating experience of my writing life. My father Parukant Desai is a poet, professor of Hindi literature, and a literary critic with several awards and accolades, so literature was the dinning table discussion at our home. My poems were published in newspaper when I was 11 years old. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Later I went on to study Clinical Psychology and Dramatics. And followed it with a Diploma in Screenplay Writing from the most prestigious film school of India FTII, Pune. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was working for Indian Television channel ZEE TV writing popular TV show for a major production house when the idea of writing my novel #iAm16iCan POSSESSED me. It was inspired by a brutal gang rape that took place in Delhi in December 2012. I use the word possessed because the people around me can vouch that I was ghostly. The library of my house looked weird to my friends with so many books on rape. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In retrospect, I laugh at many of those things, but while I was writing the book, it was like I would sit in a restaurant with friends with a voice recorder. They are talking amongst themselves. I am talking to my characters. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">But I have never experienced something so extraordinary in my writing life before this book. And the best part, I wrote the novel thinking it’s a stand-alone. But there was one scene in the last chapter of the book that my most trusted Beta readers objected to. They said, the scene is good, but not part of the book. One of them suggested, I should write another book with that scene as the first scene. And that gave me my second novel. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">When I send the book out to journalist, fellow authors, and media people back in India, I received overwhelming response. Some major film personalities like Anjum Rajabali, a screenplay writer of blockbuster socio-political thriller movies, supported the book, and stood behind the cause. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Generally a novelist makes a novel, in my case, my novel made me a novelist. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I quitted my job, moved to USA with my husband, and plan to pursue my dream of getting published. So far, so good. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sara Megibow is a literary agent at kt literary, llc<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.ktliterary.com/">www.ktliterary.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">She represents authors who write middle grade, young adult, romance, science fiction and fantasy and will answer professional questions as time allows on twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/SaraMegibow" target="_blank">@SaraMegibow</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sales and clients are listed here:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/SaraMegibow/">http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/SaraMegibow/</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;">Related Post:</span></div>
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<a href="http://bestsellerstory.blogspot.com/2016/06/interview-13-kirtida-gautam-interviews.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Kirtida Gautam interviews </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.5px; line-height: 21.125px;">Marieke Nijkamp </span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;">Kirtida Gautam is a clinical psychologist and an author. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;">Follow her on Twitter</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/KirtidaGautam" style="line-height: 27.6px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">@KirtidaGautam </a></span></span></div>
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bestsellerstoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02692067592439974747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1297104278727960467.post-89801837174643228582016-08-22T15:00:00.000-07:002018-04-24T05:06:12.521-07:00INTERVIEW 15- KIRTIDA GAUTAM INTERVIEWS OLIVIA RIVERS <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">OLIVIA RIVERS</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 28.8px;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Olivia Rivers is a hybrid author of Young Adult fiction. Her works include the independently published “Tortured Elements” and “Duplicity” series, along with the traditionally published novel <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Tone-Deaf-Olivia-Rivers-ebook/dp/B01E2XN6DI/ref=la_B00AEU75IQ_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1471902368&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><i>Tone Deaf</i></a> (Skyhorse 2016.) She enjoys experimenting with new publishing technologies, and her online serials have received over 1,000,000 hits on Wattpad.com. When Olivia isn’t working as a writer, she’s a typical teen attending college in Northern California. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 28.8px;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Thank you Olivia for taking out time for this interview. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #bf9000;">When do you bless your heart for choosing the career of a writer?</span></span></b><span style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Every time I hear from a reader, I'm grateful I chose this career. Writing is a lonely craft, and when I’m holed away working on a manuscript for hours a day, it’s easy to forget how lively and lovely the book community is. So when I have readers reach out and tell me they enjoyed my work, it’s a truly wonderful feeling!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #bf9000;">When do you cuss your mind for choosing the career of a writer?</span></span></b><span style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It’s usually around the time I hit the seventh draft of a manuscript and realize I <i>still </i>have revisions to apply. At that point, I start cursing myself for not pursuing an easier career, like engineering or astrophysics. (Just kidding… Kind of.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #bf9000;">What is the most important quality in a writer that literary agents seek?</span></span></b><span style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I would say professionalism. Professional writers understand that publishing revolves around money and sales, just like any other industry. Yes, publishing professionals are passionate about art, but they also need to make money in order to survive. Being a professional writer means crafting high-quality books that can attract readers, and also acting in a business-like manner that will gain the respect of publishing houses.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #bf9000;">What should be the most important quality in a literary agent that writers should seek?</span></span></b><span style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Professionalism! I believe that writer-agent relationships should be mutually beneficial, and that both parties should be held to the same high standards. It's wonderful if an agent loves their clients' work, but that's not all that's necessary, in my opinion. Professional agents need to have a deep understanding of the publishing industry, have great contacts and relationships with editors, and know how to convince a publishing house that a manuscript is a good investment. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #bf9000;">Do you outline your novels? Does your characters surprise you by dismissing the outline, kindly share one experience that stayed with you.</span></span></b><span style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">No, I don’t outline. Personally, outlining makes my writing feel too stiff and strained. Of course, not outlining means I spend more time revising, but I don’t mind this. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of the most memorable times a character surprised me was when I drafted my novel <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hope-Memories-Olivia-Rivers-ebook/dp/B01D2L8PKA/ref=la_B00AEU75IQ_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1471903005&sr=1-2" target="_blank"><i>In the Hope of Memories.</i></a> The novel features four different points of view, and when I introduced the fourth point of view, I realized I had no idea whether the character was a boy or girl. The result was a genderless character named Sam, who remains one of my favorite characters I’ve ever written. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #bf9000;">If you can save only one book in a burning library which book will you save?</span></span></b><span style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: -.5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Redwall-Book-1-Brian-Jacques/dp/0142302376/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1471903036&sr=1-1&keywords=redwall" target="_blank"><i>REDWALL</i></a> by Brian Jacques! I read that book probably twenty times when I was a kid, and it was the first book that made me interested in writing my own stories. It remains my favorite to this day. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #bf9000;">If a movie trailer is made on your life, the trailer will look like…</span></span></b><span style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">It’d just be a bunch of shots of me traveling around to coffee shops in my hometown and typing on my laptop. While I love my job as a writer, I'll admit that the lives of my characters tend to be much more action-filled than my own!</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7M-0BceV5DXSOVkqghD7E0qpRY_5oi5fbsixeGXeR2e0krfXIigth6ycunAQni3kNhR1Vgnt-A0aDWU-M0QN3ZlNh32Qt3nk8xD3yoIAPq2ngG8F5a4p7hkk_VnXsGi1rsMeoKyPftis/s1600/Kirtida+Gautam.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7M-0BceV5DXSOVkqghD7E0qpRY_5oi5fbsixeGXeR2e0krfXIigth6ycunAQni3kNhR1Vgnt-A0aDWU-M0QN3ZlNh32Qt3nk8xD3yoIAPq2ngG8F5a4p7hkk_VnXsGi1rsMeoKyPftis/s200/Kirtida+Gautam.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;">Kirtida Gautam is a clinical psychologist and an author. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;">Follow her on Twitter</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/KirtidaGautam" style="line-height: 27.6px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">@KirtidaGautam </a></span></span></div>
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bestsellerstoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02692067592439974747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1297104278727960467.post-73257199064367742162016-06-18T04:20:00.001-07:002018-04-24T05:06:04.569-07:00INTERVIEW 14- KIRTIDA GAUTAM INTERVIEWS ERIC SMITH<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: normal;"><b>INTERVIEW 14</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: normal;"><b>KIRTIDA GAUTAM INTERVIEWS </b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">ERIC SMITH</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDUByEZXeJ2cXcKmDdzFYI-RaqL_M_GkiphaOJ_p0erlnQ55j_UtgnqME3n81OFDvWWgdM8aaslgJNDU7oIA31rZdxS3rCGERwC9HiCjCAgLl_g5N9WuFQZjvNZ3ykrZ_i91Qj-btrKM0/s1600/ERIC+SMITH.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDUByEZXeJ2cXcKmDdzFYI-RaqL_M_GkiphaOJ_p0erlnQ55j_UtgnqME3n81OFDvWWgdM8aaslgJNDU7oIA31rZdxS3rCGERwC9HiCjCAgLl_g5N9WuFQZjvNZ3ykrZ_i91Qj-btrKM0/s320/ERIC+SMITH.png" width="287" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 22px; text-align: start;">Eric Smith is an author, blogger, and literary agent. </span><span style="line-height: 22px; text-align: start;">His debut Young Adult novel,</span><span style="line-height: 22px; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://ericsmithrocks.com/about/ericsmithrocks.com/books" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgb(8, 155, 195); line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">Inked</a> was</span><span style="line-height: 22px; text-align: start;"> published </span>with Bloomsbury Spark in January of 2015<span style="line-height: 22px; text-align: start;">. The sequel </span><a href="http://ericsmithrocks.com/books" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgb(8, 155, 195); line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Branded</span></a><span style="line-height: 22px; text-align: start;">, will be out in September 2016.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px; text-align: start;">Thank you so much Eric for taking out time for this interview. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: #fbfbfb; line-height: 22px; text-align: start;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">You are an author and a literary agent. What are the colors of these two hats? Which hat you enjoy wearing?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I think they are both flat caps, as that's what I wear pretty much everywhere. As for the colors... probably brown and black? Matches what I wear the most. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I enjoy wearing both hats, but really, one of my favorite things to do is champion the words of others. So I think I probably enjoy wearing my agent hat a bit more, though don't tell my agent that (yes, I'm an agent who has an agent). Any time I have to do an interview about any of my writing, or do an event someplace, I probably spend about half of my time talking about other people, and then discussing my own work. I just get really excited when it comes to gushing about novels I adore. I can't help it. Apologies to all of my current and future publicists. This is me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">How many senses you use when you write? Do you believe in exploring the world your characters live in?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I guess all of them? Smell is maybe my favorite. If you've read Inked, or plan on picking up Branded, nature plays a big role in my fiction. The current book my agent is planning to start submitting around in the fall... that's ALL about nature and the environment. So talking about the natural world, the smells, the sounds, the sights... that all appeals to me. I grew up working at sleep away summer camps in the mountains of New Jersey (yes we have mountains), surrounded by the wilderness. It's what I love, where my bones are. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Can you narrate one instance when you had goosebumps while writing your novels?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqV1j7_yZ8UK4gDuR4XvpLp9gt3EN5oGXnwTBsI7R58Lb3td2g6lXaS0YoEKKfrXyZ8l7v-pGPRFGs9TAPQnMaYEuR_DYmMnh2Xttg97ykpdsf88qruO6G9PfgkIOmiMWe9evWeDlkJ6c/s1600/z+inked.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqV1j7_yZ8UK4gDuR4XvpLp9gt3EN5oGXnwTBsI7R58Lb3td2g6lXaS0YoEKKfrXyZ8l7v-pGPRFGs9TAPQnMaYEuR_DYmMnh2Xttg97ykpdsf88qruO6G9PfgkIOmiMWe9evWeDlkJ6c/s200/z+inked.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">Writing my own stuff? Hmm. That's tough. Maybe in Inked when one of my characters died, and I had to write that scene. I have a really great editor who pushes me to write challenging stuff outside my comfort zone, which is generally all glitter and happiness, and it's frequently an emotional experience trying to write the painful stuff. Death, trauma, etc. I'm grateful to have someone that challenges me like that though. Shout out to Meredith Rich, rockstar editrix. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #bf9000;">Books are the brainchildren of authors. Amongst your books, which is your favorite brainchild? What makes it stand out?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I think my favorite is Welcome Home, the book that isn't quite out yet. It's an anthology of adoption-themed stories set to come out with Jolly Fish Press in the Fall of 2017. It collects stories from a number of authors who have experience with adoption, whether it's adopting kids, working with foster children, or even being adopted themselves. I'm really proud of it, as it'll give teens a much-needed place to see themselves. Adoption stories aren't told nearly often enough. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">If you have to make a movie of your life as an author, what it would look like?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Probably relatively boring? Lots of shots of me sitting in cafes, glaring at my laptop and taking breaks to play on Twitter. The far more interesting stuff would be me hanging out with my amazing wife, Kristina. She supports, drives, and inspires me through all of my work. Maybe focus on the love story. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">If you can save only one book in a burning library, which book will you save?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Twenty-Thousand-Leagues-Under-Sea/dp/1533652260/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1466248545&sr=1-1&keywords=20%2C000+Leagues+Under+the+Sea" target="_blank">20,000 Leagues Under the Sea</a> by Jules Verne. My favorite.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">At what point, did you notice you that are walking the path to become a writer? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There were a few moments, and I'm sure every writer has them. When I was a kid my parents bought me this electric typewriter, and I'd write (terrible, ha ha ha) short stories and give them out to my friends in school. Then in college I had some fantastic creative writing teachers, as well as some absolutely awful and discouraging ones. The blend of encouragement and "you can't do this" definitely pushed me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In graduate school though, I got to study with Robin Black, a fantastic professor and author (check out her books <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Loved-You-Would-Tell-This/dp/0812980689/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1466248401&sr=8-3&keywords=robin+black" target="_blank">If I Loved You I Would Tell You This</a> and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Life-Drawing-Novel-Robin-Black/dp/0812980670?ie=UTF8&qid=1466248446&ref_=la_B002SIJ7Q0_1_2&s=books&sr=1-2" target="_blank">Life Drawing</a>), and that pretty much sealed it for me. Her guidance pushed me over the edge, and I've been writing away ever since.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">What was the biggest pitfall on this path? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hmm, maybe being on submission? That's always a rough road. No writer enjoys it, and it can sometimes take over a year to sell something. Just gotta keep your spirits up.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The best moment of your life as a writer, something you will never-ever forget. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I got an email from a girl who told me that <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Geeks-Guide-Dating-Eric-Smith/dp/1594746435?ie=UTF8&ref_=asap_bc" target="_blank">The Geek's Guide to Dating</a> was one of the first books she'd ever read in English. It made me cry. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;">Kirtida Gautam is a clinical psychologist and an author. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;">Follow her on Twitter</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/KirtidaGautam" style="line-height: 27.6px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">@KirtidaGautam </a></span></span></div>
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bestsellerstoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02692067592439974747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1297104278727960467.post-6511347628273389982016-06-10T00:52:00.000-07:002018-04-24T05:10:36.416-07:00INTERVIEW 13- KIRTIDA GAUTAM INTERVIEWS MARIEKE NIJKAMP<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">MARIEKE NIJKAMP</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhigeCRXv3ySUtbDxqF-v4kC4JHInAd9Y8cRWlz6O3OoUDY_VpkLOeVgI4CY9eZpiU1D8BFSyy_eSWHKyhUaPfdYet_AwFgfdcxPcUh6MXgS6bZM0HVwvuw-jkNO-DqzfFixt4M5Wo3HoI/s1600/Z+Marieke+Nijkamp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhigeCRXv3ySUtbDxqF-v4kC4JHInAd9Y8cRWlz6O3OoUDY_VpkLOeVgI4CY9eZpiU1D8BFSyy_eSWHKyhUaPfdYet_AwFgfdcxPcUh6MXgS6bZM0HVwvuw-jkNO-DqzfFixt4M5Wo3HoI/s320/Z+Marieke+Nijkamp.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.5px; line-height: 21.125px;">Marieke Nijkamp was born and raised in the Netherlands. A lifelong student of stories, language, and ideas, she is more or less proficient in about a dozen languages and holds degrees in philosophy, history, and medieval studies. She is a storyteller, dreamer, and globe-trotter.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.5px; line-height: 21.125px;">Thanks Marieke for taking out time for this interview. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -22pt;"><b><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Is your life in some way expressed through your work?</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica";"><span style="font-size: large;">Hm, not specifically? I think my life experience and my world view definitely filter through in the way I write. I tell stories about things I’m interested in or fascinated by, and as such, it’s always going to be informed by who I am as a person. I think that’s a given. But I’m not writing about my own life. I’m writing to give voice to and understand all the stories I see around me.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica";"><span style="font-size: large;">Possibly if they know me very well? But if they don’t… probably not? That’s hard for me to judge! But quite like I just mention, my novels aren’t about me, they’re about my characters first and foremost.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -22pt;">If a movie is to be made using the moments of your Writer’s Journey, what the movie will look like? </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -22pt;"> </span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica";"><span style="font-size: large;">THIS IS THE WORST MENTAL IMAGE. Burning libraries are a nightmare! But provided we’re not talking about libraries with the collected treasures of old… hm, I think it would still depend on what was in there. But either the most memorable book (as in, special edition or as a memoriam of some event) or the most well-loved, which in my case, would probably be Tonke Dragt’s SECRETS OF THE WILD WOOD.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: -22pt;"><span style="color: #bf9000;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Which are the social concerns you addressed in your novel—<i>This is Where It Ends</i>?</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Well obviously it’s a book that deals with a lot of things. School shootings, violence, sexual violence, intolerance… but I don’t see that as addressing social concerns in the sense that I’m not writing to provide the reader with a lesson. I’m writing to tell a story. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>This is Where It Ends</i> is </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 26px;">brutal, emotionally charged novel will grip readers and leave them brokenhearted.</span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 26px; text-align: start;"> </i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 26px;"><i>~ Kirkus Review</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;">Kirtida Gautam is a clinical psychologist and an author. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;">Follow her on Twitter</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/KirtidaGautam" style="line-height: 27.6px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">@KirtidaGautam </a></span></span></div>
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bestsellerstoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02692067592439974747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1297104278727960467.post-32053961014716765602016-05-27T15:18:00.000-07:002018-04-24T05:05:13.362-07:00INTERVIEW 12- KIRTIDA GAUTAM INTERVIEWS NAHID RACHLIN <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Nahid Rachlin attended Columbia University Writing Program on a Doubleday-Columbia Fellowship and then went on to Stanford University MFA program on a Stegner Fellowship. Her publications include a memoir, <i>PERSIAN GIRLS</i>, four novels, <i>JUMPING OVER FIRE</i>, <i>FOREIGNER</i> , <i>MARRIED TO A STRANGER</i>, <i>THE HEART'S DESIRE</i>, and a collection of short stories, <i>VEILS</i>, a novella, <i>CROWD OF SORROWS</i> on Kindle Singles. </span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">She teaches creative writing workshops in the Paris Summer Writers Workshop, Geneva, Switzerland Writers Conference, Art International in Assisi, Italy, Antioch Writers Workshop, Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center, Iowa Festival Writers Conference, Vermont College Postgraduate Writers Conference, Yale Summer Writers Conference, Sanibel Island Writers Conference. </span></h3>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Thanks Nahid for taking out time for this interview. </span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 19.2px;"><span style="color: #bf9000;">You are a writer and a writing teacher—which of these roles you enjoy more?</span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19.2px;">Writing is my main passion. Teaching is rewarding because I like seeing improvements a writing student can make, by the comments made on their work.</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 19.2px;"><span style="color: #bf9000;">What is the major difference in the creative process between writing a novel and a memoir?</span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19.2px;">The best memoirs are ones that use the same craft as writing fiction. But of course writing a memoir is more difficult in many ways. For one thing you have to worry about the feelings of the people you are including in the memoir. Also you can’t make up a plot line whereas in fiction you can.</span></h3>
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<span style="color: #bf9000;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 19.2px;">When does writing flow the best</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 19.2px;">?</span></span></h3>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19.2px;">When I have written done enough of a piece to know where it is going, what the main focus is.</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 19.2px;"><span style="color: #bf9000;">When does your creative muse NOT work?</span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 19.2px;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">W</span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19.2px;">hen I choose to write on a subject that isn’t right for me.</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 19.2px;"><span style="color: #bf9000;">When do you feel freshest and most original as a writer?</span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 19.2px;"><span style="color: #bf9000;">If you have to make a movie trailer about your writing career, what will it look like?</span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 19.2px;">I would show images of moments of my life that were connected to becoming writer: for instance an award I received in high school for a story handed in for my composition class, my room as</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 19.2px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 19.2px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 19.2px;">teenager, living in Ahvaz Iran, where I began to write.</span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 19.2px;"><span style="color: #bf9000;">What is the moment of your writing career when you had tears of joy in your eyes?</span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19.2px;">When I had finished my first novel, <i>FORIEGNER</i>, and an editor at WW Norton, said she loved it and would publish it.</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;">Kirtida Gautam is a clinical psychologist and an author. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;">Follow her on Twitter</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/KirtidaGautam" style="line-height: 27.6px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">@KirtidaGautam </a><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span><br />
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bestsellerstoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02692067592439974747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1297104278727960467.post-9435549070403341792016-04-27T15:20:00.000-07:002018-04-24T05:11:23.909-07:00INTERVIEW 11- KIRTIDA GAUTAM INTERVIEWS CHERYL RAINFIELD<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">CHERYL RAINFIELD</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: normal; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #252525; line-height: 22.4px;">Cheryl Rainfield </span><span style="color: #252525; line-height: 22.4px;">is the author of Young Adult novels, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Scars-Cheryl-Rainfield/dp/1934813575/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1461795123&sr=8-1&keywords=Scars" target="_blank">Scars</a></i>, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Stained-Cheryl-Rainfield/dp/0544439473/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1461795149&sr=8-1&keywords=Stained+cheryl" target="_blank">Stained</a></i> and <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hunted-Cheryl-Rainfield/dp/1934813621/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1461795171&sr=8-1&keywords=Hunted+cheryl" target="_blank">Hunted</a></i>. She is an </span>incest<span style="color: #252525; line-height: 22.4px;"> and</span> abuse<span style="color: #252525; line-height: 22.4px;"> survivor. She battled with abuse by reading numerous books, and by writing and creating art during her early life which opened doors for her as an escape. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">You said, <span style="background: white;">"I write the books I needed as a teen and couldn't find."</span> Can you elaborate that? </span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 150%;">When I was a teen, I desperately needed to know that I wasn’t the only one who was being raped, abused, and tortured by my parents and the cult they were part of, or who was cutting myself to cope with the abuse, or who was also queer. I held so much pain that most of the time I wanted to die. And there was so much silence and shame about those things—both forced on me by my abusers, who told me they’d kill me if I spoke (and I saw them murder other children so I knew they could), but also by society, where people did not want to hear or believe about child rape, torture, and abuse. I did speak out about all those things as a teen, trying to find safety and healing, but the pain ran deep in my soul, wounds that are still healing. And there is so much homophobia in our society, which encourages silence. I think that my pain was made worse because I felt so alone in what I’d been through.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">I read every novel I could get my hands on, reading both to escape the horror I was enduring, and also to find validation that someone else understood and I wasn’t alone. I found that in small ways—like that I wasn’t the only one who felt unloved and needed a good family (Anne of</span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Anne-Green-Gables-Complete-8-Book/dp/0553609416/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1461795268&sr=8-1&keywords=Green+Gables" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;" target="_blank"> <i>Green Gables</i></a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">), or who was bullied (</span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Blubber-Judy-Blume/dp/148141013X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1461795293&sr=8-1&keywords=Blubber" target="_blank">Blubber</a></i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">), or who rightfully didn’t trust the people who were supposed to care for me (</span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Down-Dark-Hall-Lois-Duncan/dp/0316098981/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1461795333&sr=8-1&keywords=Down+A+Dark+Hall" target="_blank">Down A Dark Hall</a></i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">). But I never found validation and comfort in knowing I wasn’t alone for the core of what I was enduring.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">So those are the things I write about now, to help other teens (and </span></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 150%;">adults) who’ve been through similar things to know that they’re not alone, as well as to help those who’ve never experienced them have greater compassion and understanding.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Have important parts of yourself gone explored in your writing?</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">Every time I write a novel, I put a small slice of what I’ve experienced into that book—one issue, or a group of issues—and write from the heart—such as sexual abuse, self-harm, being queer, and using art to cope in </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">Scars</i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">, or being bullied, body hatred and shame, being held captive, being withheld food and water, and using comics to survive in </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">Stained</i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">. I draw deeply on both my trauma and healing experiences when I write, and on my emotion. I relive those experiences every time I edit the manuscript (for </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">Scars</i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">, I did more than 50 edits before it was published), and as I do, I find myself working those issues through more fully, letting go of some of the pain.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">What social concerns come across in your novels?</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">I deal a lot with multiple forms of oppression—and overcoming that oppression—in my novels, since I’ve experienced many of them, and I think it’s important to address inequality, abuse, and misuse of power, and try to make the world a kinder place. My book </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">Scars</i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;"> deals with sexism, homophobia, happy queer relationships, our rape culture, and child sexual abuse; </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">Stained</i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;"> deals with bullying, abduction, rape, sizeism, and body image. In </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">Hunted</i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">, my dystopian fantasy novel, I thought of as an analogy for much of the oppression that exists in our world: sexism, racism, homophobia, ageism, sizeism, etc., as well as, for me, the oppression that cults create. In every novel I try to have at least one queer character, one character of color, and one character who’s experienced abuse, trauma, or oppression and/or deals with mental health issues, whether they’re the main character, love interest, or walk-on character. I always write strong-girl characters who save themselves (as well as emotionally strong boy characters). I had to rescue myself many times over before I finally got safe, and I want to remind readers that they can, too, and that they’re also strong, even if they don’t feel that way. It’s important to me to help others feel seen, to reflect back emotional strength even during oppression, and also to encourage greater compassion—for ourselves and for others—while gripping readers with suspense!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Is your life in some way expressed through your work?</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 150%;">I draw heavily on my trauma and healing experiences when I write. I put a piece of my soul in every book. My books are fiction, but they have a lot of me or things I’ve been through in them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Can someone who reads your work get a glimmer of who you are as a person?</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrANwwVe6Q6YjdxprsbIYKtYNfFaeOgsGS_xT5E2vlKKVQhxC72TxiylnGwa88d_p5fr32YzdaOr-RECwERkLPhWEH_XIscAjSxyjEDmYmSepOfbzorIcgAq-vLnHDiui1WOdn7ZZv_jg/s1600/z+scars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrANwwVe6Q6YjdxprsbIYKtYNfFaeOgsGS_xT5E2vlKKVQhxC72TxiylnGwa88d_p5fr32YzdaOr-RECwERkLPhWEH_XIscAjSxyjEDmYmSepOfbzorIcgAq-vLnHDiui1WOdn7ZZv_jg/s200/z+scars.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 150%;">I think so. In all my novels, I write strong-girl characters who are surviving or recovering from some form of oppression, abuse, or torture, and find a way to overcome it and heal, and often help others along the way. That is like me and what I’ve been through. I also write queer characters, characters of color, characters with mental health issues as a direct result of abuse or trauma, and have characters who learn greater compassion and empathy—for themselves and/or for others—also like me and/or things I believe in. I put a lot of my heart and soul into my books. I am openly queer, feminist, and an incest, rape, torture, and cult survivor who focuses on healing, and I think that shows in my books. The pain and compassion. The trying to learn happiness, to reach out to others, to heal and to help others heal. That’s me. (smiling)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Name one book that you read and thanked the writer for writing it. And why?</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">I’ve written a number of authors! If a book moves me or I really love it, I also try to let others know online so they can find it, too. One of the authors I wrote to, thanking her for the books she wrote, was </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Peeling-Onion-gripping-honesty-biting-ebook/dp/B00ENS58AC/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461795024&sr=1-4&keywords=Peeling+The+Onion" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;" target="_blank">Wendy Orr for <i>Peeling The Onion</i></a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">. I so identified with her character and the pain she was going through, and the need for healing, and it was so vivid and powerfully written. You might also know Wendy Orr from her delightful </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nims-Island-Wendy-Orr/dp/0385736061/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461795071&sr=1-1&keywords=Nim%E2%80%99s+Island" target="_blank">Nim’s Island</a></i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">, which was made into a movie starring Jodie Foster, or many of the other books she’s written.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;">Kirtida Gautam is a clinical psychologist and an author. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;">Follow her on Twitter</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/KirtidaGautam" style="line-height: 27.6px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">@KirtidaGautam </a><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></span></span>
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bestsellerstoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02692067592439974747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1297104278727960467.post-26997688161330988452016-04-21T11:27:00.000-07:002018-04-24T05:05:46.816-07:00INTERVIEW 10- KIRTIDA GAUTAM INTERVIEWS JASON M HOUGH <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: normal;"><b>JASON M HOUGH</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.15px; line-height: 21.75px; text-align: start;">Jason M. Hough is the </span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.15px; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; line-height: 21.75px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">New York Times</em><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.15px; line-height: 21.75px; text-align: start;"> bestselling author of </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.15px; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; line-height: 21.75px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">The Dire Earth Cycle</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.15px; line-height: 21.75px; text-align: start;"> and the near-future spy thriller </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.15px; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; line-height: 21.75px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">Zero World</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.15px; line-height: 21.75px; text-align: start;">. </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.15px; line-height: 21.75px; text-align: start;">He has worked in the fields of high-performance cluster computing and machine learning, and holds a patented invention related to location-based content licensing.</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUKe0gB_sylQOKpSdMxn00I1QT3X_gKj3SHekdVc9vz6WIjQD2ocMPsPdQVFT32kopVSAx0t1z3BQVYAQu0RnLwF_jHcDLj_U8F5Z-7mqpq4webvAhYIjUMn44guFAVTXU2xtvb_ZnYtM/s1600/Jason+M.+Hough.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUKe0gB_sylQOKpSdMxn00I1QT3X_gKj3SHekdVc9vz6WIjQD2ocMPsPdQVFT32kopVSAx0t1z3BQVYAQu0RnLwF_jHcDLj_U8F5Z-7mqpq4webvAhYIjUMn44guFAVTXU2xtvb_ZnYtM/s320/Jason+M.+Hough.jpg" width="292" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #bf9000;">Which are the most visually arresting films you have seen? Do they inspire your writing? </span><b style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Wow, I don't even know where to start! A handful that spring to mind: Blade Runner, Lawrence of Arabia, Upstream Color, 2001, Spirited Away, Ran.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There's so many, all incredible in their own way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes due to the cinematography, costumes, or artistic design.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Blade Runner stands out because it's one of those films that put it all together so perfectly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And yes, they all inspire my writing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact one of my favorite bits of writing advice is "close your eyes and watch the movie" - visualize the scene as if it were a film, it's amazing what kind of details your mind will generate for you, and I think everything you've seen or read before it helps paint the picture.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #bf9000;">If you can save only one book in a burning library, which book will you save? </span><b style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Realistically, assuming there were no people in danger, I'd grab as many books as I could before the heat became too much, paying zero attention to what they actually were.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or maybe I'd run to the rare books section (if the library has one), since<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica;">—</span> let's face it<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica;">—</span> most books in a library are not exactly unique.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, I can't actually imagine standing there and deciding what specific book to save.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's an impossible question to answer, they're all important.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #bf9000;">Is your life in some way expressed through your work?</span><b style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">On some level, probably, but for me it would only be through subconscious effort rather than a deliberate choice.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #bf9000;">Can someone who reads your work get a glimmer of who you are as a person?</span><b style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I've no idea, to be honest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'm sure they could try, and some insights would be right, but just as many more would be wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'm always a bit surprised and amused when I find I have a fan whose beliefs or values are vastly different from mine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Odd how they usually seem to assume I'm in complete agreement with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People take away what they want to, I guess.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 150%;">What is the most memorable moment of your writing career?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Getting the phone call from my editor that I'd hit the New York Times bestseller list definitely ranks up there!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But on a more personal level, sitting next to John Scalzi on a panel, as his peer, was especially cool, because he's an author I've always looked up to and it was his work that drew me back to science fiction and made me want to write.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #bf9000;">What are your pet peeves?</span><b style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I'm pretty easy going, so that's a short list. I guess one might be spoilers. I detest spoilers. I avoid things like movie trailers and the synopses on the backs of books. If someone tells me a book is good I just read it, with as little upfront knowledge as possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This leads to a weird conundrum for me as an author— when someone asks me what my book is about, every fiber of my being wants to tell them nothing at all— <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">just read it! Trust me!</i>— but of course they need to know something before they'll bite.</span><b style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggyDTFCohMNHPVElav7Ma0FCgErkhwM00U6iqAaFIkLVFyvnedktPNXm77DhiRSyZYzJwWuTiH7hFMmkLGiRdEP2uhkOqtPw54QNCwM-n4nUHjx2PqzQP-EVOVz62BFC1lhP1AqZDk07Q/s1600/Kirtida+Gautam.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggyDTFCohMNHPVElav7Ma0FCgErkhwM00U6iqAaFIkLVFyvnedktPNXm77DhiRSyZYzJwWuTiH7hFMmkLGiRdEP2uhkOqtPw54QNCwM-n4nUHjx2PqzQP-EVOVz62BFC1lhP1AqZDk07Q/s200/Kirtida+Gautam.png" width="200" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;">Kirtida Gautam is a clinical psychologist and an author. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;">Follow her on Twitter</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/KirtidaGautam" style="line-height: 27.6px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">@KirtidaGautam </a><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></div>
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bestsellerstoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02692067592439974747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1297104278727960467.post-25995363279478063652016-03-16T16:36:00.000-07:002018-04-24T05:04:52.153-07:00INTERVIEW 9- KIRTIDA GAUTAM INTERVIEWS CLAIRE NEEDELL<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: x-large; line-height: normal;"><b>INTERVIEW 9</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: x-large; line-height: normal;"><b>KIRTIDA GAUTAM INTERVIEWS </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>CLAIRE NEEDELL</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Claire Needell is a graduate of Brown’s MFA Program, a middle school teacher, and the author of two books of poetry. Her nonfiction has appeared in The New York Times Sunday Review. Her </span><span style="line-height: 22.4px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">debut novel <i>The Word for Yes</i> is a moving look at date rape and its aftermath.</span></span></h5>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivGCfMt4-WuxRqxAsiJ0_Hx7oH_eLr9qQq84DtvAKvypU7DA6IIlaNlWdzn-asHiWJEAeuDrcdraHnj6IE1CLsr6WpQBHl7NjW3ENXV8FvZ9ks_AXEVwS-dao7uGqObFcSp9NIcpKBnK4/s1600/CLAIRE+NEEDELL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivGCfMt4-WuxRqxAsiJ0_Hx7oH_eLr9qQq84DtvAKvypU7DA6IIlaNlWdzn-asHiWJEAeuDrcdraHnj6IE1CLsr6WpQBHl7NjW3ENXV8FvZ9ks_AXEVwS-dao7uGqObFcSp9NIcpKBnK4/s320/CLAIRE+NEEDELL.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="line-height: 24px; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>You have chosen an important topic— Date Rape— to write your debut novel. Congratulations. Tell the readers about your journey.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 36px;">I began thinking about <i>The Word for Yes</i> as a book about sisters and how different our paths can be, even when we start our journey in the same family.</span><span style="line-height: 36px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 36px;">Because date rape was prevalent in my teenaged years, I thought that this would be a resonant story today.</span><span style="line-height: 36px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 36px;">I also felt it was important to tell this story in a way that didn’t make it all too tidy, too easy for the reader to demonize the boy.</span><span style="line-height: 36px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 36px;">We know he has committed a rape, but we also see what his thinking was at the time, and how what he yearned for was actually a consensual relationship.</span><span style="line-height: 36px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 36px;">We tend to think that “boys are just after one thing.”</span><span style="line-height: 36px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 36px;">In fact, you can be pursuing something quite humane in an entirely inhumane manner.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="line-height: 36px; text-indent: -0.25in;">Did you find out something about your creative process while writing the novel <i>The Word for Yes</i>, which you didn’t know earlier? </span><span style="line-height: 36px; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span></b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrbFYTwfcRFQEzPes12I0e6yrRftPKW3IZz7DVZnuOAYTd_jtrGxBE_vIWcv84_s8Y_5nRTDp006KhR7rjou-LvJXyHxF-kyt3w0NIka67LXyQiOLTuTExzpnW8hxZoI6sUMqVg4HSddI/s1600/the+word+for+yes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrbFYTwfcRFQEzPes12I0e6yrRftPKW3IZz7DVZnuOAYTd_jtrGxBE_vIWcv84_s8Y_5nRTDp006KhR7rjou-LvJXyHxF-kyt3w0NIka67LXyQiOLTuTExzpnW8hxZoI6sUMqVg4HSddI/s320/the+word+for+yes.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 36px; text-indent: -0.25in;">I learned a lot while writing <i>The Word for Yes</i>. I wrote a draft very quickly, put it away, and then wrote a series of short stories, which became the collections, <i>Nothing Real</i>, also published by HarperCollins. I learned a lot about how a story is shaped by cutting some material and adding other scenes. This was critical since the book contains so many different perspectives. I also saw how writing and then leaving the book for a time helped me see the work more clearly. I sometimes write very quickly, so I get the shape of a story, but then I need to work on each scene, each turning point, quite a lot. My first drafts tend to be sketches, really, that require added dimension.</span><br />
<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 36px;"><b>When did writing flow the best? </b></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 36px;">Writing flows best for me early in the process. As the book develops, the work becomes very precise, so naturally there’s a lot of small additions and deletions that seem to carry a great deal of weight.</span><br />
<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="line-height: 36px; text-indent: -0.25in;">When does your creative muse seen NOT to work? </span><span style="line-height: 36px; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 36px; text-indent: -0.25in;">I tend to work a lot less in the summer, when the kids are around and there’s no regular schedule.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #bf9000; line-height: 36px; text-indent: -0.25in;"><b>When do you feel freshest and most original as a writer? </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 36px; text-indent: -0.25in;">Hmmm. I guess I feel most authentic when I am totally inside a character’s head. I never think am I being original? I think more like am I capturing the sorts of very particular things people say and do? If I think about what I am doing as a writer that is a black hole. I think about what the other people are doing—the characters—at least as I am writing, then of course, when I edit I try to be ruthlessly honest with myself about what works and what doesn’t. An editor once told me that you should always find the line or paragraph that you feel the best about and delete it, because that’s probably the least convincing thing you’ve written. I find this to be true a lot of the time—it’s like when we think we’ve been really amusing at a party, but everyone else thought we were totally obnoxious.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 24px; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>What was the best day of your life as a writer? </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 36px; text-indent: -0.25in;">Wow. </span><span style="color: black; line-height: 36px; text-indent: -0.25in;">I suppose it’s a pretty great feeling to know you have a publishing contract, but I think actually the days I have been the most excited are the days the writing goes well. Every time I figure out how to fix a problem is a great day. Every day I feel playful and honest is a great day!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;">Related Post:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 27.6px;"><a href="http://bestsellerstory.blogspot.com/2015/12/bestselling-author-interview-series.html" target="_blank">Kirtida Gautam interviews Scott Hawkins</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 27.6px;"><a href="http://bestsellerstory.blogspot.com/2015/11/interview-2-kirtida-gautam-interviews.html" target="_blank">Kirtida Gautam interviews Michael J. Sullivan</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 27.6px;"><a href="http://bestsellerstory.blogspot.com/2016/02/interview-4-kirtida-gautams-inteview.html" target="_blank">Kirtida Gautam interviews Anne Goodwin</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://bestsellerstory.blogspot.com/2016/02/interview-5-kirtida-gautam-interviews.html" target="_blank">Kirtida Gautam interviews Karen Fortunati </a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://bestsellerstory.blogspot.com/2016/02/interview-6-kirtida-gautam-interviews.html" target="_blank">Kirtida Gautam interviews Tanya Anne crosby</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://bestsellerstory.blogspot.com/2016/03/interview-7-kirtida-gautam-interviews.html" target="_blank">Kirtida Gautam interviews Karen Katchur </a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://bestsellerstory.blogspot.com/2016/03/interview-8-kirtida-gautam-interviews.html" target="_blank">Kirtida Gautam interviews Beth Yarnall</a></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;">Kirtida Gautam is a clinical psychologist and an author. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;">Follow her on Twitter</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/KirtidaGautam" style="line-height: 27.6px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">@KirtidaGautam </a><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></div>
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bestsellerstoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02692067592439974747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1297104278727960467.post-23423924012748538172016-03-09T14:54:00.000-08:002018-04-24T05:04:30.922-07:00INTERVIEW 8- KIRTIDA GAUTAM INTERVIEWS BETH YARNALL<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>BETH YARNALL</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Best selling author Beth Yarnall writes romantic suspense, mysteries, and the occasional hilarious Tweets. A storyteller since her playground days, Beth remembers her friends asking her to make up stories of how the person 'died' in the slumber party games Light as a Feather, stiff as a Board, so it's little wonder she prefers writing stories in which people meet unfortunate ends. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Thanks Beth for taking out time for this interview.</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>What is your subjective definition of a Hybrid Author?</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">An author who </span><i style="line-height: 150%;">actively</i><span style="line-height: 150%;"> publishes with a publisher and self publishes.</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Did you first walk the traditional route or Indie route on your journey as an author?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 150%;">I had one foot on the traditional path in 2012 when I fought for the rights back to my first novel from my publisher less than a year from its release. My agent shopped that book and we got an offer, but after talking it over my agent suggested I self publish it. In early 2014 my second book came out with a publisher and later that year I self published that first book. Since then I’ve self published a total of 4 novels and 2 novellas and traditionally published 4 novels and 3 novellas. I’ve also self-published 3 audio books.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Can you state three advantages of being an Indie author?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I make all of the decisions, I control my release schedule, and I decide length, format, and how those books are marketed and sold.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Can you state three advantages of being a traditional author?</b></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVWYia6OzyXuqs3ihm5Sb2vBN95Bomc8UnFSiUUbMzlcRkEKGgFaHagi_Bmj6ErMWCjnzjXdn36mJTnvCRBLccW_Z_OFgoIYkvN_sUx-n5hbow3ZcYku-SC8S3hxoNJw3AzJvm84EI4vY/s1600/12575846_10208564785507198_2098317705_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVWYia6OzyXuqs3ihm5Sb2vBN95Bomc8UnFSiUUbMzlcRkEKGgFaHagi_Bmj6ErMWCjnzjXdn36mJTnvCRBLccW_Z_OFgoIYkvN_sUx-n5hbow3ZcYku-SC8S3hxoNJw3AzJvm84EI4vY/s200/12575846_10208564785507198_2098317705_n.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">With traditional publishing I can tap into a ready made audience of readers who like books that are similar to mine, I don’t have to pay any of the costs of publishing such as cover design, editing, reviews, and promotion, and I feel as though I have a partner helping me to make those books a success.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Can you state three disadvantage of being an Indie author?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have to come up with all up front costs, not all freelance professionals are reliable, and I have to try to find my audience on my own.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Can you state three disadvantage of being a traditional author?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The publisher takes a cut, I don’t have as much control (although I have to say that my publishers have been <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">very</span></i> open to my suggestions, including allowing me to put chapters of their books in a free sampler to help push sales), and I don’t get to control when my books release and in what format.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Do you think Hybrid Authorship is a win-win and best-of-both-the-worlds situation for everyone involved? Kindly elaborate your reasons.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">For me, at this time in my career—yes. That may not be the case for everyone and it may not be the case a year or two or five from now. My publishers have been willing to work with me and have put some of my suggestions for my books into practice. I can control my release schedule by self-publishing books between publisher releases. I can write under a pen name. My publisher contracts don’t have the typical clauses that inhibit some traditional only authors. I feel very lucky to be where I am and I love writing books for my publishers and for myself.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Can you state three advantages that a literary agent and traditional publishing house get when they work with a Hybrid Author?</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Interesting question. Both my agent and my publishers have told me that they’ve learned from me, which was surprising to me. I think they get a savvier author, one who sees beyond <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">this book</span></i> or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">this series</span></i>. I look at my career as a long road and make decisions based on that attitude. I like to think it makes me someone others want to work with.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>What is the opinion of your literary agent about your Indie work?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica";"><span style="font-size: large;">Courtney Miller-Callihan</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> has no problem with it and has, in 3 different cases, suggested I self publish work that she previously shopped. She knows I publish under two different names. She doesn’t take <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">a cut of my self-published work. There are agents who insist on taking 15% of self-published work and the author has to get their permission before self-publishing a book. I would never work with an agent who takes a percentage of my self-published work and tries to control when and how I publish.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Do you think Hybrid Authorship is the future of publishing industry? Kindly elaborate your answer.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">For now it’s <i>my</i> future. I try to steer clear of the ‘my way is the right way’ attitude authors on all sides sometimes take. Hybrid publishing isn’t for everyone. Not everyone can write fast enough to feed two beasts. Not everyone can keep up with the demands and scheduling. Not everyone wants to. I think it’s important that we be supportive of our fellow authors no matter what path they choose and I feel fortunate to be publishing in a time when I <i>have</i> choices.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggyDTFCohMNHPVElav7Ma0FCgErkhwM00U6iqAaFIkLVFyvnedktPNXm77DhiRSyZYzJwWuTiH7hFMmkLGiRdEP2uhkOqtPw54QNCwM-n4nUHjx2PqzQP-EVOVz62BFC1lhP1AqZDk07Q/s1600/Kirtida+Gautam.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggyDTFCohMNHPVElav7Ma0FCgErkhwM00U6iqAaFIkLVFyvnedktPNXm77DhiRSyZYzJwWuTiH7hFMmkLGiRdEP2uhkOqtPw54QNCwM-n4nUHjx2PqzQP-EVOVz62BFC1lhP1AqZDk07Q/s200/Kirtida+Gautam.png" width="200" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;">Kirtida Gautam is a clinical psychologist and an author. Follow her on Twitter</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/KirtidaGautam" style="line-height: 27.6px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">@KirtidaGautam </a><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></div>
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bestsellerstoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02692067592439974747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1297104278727960467.post-45040988470659193522016-03-02T15:42:00.001-08:002018-04-24T05:03:24.149-07:00INTERVIEW- 7 KIRTIDA GAUTAM INTERVIEWS KAREN KATCHUR <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: normal;"><b>INTERVIEW 7</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: normal;"><b>KIRTIDA GAUTAM INTERVIEWS </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>KAREN KATCHUR</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Karen Katchur holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from West Chester University and a Masters of Education degree in Health and Physical Education from East Stroudsburg University. She lives in Eastern Pennsylvania with her husband and two children. She enjoys running and tennis and playing with her flat coat retriever puppy, Tucker and her cat, Carly.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigfAwxePbTFS3mi1gTvYoEXNUUjKXYmTIu4zqMKwzrWM3iFc-fVQHI1bqtOTOwYu0Lh8Uq59DepWvhIMJHekSCNFz9-zwyEAYhK4SrpU0o2qb1OP3hovJ_mD7QxUWMxj5MCvUYHMFfsCw/s1600/karenpicture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigfAwxePbTFS3mi1gTvYoEXNUUjKXYmTIu4zqMKwzrWM3iFc-fVQHI1bqtOTOwYu0Lh8Uq59DepWvhIMJHekSCNFz9-zwyEAYhK4SrpU0o2qb1OP3hovJ_mD7QxUWMxj5MCvUYHMFfsCw/s1600/karenpicture.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -22pt;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Thanks a lot Karen for taking out time for this interview. </span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -22pt;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -22pt;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>What makes the process of writing worthwhile for you?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I don’t do a whole lot of plotting before I write the first draft. So when something in the plot or with the character surprises a reader, it’s because I was surprised, too! And that’s the part of writing that is fun for me and makes it all worthwhile.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -22pt;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>What was the most frustrating moment of your writing career?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">The most frustrating thing for me is when I have to put a book aside because for whatever reason it’s just not working. It happened once when I was just starting to write, and then again later after I signed with my agent.</span><span style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -22pt;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -22pt;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>What was the most satisfying moment of your writing career?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The most satisfying moment of my career so far was when I held my debut novel in my hands for the first time.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -22pt;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>If you have to make a movie trailer of your writing career, what the trailer will look like?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">Train wreck! If you read the <i>Writer’s Digest</i> blog </span><a href="http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/how-i-got-my-literary-agent-karen-katchur" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">How I Got My Literary Agent</a><span style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">, you’ll understand! (yes, I have. It is an inspiring blog) </span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -22pt;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>How much do you rely on personal emotions and memories to write your novels?</b></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMDezONhJZrbFpzNrpbCN3HJfHmbpbr6Hfhgytv2Jpyz2y3hlXklyoGah86IXsWea-NfYuVyS1hJ5iBMGbGY4cw4KlTS-TYvPYOlU1c-Z3vjazyerfjJF7qdHZweHAfBVtfwg-NMv_u1U/s1600/SecretsLakeRoad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMDezONhJZrbFpzNrpbCN3HJfHmbpbr6Hfhgytv2Jpyz2y3hlXklyoGah86IXsWea-NfYuVyS1hJ5iBMGbGY4cw4KlTS-TYvPYOlU1c-Z3vjazyerfjJF7qdHZweHAfBVtfwg-NMv_u1U/s1600/SecretsLakeRoad.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">I’m not sure you can write, or write effectively, unless you draw on personal emotions and memories. For example, in </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">THE SECRETS OF LAKE ROAD</span></span><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: large; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">I wrote Caroline's character based on what I knew about being a twelve-year-old girl coming of age. Plus, I had two daughters who were around that age at the time so I was witnessing it firsthand. Was Caroline me? No, she wasn't. And she wasn’t one of my daughters. But I based her character on what I remember about being her age and about how scary the world seemed when you're no longer a child, but not quite an adult either. I hope I tapped into those emotions and that readers can relate to them and remember their own experiences growing up.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -22pt;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Would you like to research some vocations as possible jobs for a character?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I love mystery/suspense novels, so anything in law enforcement intrigues me. I’m hoping to enroll in the Writer’s Police Academy if not this year, then next year. And I’ve always been fascinated with forensics. I’m a sucker for TV shows like Cold Case, Criminal Minds, American Greed, etc…</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -22pt;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Tell me about some research information which you would never have known if you would not have written your book.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">After writing </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: normal;">THE SECRETS OF LAKE ROAD</span><span style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">, I now know everything there is to know about snappers, including how to trap them. And I was in awe of what I learned about Underwater Rescue and Recovery.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 27.6px;">Kirtida Gautam is a clinical psychologist and an author. Follow her on Twitter</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/KirtidaGautam" style="line-height: 27.6px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">@KirtidaGautam </a><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></div>
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bestsellerstoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02692067592439974747noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1297104278727960467.post-14816070414718326562016-02-24T12:21:00.000-08:002018-04-24T05:02:58.196-07:00INTERVIEW- 6 KIRTIDA GAUTAM INTERVIEWS TANYA ANNE CROSBY<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: x-large; line-height: normal;"><b>KIRTIDA GAUTAM INTERVIEWS </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>TANYA ANNE CROSBY</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 115%;">Tanya Anne Crosby is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of twenty-five novels. </span><span style="color: #111111; line-height: 115%;">She is k<span style="background: white;">nown for stories that are charged with emotion and humor and filled with flawed characters.</span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #111111; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thank you Tanya for taking out time for this interview. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjptWf0PtY8aPe6EB1J8xwqtar3AXsGRP19QpibXQQkTAlQYGGEVhYysNe8atA69R1YV3JwBO6IedF049pSvbLd5XoYD_slNMZZKWv7hhhyK0ZCPciQb3SyTQROUaWtag4dq1OvJRU9OYU/s1600/tanya.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjptWf0PtY8aPe6EB1J8xwqtar3AXsGRP19QpibXQQkTAlQYGGEVhYysNe8atA69R1YV3JwBO6IedF049pSvbLd5XoYD_slNMZZKWv7hhhyK0ZCPciQb3SyTQROUaWtag4dq1OvJRU9OYU/s320/tanya.jpg" width="205" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">How your growing-up years have inspired you to become a writer?</span></b></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I knew I wanted to be a writer from the time I was a little girl. I remember being 12 and getting my tonsils out and my father told me I could have anything I wanted, probably thinking it would be ice cream. But I asked to use his typewriter!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">What is the secret behind being the New York Times bestselling author of twenty-five novels? Consistently being able to write books that garnered huge readership and praise, do you follow a writing method or regime? </span></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Writing is a very individual journey, but if there is any secret at all, it’s this: Perseverance matters. If you have a drive to write, it’s what you must do, and to do it well, it takes practice. With lots of practice, you have a published book, and after a number of great books, you have a following. Essentially, the secret is simply to write the best book you know how to write and to keep doing it for as long as you love what you’re doing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Is there a character of yours, which is closest to your heart?</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">My favorite character is always the characters I’m currently working on. It’s important, I believe, to love every book from the bottom of your heart as you are writing them. Your passion for your work always shows.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">You have written books in different genres. How do switch between the genres? What are the difficulties that you face? </span></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbBN8P5luEX4rbHIiY6x9EjU-kyhgUAizNoSdbLl2UGNl3hI9ZK6trLAdaUv4Y1_yzk7MnFhK84FsmHrjIPdp7xYspfU3gCSW1dX90rDN5mBVYWnmgOFT8BJOaweH1Ht6Jt6o7m5KFd50/s1600/tanya+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbBN8P5luEX4rbHIiY6x9EjU-kyhgUAizNoSdbLl2UGNl3hI9ZK6trLAdaUv4Y1_yzk7MnFhK84FsmHrjIPdp7xYspfU3gCSW1dX90rDN5mBVYWnmgOFT8BJOaweH1Ht6Jt6o7m5KFd50/s640/tanya+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I actually find it fairly easy to switch between genres. As long as you’re writing a book you love, and feel a passion for, each and every book has its own rewards and pitfalls. In general, historical are a little harder, because they take more research, but although contemporaries are easier in the sense that we are living this history, right now, you’ve got to get it right, because there’s always someone out there who is ready to bonk you on the head with your mistakes (figuratively, of course!).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">You refer the term Hybrid Author for yourself, having your roots in both trade and self-publishing. What are the pros and cons of traditional publishing and self-publishing according to you? </span></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Although my publishing roots are trad, I definitely do not consider myself either indie or trad. I guess the term hybrid author most applies to me. I don’t believe there is any one right path for an author to take and I do believe under the right circumstances traditional publishing is still a great option, although I know that doesn’t answer your question. I came to a point in the late nineties that I no longer enjoyed what I was writing. That, and life got in the way, so I took a break. When I came back to the industry, it was an entirely different world. I was determined to love writing again. For me that meant telling the stories I wanted to tell and that was far easier to do as an indie author.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">What is the inspiration behind choosing the historical background for your romance Novels?</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Literally, it could be anything. I’m inspired by life in general. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">After ten years hiatus, you returned with your first contemporary romantic suspense Novel. What made you take a break for ten years? What stirred you to choose contemporary suspense as a genre for your comeback Novel? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I came to a point in the late nineties that I no longer enjoyed what I was writing. That, and life got in the way, so I took a break. When I came back to the industry, it was an entirely different world. I was determined to love writing again. For me that meant telling the stories I wanted to tell and that was far easier to do as an indie author.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Could you please tell us little about your future work? Which character will take the lead in the story? </span></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUoVNPvlwSDNt_DWJ7k4zZ-k_N6bYzq6gteT9g7J-MekffsT3GLjmvjhSc2tzoysN71JqXkuJSGNf5dQly59a_Dy16X2nc3k2x6QKYGnwGXmrRCDpDLg0xE1qN00tXffQ72JBSy9kvu7U/s1600/tanya+3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUoVNPvlwSDNt_DWJ7k4zZ-k_N6bYzq6gteT9g7J-MekffsT3GLjmvjhSc2tzoysN71JqXkuJSGNf5dQly59a_Dy16X2nc3k2x6QKYGnwGXmrRCDpDLg0xE1qN00tXffQ72JBSy9kvu7U/s1600/tanya+3.jpeg" /></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This year is going to be crazy. I have a new book out in March, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Highland-Storm-Guardians-Book-Stone/dp/194282016X/ref=la_B001HD19GI_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1456345232&sr=1-1" target="_blank">HIGHLAND STORM</a> and one out in April, THE GIRL WHO STAYED. I am now working on the next release, a second anthology with Glynnis Campbell and Laurin Wittig, called THE SUMMER STAR. And I’m also in the midst of book 4 of the Guardians series, which takes the series in a whole new direction. HIGHLAND FURY is due out in January 2017, and I’m plotting and scheming a new book for The Story Plant.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">How writing has moved you as a person? Are you different in your personal life then what you are as a writer?</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Probably not so much. Although I can’t say I identify with all my characters, there’s probably a tiny bit of me in all my characters, heroes and villains.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #bf9000;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Being the editor for ten years and a renowned published author for over twenty years, what advice would you like to give to new authors of today regarding editing, publishing and book promotions?</span></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></b></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">My advice is pretty rudimentary. Writers write. So do it every day. It seems simple, but this piece of advice has served me through twenty seven years as a published writer. The more you do it, the better you get.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"><a href="http://bestsellerstory.blogspot.com/2015/12/bestselling-author-interview-series.html" target="_blank">Kirtida Gautam interviews Scott Hawkins</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"><a href="http://bestsellerstory.blogspot.com/2015/11/interview-2-kirtida-gautam-interviews.html" target="_blank">Kirtida Gautam interviews Michael J. Sullivan</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"><a href="http://bestsellerstory.blogspot.com/2016/02/interview-4-kirtida-gautams-inteview.html" target="_blank">Kirtida Gautam interviews Anne Goodwin</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://bestsellerstory.blogspot.com/2016/02/interview-5-kirtida-gautam-interviews.html" target="_blank">Kirtida Gautam interviews Karen Fortunati </a></span><br />
<a href="http://bestsellerstory.blogspot.com/2016/03/interview-8-kirtida-gautam-interviews.html" style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 18.4px;" target="_blank">Kirtida Gautam interviews Beth Yarnall</a><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;">Kirtida Gautam is a clinical psychologist and an author. Follow her on Twitter</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/KirtidaGautam" style="line-height: 27.6px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">@KirtidaGautam </a><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></div>
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bestsellerstoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02692067592439974747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1297104278727960467.post-80072621917928463482016-02-17T13:16:00.000-08:002018-04-24T05:02:42.082-07:00INTERVIEW 5- KIRTIDA GAUTAM INTERVIEWS KAREN FORTUNATI <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: x-large; line-height: normal;"><b>INTERVIEW 5</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: x-large; line-height: normal;"><b>KIRTIDA GAUTAM INTERVIEWS </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>KAREN FORTUNATI</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://karenfortunati.com/" target="_blank">Karen Fortunati</a> is a writer of contemporary, realistic YA. The subject of her first book, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="https://twitter.com/KarenFortunati" target="_blank">The Weight of Zero</a></em>, is mental illness, specifically bipolar disorder, and it explores the shame, stigma and anxiety that often complicate the management of this chronic condition. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Her path to writing and publication was a long and indirect one. She graduated from the University of Scranton with an accounting degree and then got a law degree from Georgetown. After working as a lawyer for many years, she found herself growing interested and then fascinated with history, specifically the American Revolution. This fascination sparked the idea for a middle grade story so between family, dogs and a return to school (Trinity College for a master’s degree in American Studies), she threw herself into writing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: -22pt;">Thanks Karen for taking out time to answer the questions for this interview. As a clinical psychologist, I am eager to read </span><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -22pt;"><a href="https://twitter.com/KarenFortunati" target="_blank">The Weight of Zero</a></i><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: -22pt;">. I hope the book reaches in the hands of people who fight the neurotic demon named <a href="https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/bipolar-disorder/index.shtml" target="_blank">Bipolar Disorder</a>. I applaud you for writing a novel on this important topic. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #bf9000;"><b>What was the one thing that made you want to write <i>The Weight of Zero</i>? </b></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><i>The Weight of Zero</i></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> is a young adult novel about a girl considering suicide. Two factors drove me to this story. The first was a collection of personal experiences – observing family and friends deal with mental health issues and treatment. It’s interesting in that I never realized how much these experiences impacted me until I sat down to write this story. The second factor is my husband. He’s been a child psychiatrist for sixteen years and through him, I’ve learned about different mental illnesses and courses of treatment. For this story, I wanted to lift the veil and explore that process – get into the nitty gritty of medications, group and individual therapy and different types of support. I aimed for a respectful and honest approach because I know that treatment can work. In young adult literature, some portrayals of treatment are negative. My goal was to give a positive perspective so that someone who would have never considered talking to someone about a mental health issue might do so now.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">There is always hope.</span></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 150%; text-align: left; text-indent: -22pt;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Tell the readers more about the protagonist. What does she seek?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Seventeen-year-old Catherine has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and has made one suicide attempt. When you meet her, she is convinced that a life with this condition isn’t worth living. She’s planning to overdose and is stockpiling meds to take when her depression (aka “Zero”) returns. But changes in her treatment</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 150%;">- a new doctor who prescribes a new med and a new Intensive Outpatient Program – are making a surprising and positive impact. Brand new relationships start to develop with people Catherine could’ve never imagined. So the main issue then becomes whether Catherine can realize that life with bipolar disorder is worth living.</span></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: -22pt;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">What research you needed to write <i>The Weight Of Zero</i>? Which are the books that helped you the most? </span></span><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -22pt;"> </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">I read constantly, scouring the Internet for information, personal accounts and blogs. The International Bipolar Foundation presents excellent webinars and publishes the fantastic </span><i style="line-height: 150%;">bp</i><span style="line-height: 150%;"> Magazine. I was incredibly moved by <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Unquiet-Mind-Memoir-Moods-Madness/dp/0679763309/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455743019&sr=8-1&keywords=An+Unquiet+Mind" target="_blank">Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison’s </a></span><i style="line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Unquiet-Mind-Memoir-Moods-Madness/dp/0679763309/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455743019&sr=8-1&keywords=An+Unquiet+Mind" target="_blank">An Unquiet Mind</a></i><span style="line-height: 150%;">. I also found </span><i style="line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Two-Bipolar-Chicks-Guide-Survival-ebook/dp/B00JOW47O0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455743051&sr=8-1&keywords=Two+Bipolar+Chick%E2%80%99s+Guide+to+Survival%3A+Tips+for+Living+With+Bipolar+Disorder+by+Wendy+K.+Williamson+and+Honora+Rose" target="_blank">Two Bipolar Chick’s Guide to Survival: Tips for Living With Bipolar Disorder</a></i><span style="line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Two-Bipolar-Chicks-Guide-Survival-ebook/dp/B00JOW47O0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455743051&sr=8-1&keywords=Two+Bipolar+Chick%E2%80%99s+Guide+to+Survival%3A+Tips+for+Living+With+Bipolar+Disorder+by+Wendy+K.+Williamson+and+Honora+Rose" target="_blank"> by Wendy K. Williamson and Honora Rose</a> enormously helpful.</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 150%;">My husband, though, was my best resource! Not only did he give technical advice but was also great at editing.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: -22pt;">What was the most satisfying moment of your writing career?</span><span style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: -22pt;"> </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Two moments tie for most satisfying: the first was when my agent, <a href="https://twitter.com/SaraMegibow" target="_blank">Sara Megibow</a>, offered me representation and the second, learning that The Weight of Zero was going to be published by Delacorte. When I finally got an agent, I had been writing for about six years, mostly on my first full novel, a middle grade manuscript that had gotten soundly rejected. So when Sara’s email arrived offering representation, I remember staring at it, stunned that it had actually happened, that an agent wanted to take me on. When you get rejected so many times, it feels like that day is never going to come.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #bf9000; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -22pt;"><b>If you have to make a movie trailer of your writing career, what the trailer will look like?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">This is a hard question…hmmmm. I guess it would be something like </span><i style="line-height: 150%;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_%26_Julia" target="_blank">Julie and Julia</a></i><span style="line-height: 150%;">. I loved how that movie showed what publication rejection feels like – when you invest years into writing and it seems to never pan out and then suddenly (six years for me), it does.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;">Kirtida Gautam is a clinical psychologist and an author. Follow her on Twitter</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: normal;"><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/KirtidaGautam" style="line-height: 27.6px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">@KirtidaGautam </a><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></div>
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bestsellerstoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02692067592439974747noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1297104278727960467.post-72941528935473091262016-02-02T00:30:00.004-08:002018-04-24T05:02:22.749-07:00INTERVIEW 4- KIRTIDA GAUTAM INTEVIEWS ANNE GOODWIN <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #b45f06; line-height: normal;"><b>INTERVIEW 4</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #b45f06; line-height: normal;"><b>KIRTIDA GAUTAM INTERVIEWS </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #b45f06; line-height: normal;"><b>ANNE GOODWIN</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span></span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: normal;">Anne Goodwin’s debut novel,<i> </i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sugar-Snails-Anne-Goodwin-ebook/dp/B010O8F9M6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1454402006&sr=8-3&keywords=sugar+and+snail" target="_blank">Sugar and Snails</a>, is about a woman who has kept her past identity a secret for thirty years. It was </span><a href="http://www.inspired-quill.com/books/sugar-and-snails/" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">published in July 2015 by Inspired Quill</span></a><span style="line-height: normal;">. Her second novel, <i>Underneath</i> is about a man who keeps a woman captive in his cellar, is scheduled for May 2017. Anne is also a </span><a href="http://annegoodwin.weebly.com/annecdotal.html" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">book blogger</span></a><span style="line-height: normal;"> and author of over 60 </span><a href="http://annegoodwin.weebly.com/short-stories.html" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">published short stories</span></a><span style="line-height: normal;">.<i> </i>If you’re in the UK, come and meet her at one of her </span><a href="http://annegoodwin.weebly.com/events.html" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">author events</span></a><span style="line-height: normal;">. Alternatively you can connect via her website: </span><a href="http://annegoodwin.weebly.com/" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">annethology</span></a><span style="line-height: normal;"> or on Twitter </span><a href="https://twitter.com/Annecdotist" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">@Annecdotist</span></a><span style="line-height: normal;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: normal;">Thank you very much Anne for taking out time to answer the Questions for Authorprenuer Blog and sharing your journey as an author with the readers. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUwOTcytZ3oiuXfaTIfiPJHDD6qCn3D1vkXIxFOinXaCjMn9_ZNhxLnFtUD6U3tOoSaXg8IXcN0Kv0YA9y6UlT-TXKcbX-li1HINAlu_TvzfZva93M0jPytnFi14wg1NEz6tOa_GIbeHM/s1600/anneGoodwin1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUwOTcytZ3oiuXfaTIfiPJHDD6qCn3D1vkXIxFOinXaCjMn9_ZNhxLnFtUD6U3tOoSaXg8IXcN0Kv0YA9y6UlT-TXKcbX-li1HINAlu_TvzfZva93M0jPytnFi14wg1NEz6tOa_GIbeHM/s1600/anneGoodwin1.jpg" /></a></div>
<b style="color: #b45f06; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -22pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">What makes the process of writing worthwhile for you?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">I find the process of revision the most intrinsically rewarding: </span><a href="http://annegoodwin.weebly.com/annecdotal/-relishing-the-cuts" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">cutting out redundant words</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;">; finding a way of expressing something with greater clarity, subtlety or eloquence; and, even though my fiction is not plot-heavy, I love spreading clues, like a trail of breadcrumbs, to lead to the climax.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">However, I must admit my writing is also an addiction that won’t let me go, with origins in my love of reading and the dream of my own words giving a similar pleasure to others. The addiction is driven by </span><a href="http://annegoodwin.weebly.com/annecdotal/four-writing-process-blog-hops-the-what-how-and-why" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">a need to express the unexpressible</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"> and to tame the thoughts bubbling in my head. It’s maintained by the satisfaction of publication and from </span><a href="http://annegoodwin.weebly.com/reviews.html" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">readers’ appreciation</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"> but, as with any addiction, the highs can leave me wanting more.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -22pt;"><b>What was the most frustrating moment of your writing career?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The writer’s path is strewn with disappointments; how does one choose among so many? But it was certainly frustrating when, after she’d fallen in love with my novel, an agent’s assistant was unable to persuade her senior colleagues in the agency to take it on. Luckily, I was able </span><a href="http://isabelcostelloliterarysofa.com/2015/07/15/guest-author-anne-goodwin-when-small-is-beautiful-in-the-publication-circus/" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">to find a happy home for my novel</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"> with a publisher who accepts direct submissions. A little further along the path, however, I remember the shock when a bookseller informed me that, due to the discount required for a shop to stock it, </span><a href="http://annegoodwin.weebly.com/annecdotal/on-book-pricing-a-cautionary-tale" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">my novel was priced too low</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;">; fortunately something the publisher was able to rectify.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9-HLyBftdaq8AfLBX1r5yzWem_4cm3fOfcbX3yFPjyOHLWvWA2Uk04uemZk2ECSC8kKskWrGkTkr6f7tyfrBMd8df9uf83ptco2YXgHvW0pIRO7Ups6Son8DHXoE81LToCMk0h1zQHj4/s1600/anne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9-HLyBftdaq8AfLBX1r5yzWem_4cm3fOfcbX3yFPjyOHLWvWA2Uk04uemZk2ECSC8kKskWrGkTkr6f7tyfrBMd8df9uf83ptco2YXgHvW0pIRO7Ups6Son8DHXoE81LToCMk0h1zQHj4/s320/anne.jpg" width="238" /></a></div>
<b style="color: #b45f06; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -22pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">What was the most satisfying moment of your writing career?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">A string of moments connected with getting my first novel published: </span><a href="http://annegoodwin.weebly.com/annecdotal/-i-love-this-book-and-other-generous-terms-of-adulation" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">the generous quotes</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"> from the early readers; </span><a href="http://annegoodwin.weebly.com/annecdotal/-one-huge-leap-for-anne-one-teeny-tiny-step-for-womankind" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">the excitement of publication day</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;">; and seeing friends and family actually enjoy themselves </span><a href="http://annegoodwin.weebly.com/launch-photos.html" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">at my launch parties</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"> <b>and</b> queue up to buy signed copies of my book.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #b45f06; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -22pt;"><b>If you have to make a movie trailer of your writing career, what the trailer will look like?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">What a fascinating question, although a tricky one for those of us who work with words rather than images. But I’m picturing </span><a href="https://broccoliaddict.wordpress.com/2015/08/03/a-mind-of-my-own-in-another-side-to-the-story/" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">a girl with a gag across her mouth</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"> sitting reading a book. The girl morphs into a young woman scribbling in an exercise book as if her life depends on it (maybe illustrated by that cliché gallows in the background or a ticking time-bomb)! Finally – because don’t we all love a happy ending – she’s </span><a href="http://www.bookword.co.uk/is-there-discrimination-against-older-women-writers/" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">older and greyer</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;">, but nevertheless radiant as she signs copies of her first book. Alternatively, in the arthouse version, it won’t finish there but will move back to her frantic scribbling, although she’s now quite old and frail, in a dark and shabby room while, through the window, we see “normal” people out in the sunshine getting on with real-life. On reflection, I think I’ll have the Disney version, please.</span></span></div>
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<b style="color: #b45f06; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -22pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">How much do you rely on personal emotions and memories to write your novels?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">I like to read, and try to write, fiction that has emotional depth, so I’m drawing very much on my own emotional experience. I often use my memories of real places, and of houses especially, for my settings, although will happily play around with the details to suit the plot. The </span><a href="http://sherrimatthewsblog.com/2015/12/10/guest-post-author-anne-goodwin/" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">occasional episode from my own life can seep into the story</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;">, but generally I’m happier making things up. Yet, at an emotional level, much of my fiction could be read as a </span><a href="http://annegoodwin.weebly.com/annecdotal/storytelling-as-personal-metaphor" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">metaphor for my own personal story</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -22pt;"><b>Would you like to research some vocations as possible jobs for a character?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The narrator of my next novel,</span><i style="line-height: 115%;"> Underneath</i><span style="line-height: 115%;">, has worked in a rural school in South Africa, a dive centre in Belize, a car hire firm in Hong Kong and a cycle repair shop in Guatemala. I don’t think I have enough lifetimes to try all these, and I’ve lost the travelling bug, so maybe I’ll pass.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -22pt;"><b>Tell me about some research information which you would never have known if you would not have written your book.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Another fascinating question, Kirtida. I’m a lazy researcher, and tend to write about topics I already know something about, just checking facts and details. However, I was rather thrown in the process of writing</span><i style="line-height: 115%;"> </i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25865437-sugar-and-snails?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank">Sugar and Snails</a></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> by the discovery, or rediscovery, that a law passed by parliament one year doesn’t come into operation until the next. Although this sounds pretty humdrum, it caused me some problems with the timeline until I was able to build it into the plot as a point of tension.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Related Post:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://bestsellerstory.blogspot.com/2015/12/bestselling-author-interview-series.html" target="_blank">Kirtida Gautam interviews Scott Hawkins</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://bestsellerstory.blogspot.com/2015/11/interview-2-kirtida-gautam-interviews.html" target="_blank">Kirtida Gautam interviews Michael J. Sullivan</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://bestsellerstory.blogspot.com/2015/10/interview-1-kirtida-gautam-interviews.html" target="_blank">Kirtida Gautam interviews Debra Holland</a> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://bestsellerstory.blogspot.com/2016/02/interview-5-kirtida-gautam-interviews.html" target="_blank">Kirtida Gautam interviews Karen Fortunati</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://bestsellerstory.blogspot.com/2016/02/interview-6-kirtida-gautam-interviews.html" style="line-height: 18.4px;" target="_blank">Kirtida Gautam interviews Tanya Anne Crosby</a></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;">Kirtida Gautam is a clinical psychologist and an author. Follow her on Twitter</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: normal;"><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/KirtidaGautam" style="line-height: 27.6px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">@KirtidaGautam </a><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></div>
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bestsellerstoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02692067592439974747noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1297104278727960467.post-58043559007836389242016-01-11T21:48:00.001-08:002016-01-22T01:33:08.602-08:00If your book is like your child, then what is the role of other people associated with your book?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I often hear authors saying that,
"my book is like my child." I don’t </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">disagree. </span></span></span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">Of course it is. It’s
their brain child and it’s as dear to them </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">as their own child. </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">Let us stick
with this connotation and try to </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">understand </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">roles of some of the </span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">key </span></span></span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">people
associated with books in </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">relation to a mother </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">and her child. </span></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Father of the child<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So the first important role in a
child's life after his/her mother is a role of </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">a </span></span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">father. Father's typical role
is to protect and provide. A Father helps his </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">child </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">to grow by providing
financial support for his/her education, medical </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">expenses, </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">food, and means for
a safe environment and a happy life. This </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">is </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">what a publisher does for a book.
Indisputably it’s a writer who delivers </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">it, </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">but a publisher bears all the
expenses of publishing, marketing, and </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">everything that a book needs to grow.
But there are millions of self-</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">published </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">authors, who don’t have anyone </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">supporting their work. They </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">are like single parent raising their child all
alone by bearing financial load </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">and giving the required nurturing. They mostly
have to </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">become involved </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">in all the steps required for a book to reach its
potential height by making </span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">sure that their book gets established in the market
and reaches to </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">the hands of the readers. It’s no surprise that being a single
parent is </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">one hell </span></span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">of a difficult a job.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Your Gynecologist<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now what is the role of an editor? An
editor is a gynecologist, who makes </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">sure </span></span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">you deliver a healthy baby with
minimum complications. I truly believe </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">that </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">writers should give their editors
same respect that they would give to </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">their </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">gynecologist during pregnancy. The
way only a mother feels a baby's </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">movements when it is in her womb, but a doctor
who performs a sonography </span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">has a clearer view of the child, an editor has a more
objective and clear vision </span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">of a book. Just the way a doctor provides time to
time medicine to keep your </span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">baby healthy, an editor gives you timely feedback to explain what is working </span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">in the favor of your book and what’s not. There is a
professional term “Book </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">Doctors” used widely </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">these days for the developmental
editors, who support </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">the authors in the whole process of turning their draft manuscripts
into a full </span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">grown professional book. If a doctor doesn’t perform his or her job
with </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">precision, you are bound to have </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">complications in delivery. In reference
to </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">writers if an editor does a shabby job, you’ll face troubles in delivering a </span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">potentially successful book. </span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Importance of a good
Nanny<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There is another important role these
days for a mother’s and a child’s life. </span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Think for a moment that you are a mother,
who just gave birth to a tender </span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">newborn baby and you already have another baby conceived
in your belly </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">and also </span></span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">have planned the third baby that you want to conceive as
soon as </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">you deliver </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">your second child...ohhh, that’s scary!</span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">At least if you are a single </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">m</span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">other </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">having no
support of your partner. Now think about a similar scenario </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">in a life </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">of a self
published author. He/she has just published her first book, </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">has started </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">writing
the second book and his/her mind is already wrangling </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">with the idea of </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">the
third book. Just the way you cannot plan for another </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">baby </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">till your first child
is grown up a little, especially if you don’t have a </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">family </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">support, you cannot </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">focus on writing your second book if your first </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">book is out there in the market </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">and you know that you have to do all the </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">marketing on your own to make sure </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">your book is a success. Here comes </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">the role of a nanny. She is not the mother </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">and hence probably won’t feel </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">the same emotions for the child, but as she
spends more time with the child </span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">making sure the baby eats & sleeps in time,
is cleaned properly, is engaged </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">well in playing, she also gets attached with
the child. In </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">the world of books </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">and publications that’s the job of a marketing
and PR person. A marketing </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">person supports the author in making his/her book a
success by </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">looking after </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">all the tasks associated with marketing, creating readership,
and </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">engaging in </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">social media campaigns of the book. If you have a strong support
of your </span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">marketing person, you can give your brain child in his/her able hands
and </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">focus on writing your next book. If your marketing person is not efficient, </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">you </span></span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">wouldn’t have time to write your next book as all your time will go into </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">marketing your first book.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The more I am getting engaged with
self published writers, trying to </span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">understand their issues and roadblocks, the
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">respect </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">the role of </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">an </span></span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">editor and marketing person for
the book.I</span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;"> have </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">made a </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">humble effort
for </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">providing these two crucial services of editing </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">and marketing </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">to authors
through my freelance service called </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">"For Your Fiction". I am
determined to take my </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">duties as an editor and </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">a marketing person seriously,
because as a mother I </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">know, if you have </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">an </span><span style="color: #990000; line-height: 115%;">amateur doctor and an inefficient
nanny, how difficult your life would </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">become.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1297104278727960467.post-87121261234584270672015-12-03T12:37:00.006-08:002018-04-24T05:02:05.640-07:00INTERVIEW-3 KIRTIDA GAUTAM INTERVIEWS SCOTT HAWKINS <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="s1"><b><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">INTERVIEW-3</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span class="s1"><b><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: x-large;">KIRTIDA GAUTAM INTERVIEWS </span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: x-large;">SCOTT HOWKINS</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span class="s2" style="font-size: large; text-align: left;"><span class="s2"><a href="http://www.shawkins.net/">Scott Hawkins</a></span><span class="s1"> is born in Idaho in 1969, grew up in South Carolina. He graduated from the University of South Carolina with a B.S.C.S. in computer science in 1991 and an M.S. in 1993 and works as a computer programmer. He’s been a member of Absolute Write since 2006. Scott has also been deeply involved in keeping Absolute Write’s server running for close to ten years now. He lives in the Atlanta suburbs with his wife and seven dogs. <a href="http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/240942/the-library-at-mount-char-by-scott-hawkins/"><span class="s2">The Library at Mount Char</span></a> is his first novel. The Novel was nominated as the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23363928-the-library-at-mount-char?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank">Best Debut Novel for Goodreads.com Reader's Choice Award</a>. </span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr-AUpEraeq4Uoiw8x4TBaKE-Qv7beMSYajT_ZvshpBzCKWE959aVAwQ1hd9V8s7dcE7P64UPS_5P7QuwiXJznAxi2f856Ez6fLQkc9TQImd3AheTlaTCkpX-D5yHITkTiC2gSLc403oA/s1600/9780553418606.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr-AUpEraeq4Uoiw8x4TBaKE-Qv7beMSYajT_ZvshpBzCKWE959aVAwQ1hd9V8s7dcE7P64UPS_5P7QuwiXJznAxi2f856Ez6fLQkc9TQImd3AheTlaTCkpX-D5yHITkTiC2gSLc403oA/s320/9780553418606.jpeg" width="209" /></span></a></div>
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<b style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">At first we would like to know, what inspired you to write your first fantasy Novel “The Library at Mount Char”? Were there any books or movies that inspired you to write this brilliant Novel or do you remember any moment when the idea first struck your mind?</span></b></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It wasn’t really any one thing. When I’m working on a new project, I tend to just jot things down—scenes, character sketches, whatever—until I have half a dozen snippets that feel like they’re working. I don’t worry too much about narrative flow or even making sense until much later. In the initial stages I just want stuff that’s interesting in itself.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I’ll be a little vague here to avoid spoilers. In the case of Library at Mount Char, the core scenes were one where a guy goes out for a jog, a neighborhood picnic that went bad, and a guy meeting a strange woman at a bar. I truly didn’t have much of an idea of how to string them together, or even what order they’d be in, but each scene felt lively in itself, and I figured I could come up with some way to string them together. What ultimately became the story sprang from trying to figure out a way to string those three scenes together.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So, like—what is this guy doing in the neighborhood? Why him and no one else? What happened after they left the bar? Stuff like that. I try to keep the reader interested first, then go back later and make up plausible reasons why stuff happened. Well, semi-plausible. </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Do you follow the same process of writing a Novel and technical books? If not, what is different about writing a Novel? Please tell our reader more about your writing process.</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">They don’t have much in common, at least for me. A computer book is very similar to an academic research project. First I read everything I can on the subject, then I set up a lab and start experimenting for myself. It’s a lot like writing twenty or thirty term papers in a row. That can be rewarding in its own way, but it’s not the sort of thing I would do for fun.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Novels, when they’re going well, are much more fun to write. I talked a little bit above about how I get started. Those initial stages can be a lot of work, and sometimes frustrating. It’s also very time-consuming. I usually throw out more than half of what I write. But once I’ve gotten past that and have the story and characters sorted out in my mind, I get very immersed in actually putting it on paper. That’s really fun. At that point there’s really nothing I enjoy more. </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>As we all know, your wife has been instrumental in shaping up your writing work and giving you objective feedbacks. Can you please tell us more about her contribution in your Novel writing?</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It’s simple but hugely valuable. She’s not a writer herself, but she’s an avid reader. She doesn’t give detailed feedback, she just looks at my stuff and gives me a “thumbs-up” or “thumbs-down.” She’s ruthless, and she doesn’t mince words. She’s literally thwapped me on the head with manuscript pages a couple of times. “This sucks! Fix it!”</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">If I can get a scene past her, I’m pretty confident that it’s working. It’s not necessarily going to be for everybody, but I’m confident that at least I won’t embarrass myself too badly by sending it out into the world.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>I have heard that you have a playlist for The Library at Mount Char. Can you tell our readers, how music helps you in writing?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I be happy to tell you, but I bet it’s not in the ways you expect. I’m really not a very musical guy. I’ve got almost no aptitude for it, and I don’t even listen to it much. When I’m in the car driving by myself I keep the radio off. Most of the stuff on my iPod is audio books. All my musical friends say that what I do listen to is garbage. </span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The thing is, though, I’ve got a lot of dogs in the house. They bark every time the neighbors slam a car door. They bark at squirrels, deer, and the cat that hangs out on the front porch. They can be very persistent. So a lot of times when I’m working I put headphones on to drown out the noise. </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I’ve also found that having one song play over and over when I’m working on a particular scene helps get me in the mood—kind of a conditioned response. I will never be able to hear Dead Man’s Party without thinking of the big showdown about 2/3 of the way through the book. I’ve probably heard that song more times than Danny Elfman at this point. I’ve got at least one for each chapter. If I ever want to get into that frame of mind again, all I have to do is put on the headphones.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>What kind of research or ground work you did before you started writing The Library at Mount Char?</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There wasn’t a whole lot. That’s the beauty of writing fantasy—if you need a fact, you can just make it up.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I did spend a bit of time reading up on uncontacted tribes, or at least trying to. The problem is with isolated tribes is that there’s really not much to say about them. There are some guys called the Sentinelese that have an island in the south Pacific. Whenever anybody tries to land there, they attack, so people tend to leave them alone. If anybody discovers oil on the island I’m sure we’ll learn more about them, but as it stands we don’t know much. They’re not really hurting anybody.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Years ago I read an article about some Brazilian tribes from the amazon that got displaced by deforestation. These guys have basically been living in the Stone Age their entire lives, but then all of a sudden they’re in downtown Sao Paolo. Everybody was talking on cell phones, ordering pizza, that kind of stuff. That had to do a number on your head. That article wasn’t research, exactly, but that may have been one of the things that sparked the idea for the book.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There was a religious aspect to the book, obviously. I didn’t do a whole lot of reading specifically on that topic when I was writing, but I’ve read quite a bit about religion over the years—I got Greek and Roman in school, Christian stuff from my mom, I picked up a bit of Hindu lore somewhere, and Polynesian stuff from somewhere else. I tried to think about the things that they all had in common. They all do seem to be scratching the same itch. </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">For instance, a few years ago I was reading about angelology while researching a previous book. There are only a half-dozen or so angels named in the Bible, but in Catholic tradition there are probably a couple of thousand. Somebody must have felt a need for them to invent that many.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I noticed that the angels had a lot of similarities to modern superheroes—there’s Uriel the fire angel, and Barnabas the ice angel. Maybe there’s another one that has adamantium claws, like Wolverine. I remember a set of liner notes in some medieval manuscript speculating about whether the Metatron could beat up the Archangel Michael that would sound familiar to any comic book fan. If memory serves, there was even something analogous to trading cards the young monks would pass around the monastery. </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So with Mount Char I was trying to come up with a new mythology that scratched the same itch as the others without borrowing explicitly from any one of them. </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>What kind of books you like to read in general and what kind of movies you like?</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I grew up reading a lot of science fiction and fantasy. I still do, but I’ve also branched out in my old age. I’ll buy anything by Joe Haldeman, Ursula Le Guin or Stephen King. I don’t write a lot of short fiction—it’s a different skill set, and I want to stay focused on novels—but I love to read it. I’ve got most of the Gardner Dozois annual Year’s Best anthologies, and I love Ellen Datlow’s fantasy anthologies. </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">That said, these days about half of what I read is non-fiction. I like non-fiction books about complex systems falling apart—disasters, basically. At one point I read a lot about airplane crashes, but it turned me into a white-knuckle flier, so I stopped. Financial disasters are interesting, so I got a lot of reading pleasure from the 2008 debacle.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There’s a book about the collapse of Enron called Conspiracy of Fools that I absolutely love. I’ve been through it at least half a dozen times. I read all of the Richard Rhodes histories of the Cold War. Dark Sun is a favorite. I’ll buy anything by Michael Lewis. I was kind of hoping for a bumper crop of nuclear doom books after the Fukushima thing, but evidently the Japanese don’t revel in postmortems the way we do. Or maybe the books just haven’t been translated yet.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As far as movies—I love them. I go to the movies almost every weekend. If you can’t get me and the wife to buy a ticket to your flick, you aren’t really trying. I’ll go see pretty much anything with an effects budget, all the fanboy stuff. You probably could have guessed that from reading Mount Char.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Less stereotypically, Remains of the Day is one of my all-time favorite movies. I was amazed at how much I liked the Reese Witherspoon movie Wild—no disrespect to anyone involved in making it, mind you, but the ads for it didn’t make me feel like part of the target demographic. One day I checked it out on pay-per-view and I loved it. </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Please tell us also about your future work.</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Right now I’m working on one that’s got elements of noir mystery and fairy tale wrapped up in a science-fiction premise. Imagine Humprey Bogart in the Maltese Falcon was instead a slightly crazy middle-aged woman who is prone to killing sprees. The premise is that she gets hired by Dr. No to investigate a school shooting that may have been perpetrated by Peter Pan. Then it gets weird. </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Do you have any message or piece of advice for our readers and new authors, which you wish you would have got before you got into writing your novel?</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I do! This is something I don’t remember hearing said much, and I really wish I’d had more people clobber me over the head with it.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">If you’re one of those people for whom language comes easily, you may actually be at a disadvantage in trying to make it as a novelist. All those years of easy A’s in English class and good standardized test scores may have given you a false sense of security. It certainly did me.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I had kind of gotten in the habit of thinking in terms of “good enough.” As in, “this scene isn’t really working, but the next scene kicks so much ass it’s probably good enough.” </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">No.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There is no “good enough” when you’re trying to get a novel published. Maybe if you’re Shakespeare or somebody like that, but for mere mortals such as myself, it is never going to be okay to let anything slide. I’m bad at evaluating my own work—it all seems good to me, you know? I finally got it through my head that if I spot a problem, even a small one, it probably means that whatever I’m looking at is actually a trainwreck. </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">These days I’m trying to train myself to be completely unforgiving. The flesh is weak and all that, but that’s the goal.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;">Kirtida Gautam is a clinical psychologist and an author. Follow her on Twitter</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 27.6px;"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/KirtidaGautam" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 27.6px;" target="_blank">@KirtidaGautam </a><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></o:p></span></span></div>
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bestsellerstoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02692067592439974747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1297104278727960467.post-5213342398128451262015-11-23T02:41:00.000-08:002015-11-24T10:17:56.717-08:00Self published books- Mayhem of Marketing and promoting for authors<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Written By <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Payal.Desai.Chopra" target="_blank">Payal Desai</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Close your eyes and make an image of an author. <i>What
did you see?</i> Let me tell you what I would have imagined few years back. I might
have imagined a person writing under the piles of books or a person reading or
writing at a scenic lonely place. But now even the picture in my imagination
has changed. What do I see now is a person, who wants to cling to its laptop
but is pulled in a different direction into the muddle of digital marketing
world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Self-publishing is not a new phenomena. It started in
1931 when the author of “</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Joy_of_Cooking" title="The Joy of Cooking"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: blue;">The Joy of Cooking</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">” paid a local
printing company to print 3000 copies. But the concept of publishing eBooks for
Kindle is relatively new. The Authors, who used to spend their time only in reading,
penning down their inner thoughts and living in the realm of their imagination,
are now forced to become a businessman.
Why? Isn’t it enough to write a book and then get lost in the world of
words again, away from the society and people, in the world of your imaginary characters?
I guess it is not a choice anymore. What is the point of writing a book if you
cannot make it reach to its readers? No
writer wants to write a book, that no one reads. Like any other form of art,
writing is also about communicating and expressing. Through their books,
authors try to communicate to a wider range of people, giving them messages,
sometimes just to entertain them and sometimes to evoke the society. But the question is, in today’s high tech
digital world, how far the authors have reached and at what cost.</span><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">I always like to shop from an individual shop rather than
a mall, as too much of choices to pick from, often makes me confused. I end up
buying something that I don’t want. There are always pro and cons attached even
with an evolution. The same has happened
with Digital marketing and eBook self-publishing. Now the authors can save
their time from going to one publication to another for their book to be
published. But the downside is that, when they put their books out on Kindle, contend
doesn’t end there. As of June 2015, there are over 3.6 million e-books
available in the Kindle Store. In the ocean of books on Amazon and on thousands
of online-book stores, how people will come to know that your book is good? The
answer to this question gives birth to the mayhem of marketing. Authors are not
typically people who have a business mind. So it becomes even tougher for them
to make their books stand out in a crowd. Sometimes authors end up giving up on
their work and are lost in the dark. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One solution to this problem is Personal
Representative (PR) and a Social media marketing person. You hire them and then your work is done. But
what if you are a new author? Self-publishing is not chosen only by new
authors. But most of the new authors of today’s generation are choosing self
publishing over transitional publishing for their books. And if you are a new and an un-established
author and if you don’t have that kind of money, what will you do? If you don’t
want to give up on your book, the only choice left is to pick up a </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">hammer</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> and a
</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">chisel</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> and
start to carve the mountain yourself (hypothetically of course!) , just like Dashrath
Manjhi, a man who carved a path through mountain all by himself (2015 Bollywood
movie named “</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manjhi_-_The_Mountain_Man"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: blue;">Manjhi - the
Mountain Man</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">” based on his real life story). It’s a
lonely road to travel and you will get many hurdles in your way. But the
biggest trouble that the authors face is not being able to fulfill their basic
need of writing and reading, as they have to invest enormous time in marketing
their book. Social media marketing is a
mad rush and if you want to compete there, you got to know the techniques to
survive and to bring results. It takes a lot from you.</span><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;">5 essential and very basic keys for your social media
campaign:</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #93c47d;">You need to know your audience</span></b>: Find out
what age group, regional areas, professions & educational background people
are likely to pick your book.</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><b>Know
your book</b>: Sounds weird? Of course any author will know his work! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuAO2eL4QB3NRdqRVp2O-yYDzKokk_oI6tUbIS5EiD35qGlbra7jh8EJFq5Sz-rVRXMu0Uq0xzdAmFOI72gCHuV8mHXmBpw3let8Xo71yMDzVL7s8P-stKcbgvW6i7R_uxQ1Sos2Jt26w/s1600/thumb_407660001444955669.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuAO2eL4QB3NRdqRVp2O-yYDzKokk_oI6tUbIS5EiD35qGlbra7jh8EJFq5Sz-rVRXMu0Uq0xzdAmFOI72gCHuV8mHXmBpw3let8Xo71yMDzVL7s8P-stKcbgvW6i7R_uxQ1Sos2Jt26w/s320/thumb_407660001444955669.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
What I mean
here is you need to know the selling-point of your book. What is there in your
book, which makes it different from other books of its genre, which is your
unique voice? And what’s there in your book, which will appeal to its readers
the most.</span></li>
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<!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">3. Once you find out your audience and the
selling point, design your campaign around it. Don’t try to reach to
everyone. Just pick up the right
audience and give them exactly the things they might be interested in. <span style="color: #a64d79;"><b>sell
them what is sell-able in your book</b>. </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: 18.4px;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> 4.</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Don’t stick to only one social media place.
i.g you are trying to sell your book </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVbvzQ2M82Koij28etgGO89LaPFwMs1xqkkt4P1crjYtIBNJXtRjHKnrQYYQD0VTTGaqJlOjhez0vBWnpz8B940ap9K1X1FDyrCD2D5ISCWSR6oxiYMzT9J1OzMmprMJXqpWUWuefQUek/s1600/social-media-buttons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVbvzQ2M82Koij28etgGO89LaPFwMs1xqkkt4P1crjYtIBNJXtRjHKnrQYYQD0VTTGaqJlOjhez0vBWnpz8B940ap9K1X1FDyrCD2D5ISCWSR6oxiYMzT9J1OzMmprMJXqpWUWuefQUek/s320/social-media-buttons.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">on Face Book, but what if there are thousands of
groups of readers on twitter, which are more destined to like your work.<b><span style="color: #cc0000;"> Build
your campaign at least on 3-5 different social media platforms</span></b>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #674ea7;">5. Give to get</span></b>: you need to initially giveaway
your books to bloggers and readers, who will not only read and review your
work, but who will build your brand for you by spreading the word. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">The list can go on and on... but these are the fundamental
aspects of marketing for any new author. Credit goes to <a href="http://www.kirtidagautam.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Kirtida Gautam</span></a>, the author
of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/IAm16ICanRape-Kirtida-Gautam/dp/1512283177/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1448274945&sr=8-1&keywords=kirtida+gautam" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">#Iam16Icanrape – The War AGAINST rape culture</span></a>, as these concepts have been
taken from the social media marketing campaign of her book. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">When I first thought about working as a book promoter
on social media, I thought it as easy as face booking in general. But it is only when I walked on the road of
promoting and marketing the book, I felt the thorns and stones that hurt most
of the author exactly at the places they are hurting me now. In this huge world
of digital media, every morning I wake up to make my mark and every night I
sleep with the feeling of being overwhelmed. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> - Blog by Payal Desai Chopra</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18.4px;">You can follow me on FaceBook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Payal.Desai.Chopra"><span style="color: blue;">https://www.facebook.com/Payal.Desai.Chopra</span></a> or </span></span><br />
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bestsellerstoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02692067592439974747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1297104278727960467.post-31877423152479765652015-11-20T15:08:00.000-08:002018-04-24T05:01:50.321-07:00BUILDING AUTHOR'S PLATFORM <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;">Writers often say that their books are their children. I go one step ahead in madness. I know the gender of my book #iAm16iCan. It’s a girl. She is my daughter! </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">Since the time my baby came in this world, I have matured as a person. I had to. I am her Father (more about why I am her father and not mother in next book is the idea discussed in my next book) and I had to make sure that She gets all the care and protection that a child needs during the first few critical months of the life. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">I know I sound insane, which I partly am! </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">Nevertheless, here are the 6 most important things that I learnt about creating author’s platform during last 6 months. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZsuC3qURQzOYgiVyLL6XYGauQ1j64H6LsXZ98Lu2sqYH6rvRVV0NpqIDprXWrnYJGyN8gNLNnE8Vrh6fMwP03CIEWhoI0GameCVJ9s-5LyFHRETPy72eyyEjJqoPr6Ii3NCYYD2QKuEs/s1600/His_Majesty%2527s_Theatre%252C_Perth_1933_audience.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZsuC3qURQzOYgiVyLL6XYGauQ1j64H6LsXZ98Lu2sqYH6rvRVV0NpqIDprXWrnYJGyN8gNLNnE8Vrh6fMwP03CIEWhoI0GameCVJ9s-5LyFHRETPy72eyyEjJqoPr6Ii3NCYYD2QKuEs/s320/His_Majesty%2527s_Theatre%252C_Perth_1933_audience.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #e69138;">1- Audience: </span></b> First and most critical questions an author needs to ask in relation to his books is, who is going to read this book? Who is the audience? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The answer to this single question is going to be pivotal in figuring out who, where, when, why, what and how to of the entire marketing campaign around the book. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <b><span style="color: #e69138; font-size: large;">One thing I did right: </span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I knew my audience quite clearly. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Why? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It’s because in chapter 12.1, Rudransh Kashyap, the protagonist of the novel while master-minding the campaign <i>I am 16 can I rape? </i>answers the question who is the audience for this book. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I love my characters; they figure everything out for me. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #e69138;">One mistake I made: </span></b>In the beginning, sometimes I used to ask some of the readers to go on reading because I thought; these people need the information presented in the book. I don’t want to go in specifics but there is this person, a business associate of one of my family members. This guy is a real jerk who treats women disrespectfully all the time, for no other reason but because they are females. Misogyny. I wanted him to read the book and I kind of insisted that he should read it to improve his behavior. Now, I never do that. It’s juvenile! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><b>2- Buzz-</b> </span>Social media is the democratic NEW media. I bless engineers who gave this liberating voice to the creative souls who withered in silence for ages. Dramatics is to add humor! Nevertheless, on a serious note, social media is a great way to build platform. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #e69138;">One thing I did right: </span></b>Actually I took 4 proactive actions to spread words about the book- I used Facebook, Facebook Ads, Twitter, and Blogs to create buzz around my book in India. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #e69138;">One mistake I made: </span></b>It’s not exactly a mistake, but it’s something I have not done so far but plan to do in near future. I want to make more videos about the conversation and debate discussed in the book. I want to use YouTube and Google+. I also want to use Guest Blogging as a tool to create more buzz about the book. More on Guest Blogging in next article. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1JQ6pE5DllEkknAOHRBBmrdMN3x52wenG4AyM-92M2NsHrUnAOzhu7RQg11yE5rQu64MEUz9yigXPq7YmfjV4ivKfngYNYwt1tVKCsMkf1iFJ0Wpb3kc7EI2B2m-a1q4G4wz7oKm8srw/s1600/blog-92132_640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1JQ6pE5DllEkknAOHRBBmrdMN3x52wenG4AyM-92M2NsHrUnAOzhu7RQg11yE5rQu64MEUz9yigXPq7YmfjV4ivKfngYNYwt1tVKCsMkf1iFJ0Wpb3kc7EI2B2m-a1q4G4wz7oKm8srw/s320/blog-92132_640.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #e69138; font-size: large;"><b>3- Bloggers- </b></span><span style="font-size: large;">Bloggers are mind-blowing people. They are the voice amplifiers of an author’s platform. And I don’t mean this in an objectifying way, but in most respectful way. When an author reaches to the bloggers, it’s the obligation of the author to be most respectful and courteous to the bloggers. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A blogger writes about the book because the traffic that comes to her blog makes her money or increases her web visibility. So, ideally, a blogger must never ask an author for upfront money to write review. But what a blogger deserves without asking is the copy of the book. A blogger takes out the time from her schedule to read and review the book; it’s the most basic courtesy on part of the author to give a copy of the book to her. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Also, author must share the blog a blogger writes about the book. It helps in increasing the traffic to her blog. It’s again 101 law of reciprocation. Someone is doing a good thing to you, you must return the favor. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #e69138;">One thing I did right:</span></b> I have connected with brilliant bloggers in past 6 months. Their feedback gave me insight in my work.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><b>One mistake I made:</b></span> It’s a question only the bloggers can answer, if I bothered them in anyways. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiTSSaedGAeH2pnvh36N2Egp26NAsEQK_QsMq4jwpCXwRinIEo-OJN8cegLmKwGIVJEIK22m289kLUQ9fMoQhv-6FilrTHz8ULGbcTWO-hq9UMl99Jag56c7osSxDs_45gUsaBIA1j-bE/s1600/15006459346_a414dc7145.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiTSSaedGAeH2pnvh36N2Egp26NAsEQK_QsMq4jwpCXwRinIEo-OJN8cegLmKwGIVJEIK22m289kLUQ9fMoQhv-6FilrTHz8ULGbcTWO-hq9UMl99Jag56c7osSxDs_45gUsaBIA1j-bE/s320/15006459346_a414dc7145.jpg" width="278" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #e69138;">4- Cross Promotion-</span></b> Cross promotion is not generosity. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It is math. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">An average Indian reader reads 20 books of fiction in a year. I am being pessimistic here, or let’s hope I am being pessimist. A writer can write between 1 to 4 books in a year. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">I PLAN TO WRITE ONE BOOK A YEAR. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">It’s my personal limited, which incidentally is also my strength that I follow a very strict method to write my novels which also involves months of research. So, even if I want, I can’t write 4 books a year without letting the quality go down. I chose quality over quantity any day. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">So here is the deal, there are readers who need around 20 books a year to read, but I can provide them only one. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Indian society breeds a crab mentality which emphasizes competition over cooperation for no reason. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In the field of writing, there is no competition! Seriously! Every writer is a unique entity. If my reader picks the book of other writers she is not being disloyal to me.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">So, this is how cross promotion makes sense for an authorpreneur. I write my book and publicize it, but I also promote around 10 other books by other authors. These are the authors who write in the same genre in which I write. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">When I promote their book I am doing 2 things right:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1- Helping my readers discover good books. My readers are MOST important people to me as a writer. I like when I can help them. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">2- I create a joined platform with say 10 other authors. If each one of us has say, 1000 loyal readers and that readers introduced to other authors, with very little effort on the part of each of us, now we have a platform with 10000 readers. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">As simple as that!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #e69138;">One thing I did right: </span></b>I heavily cross promote the work of other writers. I have a Facebook community <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1455477231434883/" target="_blank">Bestseller Story</a> which is essentially a platform where members share their Indie writing experience and cross promote each other’s work to give greater visibility to all the worthy novels. </span><br />
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<li><span style="font-size: large;">I also arrange give-away for other authors. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">I conduct interviews of other authors. </span></li>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It’s a game in which either everyone loses or everyone wins! I prefer winning over losing. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #e69138;">One mistake I made: </span></b>None! This is a place where I will pat my back. I give myself 10/10 for promoting other people’s work. It’s not possible that I come across something good and I don’t share. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Sharing is caring! Honest? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Nope. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Sharing is math. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxDnOZsZhOu1GxsCMljEdRiKLSosBFbPdm7RdVnif5t6hhA9P4f-xAmDK6pecl3Mr-1ANCaaq9xTIpPGqKR_4luZJqj6ov2DLcLEpCW8b68worHWE_M96-UizWB_79xegmLync8n1nVfE/s1600/download.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxDnOZsZhOu1GxsCMljEdRiKLSosBFbPdm7RdVnif5t6hhA9P4f-xAmDK6pecl3Mr-1ANCaaq9xTIpPGqKR_4luZJqj6ov2DLcLEpCW8b68worHWE_M96-UizWB_79xegmLync8n1nVfE/s1600/download.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #e69138;">5- Science of Giving- </span></b>What I said about cross promotion applies also giving to the community without putting the price tag on everything. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In the book T<a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-22-Immutable-Laws-Marketing/dp/0887306667" target="_blank">he 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing</a> - Al Ries and Jack Trout writes- <i>Don’t buy what you can give for free. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">There are lot of PR and other companies that give a guarantee to the writer that they can build his/her platform. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">My question is, </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Didn’t the writer wanted to communicate with his reader to begin with? </i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I can’t delegate the best part of my work life to others. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">In the spirit of honestly, let me share a paragraph from the book <i><a href="http://kirtidagautam.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">#IAm16ICan. </a></i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“Do I have a teacher’s genes? I don’t know. Sociality perceives teaching as a noble profession but it is a profession that attracts narcissists. Counter intuitive, yes. Teachers pretend that they have come in the profession because of noble reasons, but at the heart of the choice is a simple fact. Teaching gives them an opportunity to have attention, something they can’t muster in their non-professional life. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">What is my motivation of teaching? I want attention.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">~ Aarush Kashyap. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Chapter 7.5</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">Do I enjoy telling others what I learn on the road to trials? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I enjoy it immensely. I call it <i>Kaizen Teaching</i>. It’s a self coined term.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Kaizen Teaching: When the teacher teaches the students something that he is learning. Teaching is the best way to learn things. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Write articles, blogs, podcast, interviews… </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">There are lot of creative ways of sharing with others what author is learning while trying to horn his craft. Share magnanimously. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #e69138;">One thing I did right: </span></b>I am a Methodist. I make detailed excel sheets of everything around my work. So, I have very precise data of lot of interesting facts about my work life. There are people who need this information. So, I happily share. It gives me the satisfaction of giving. And it helps other people grow. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I will repeat myself- the rule of the game is- everyone got to win! </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><b>One mistake I made: </b></span>I didn’t start building my platform earlier. I have thousands of pages of data about writing the book, about all the research I have done and other things. I should have started putting that on different social media platform WHILE I was writing the book. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #e69138;">6- Write the Next Book-</span></b> When I started writing <i>#IAm16ICan,</i> it was not part of any book series. As a matter of fact, there was no second book till I reached the last chapter. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In first draft there was a scene in chapter 12.5, which <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Payal.Desai.Chopra?fref=ts" target="_blank">Payal Desai Chopra</a>, my most trusted beta reader strictly objected to the scene. She told me that the scene will kill the dramatic thrust of the book. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I cried. No dramatics. I actually cried with real tears for three days. I loved that scene. I knew that this is what Aarush has done. And yet it was not organic part of the book. How? Why? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And then Payal took pity on me. She told me, “If you are so keen about this scene, why don’t you write another book starting it with this scene.” </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">No kidding! That is how the second book started. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">As I was completely in the fictional world of first novel, I could write the second book in the same gush of writing. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It took me two years to write the first book, it took me three months to write the second book. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">So, this is what I will advise to the writers. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>You became writer for a very specific reason- YOU LIKE WRITING! </i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Don’t forget that. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #e69138;">One thing I did right:</span></b> I wrote the second book. I am working on the third book. I call the series, Yin Yang series. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #e69138;">One mistake I made:</span></b> I can’t call it mistake, but due to some circumstance I had to take a break before starting the third book. I also plan to take more time to write third book because it needs more research than what I had to do for second book. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsg_u2atkELDQ7UJ8gwH65vLtIfgeCgX1VIUgoJFIhg3W33QAgQ6_8UN_zeUIYBmH1jayvivUWMYz-IWeOWs-msc4R9jhqzoqTcO_Jgx6XkhQFB7dQflIQUGx3DZyblZ3drdWs9paOfzg/s1600/Kirtida+Gautam.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsg_u2atkELDQ7UJ8gwH65vLtIfgeCgX1VIUgoJFIhg3W33QAgQ6_8UN_zeUIYBmH1jayvivUWMYz-IWeOWs-msc4R9jhqzoqTcO_Jgx6XkhQFB7dQflIQUGx3DZyblZ3drdWs9paOfzg/s320/Kirtida+Gautam.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px; text-align: justify;">Kirtida Gautam is a clinical psychologist and an author. Follow her on Twitter</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/KirtidaGautam" style="line-height: 27.6px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">@KirtidaGautam </a><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span><br />
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bestsellerstoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02692067592439974747noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1297104278727960467.post-62941803627844534512015-11-06T12:02:00.001-08:002018-04-24T05:01:08.415-07:00INTERVIEW- 2- KIRTIDA GAUTAM INTERVIEWS MICHAEL J. SULLIVAN<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>INTERVIEW 2</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>KIRTIDA GAUTAM INTERVIEWS </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>MICHAEL J. SULLIVAN</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUxHyyXTufpe1DstlENrOPjCvrgtFj6WiXfvsKL2dn0HqAo9J5fPFFSsZOOe7A5Wbt_vFAEkLL9zR3qBhFmWXo-MUi9I_QU2A5FhWlpgN1TU2782UwLkBMLQ_pPtCtHj_D_tn8ApW5BDg/s1600/Michael_sullivan_portrait_200_300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUxHyyXTufpe1DstlENrOPjCvrgtFj6WiXfvsKL2dn0HqAo9J5fPFFSsZOOe7A5Wbt_vFAEkLL9zR3qBhFmWXo-MUi9I_QU2A5FhWlpgN1TU2782UwLkBMLQ_pPtCtHj_D_tn8ApW5BDg/s400/Michael_sullivan_portrait_200_300.jpg" width="266" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Michael J. Sullivan is an American writer of epic fantasy and science fiction, best known for his debut series, The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Theft-Swords-Vol-Riyria-Revelations/dp/0316187747/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1446839798&sr=1-1&keywords=riyria+revelations" target="_blank">Riyria Revelations</a>, which is a six-book epic fantasy series. He got the first book <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Crown-Conspiracy-Michael-J-Sullivan/dp/0980003431/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1446839842&sr=1-1&keywords=the+crown+conspiracy+michael+j.+sullivan" target="_blank">The Crown Conspiracy</a></i> from the series of six self-published in 2008. After two and a half years, the first five books sold more than 70,000 copies and ranked in the top twenty of multiple Amazon fantasy lists. In November 2010, he leveraged his success and received his first commercial publishing contract for three novels from Orbit Books, fantasy imprint of <a href="http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/" target="_blank">Hachette Book Group</a>, USA. In addition, Michael reached international status with more than sixty-five foreign rights contracts across twelve languages including books published in France, Spain, Russia, and Germany, just to name a few. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Michael’s work has been well received by critics and readers alike, earning him thousands of positive reviews, interviews, and articles. He has attributed much of his success to the fantasy book blogging community. Dubbed “the little indie that could” he found his books pitted as the only independent in major competitions such as the 2010 and 2012 Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fantasy and the 2009 Book Spot Central’s Fantasy Tournament of Books, which he won. His traditionally published edition of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Theft-Swords-Vol-Riyria-Revelations/dp/0316187747/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1446839920&sr=1-1&keywords=Theft+of+Swords" target="_blank">Theft of Swords </a>was short-listed for the 2013 Audie Award for Fantasy.</span><br />
<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>You once said, <i>self-published authors get criticized twice often for their copy-editing mistakes than the authors who get their books published by large presses. Because people think with big publications, professionals are involved and hence they don’t tend to find mistakes. Whereas with self-publishing people expect editing to be poor and they love pointing out any little mistake and hold it up as proof of poor quality.</i> So what difficulties have you faced with copy-editing your self-published book? </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">My self-publishing falls into two categories, the works I self-published before my contracts with the big-five, and then the ones I’ve self-published afterward. So let me talk about each. For the early works, especially the first few books, it was important to control costs as I had no idea how the books would perform so that meant editing on a shoestring budget. What I would do is put out small ads for editors using sites like the American Copy-editor Society and I would get a lot of people responding, more than 200. I then took a few pages of the book, sent it to all the people who responded, and asked them to edit as much or as little of it for me to determine their capabilities. I analyzed each of these along with their costs and chose two editors that were reasonably priced. Having two editors meant things that one missed the other would catch.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Now, for Hollow World and The Death of Dulgath, the two books that I self-published in recent years, making sure the editing was top-notch was my highest priority. I didn’t want people to think the self-published work was released with a lower bar for quality. So, for those books I paid a great deal of money on copyediting. For instance, Hollow World had two editors, both used by the big-five. For The Death of Dulgath I actually used three editors – the same two as with Hollow World plus a new editor who was actually a beta reader and very good. Each of these edits cost me about $1,000 so I spent, $2,000 - $3,000, for editing of those self-published books. Paying all that money wasn’t a problem because I ran successful Kickstarter campaigns for both projects. So, I had extra money that I could devote to them. Because my traditionally published books only have one copy editor, these are actually “better edited” than my traditional books.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>What do you think have changed in self-publishing these days? </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I think self-publishing has matured and we now see a number of professional self-published authors. These are the ones that take great care in the production of their work, and release books that stand toe-to-toe with those published by traditional houses. These authors are highly knowledgeable on subjects of branding and marketing and make the necessary investments in editing and cover design. They ARE publishers just like their New York counterparts. These authors do EXTREMELY well. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">What hasn’t changed, is there are still some authors who self-publish poorly. Those who don’t have that same attention to producing a quality product and just slap something together and put it out to the public. These authors have never done well, and never will. For the most part, they fall into obscurity as they never find any substantial traction or readership. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Would you be going into self-publishing in future?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A lot depends on circumstances. For each project I write, I consider what would be the best path for that particular book. For instance, Hollow World, my first science fiction novel, was offered a traditional publishing contract, but the advance wasn’t that great. I figured I could do better by self-publishing, so I did. Sure enough, I made about three times the advance in the first few months of it’s release. So that was the right way to go with that book.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">For my next project, The First Empire, a five-book epic fantasy series, I had intended to self-publish, but then </span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/about-us/about-us/companies/uk-companies-and-imprints/ebury-publishing/del-rey" target="_blank">Del Rey</a> </span><span style="font-size: large;">came in with an advance that was much higher than I thought I would likely make through self-publishing. This combined with the fact that they were releasing me in hardcover was a big draw. So, I decided to sign that series with them.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">For the book releasing right now, The Death of Dulgath, ebook went live in October and the hardcover and audio book will be released in December, I went the self-publishing route because I had to get it out before the end of 2015, so that its release date wouldn’t conflict with the release of Del Rey’s Age of Myth, first book of the First Empire series scheduled for June 2016. I didn’t even bother submitting that to publishers because none of them could meet the deadline requirement. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Will my future books be self or traditional? Well it depends on what is being offered and whether I think I can do better on my own or not. I’ll evaluate each one as the books complete. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">At one point in your life, you gave up on publishing your novels, but then after 10 years you chose to walk on the road of getting them published for your 13 year old daughter, who was then having reading difficulties due to dyslexia. How did your books help your daughter’s reading?</span></b><span style="color: #0b5394;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I’m not sure who benefited more from that decision – myself or my daughter. Yes, she got to read a book that turned her into a long-time reader, but I got a whole new career. So here is a part of that story that isn’t widely known. I wrote the Riyria books for Sarah, starting with The Crown Conspiracy. I enjoyed writing it so much that I dug right in and wrote book #2, Avemparth,a right after. When I gave her the first book, it was created from a standard printer – and on 8 ½” x 5 ½” paper that were all loose pages. Because of her dyslexia she finds reading in this format to be very difficult. She said she could only read it if I had it in a book format – bound pages. So that is what got my wife taking up the task of getting them published. So because she wouldn’t read the book in manuscript format, I was forced to find a way to get it in published book form for her to be able to read it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>According to you, what elements of your novel are specifically appealing for the young adults?</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">While part of the reason for writing the books was for my daughter and yes she was a teen at the time, the books aren’t written for the young adult market. They are books written for adults but because they lack sex, graphic violence, and explicit language, they can be read by people with a wide range of ages. I will say one of the neatest things about the books is when I hear they are being read and shared between multiple generations. In some cases as many as three grand-parent, parent, and child. I think I get as many children reading because of recommendations from their parents as I do parents reading because of recommendation of their children. So I think the style of the books do have a broad appeal.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>We all know when you had your first child, you chose to be stay at home daddy and take care of your child. And that was the time when you wrote your 12 novels. Are your children your inspiration for you to write fantasy and adventure novels or the desire of writing fantasy novels had its roots in your early childhood?</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Part of my reason for being a stay-at-home dad had to do with the income disparity between myself and my wife. She made more money than I did, she was an engineer, I was a commercial artist, so the decision to stay at home stemmed first from us wanting to be involved with our children’s early development, rather than day care, and the financial practicality. The writing came because of my desire to have a creative outlet while they napped or do have something to do in the evenings because I don’t watch television. While my Riyria books were partially written for Sarah, all my books really are created to satisfy my own reading preferences. I’m writing books I want to read and because I’m creating them, they fit me like a glove. I’m often pretty critical of other books, not because other writers aren’t talented – as they certainly are. They just don’t often align with my preferences and by writing the books myself I can guarantee that they will be the type of book I would enjoy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Please tell our readers about how you were as a kid? </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I didn’t have a great many friends…which may have a lot to do with writing, as I can create people to play with through my books. When I was young, both my father and sister had really bad battles with cancer. When my father was ill, my mother sent me to live with my sister and her husband at their farm so I got to ride horses and learned a lot about living in a rural setting. After dad’s death, I came home and then my sister’s fight began. This put a lot of stress on my mother, and so I had to be pretty self-sufficient in terms of taking care of myself. Escaping into fantasy worlds where there weren’t such problems and where I could be a hero, was the way I coped with what was going on in my “real life.”</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">From the time you wrote Riyria Revelations to your recent works like The First Empire, what has changed in your writing craft or do you follow a particular method of writing for your each work? </span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Please tell our young authors about the things you pay the most attention while writing your novels.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I think each author should always have a desire for constant improvement. Like any task that requires skill, you get better the more you do. I think the storytelling aspects are somewhat born into me – I’ve always been good at creating stories. But the “how” of storytelling is something that improves with each book. My process has remained the same, but now I’m much more sensitive about things that were “clunky” in my past works. At the time I wrote each book, it was the best I could write, but because I’m always working on improvement I think each subsequent book is more polished than earlier ones. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As for young authors, I think reading is essential for writing – but reading with a critical eye. You need to try to determine what the author did and why. You can learn a lot about writing by studying a book through reading.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Would you tell our reader about your future works? Have you already thought about how the world will end?</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I do something rather unusual when I’m writing a series…I write all the books before publishing any of the works. So, for instance, The First Empire, which started out as a trilogy and grew into five books, has been completely written and the first book for it will come out in June 2016. This series is set in Elan but 3,000 years in the past. It tells the true story of how Novron saved mankind and formed the First Empire. This series has been designed so that both new and existing readers should be able to enjoy it. Here’s the “back of the book” copy:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Since time immemorial, humans have worshiped the gods they call Fhrey, truly a race apart: invincible in battle, masters of magic, and seemingly immortal. But when a god falls to a human blade, the balance of power between men and those they thought were gods changes forever. Now, only a few stand between humankind and annihilation: Raithe, reluctant to embrace his destiny as the God Killer. Suri, a young seer burdened by signs of impending doom. And Persephone, who must overcome personal tragedy to lead her people. The Age of Myth is over; the time of rebellion has begun.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Even past this new series, I do have ideas for other books based in my fictional world of Elan. I would like to tell the story of <i>The Fall of Percepliquis</i>, showing how the First Empire was destroyed. For those who have read my books this would be Esrahaddon’s backstory. I also have some books planned post Riyria Revelations that generally revolve around the two characters Yolric and Kile. Then, of course, if people want more Royce and Hadrian I’d be glad to write more Riyria Chronicles – so yes, plenty more coming!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Any parting words of advice, encouragement for our readers and new generation of authors?</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Oh, there is so much…but it could take days to go through it all. So I’ll try to hit the highlights. First off, publishing is in great flux right now. This means there are more ways than ever to get your books “out there.” There is no universal “right path” but there is probably a path that is a “better fit” for each author on an individual basis. So, do your research weigh the pros and cons and go after the route that is the best for you. But if that doesn’t work out, then explore other avenues. Persistence is the key in this business and the only way to ensure failure is to stop trying. At the heart of any success is a “good book” which I define as a book that people enjoy enough to tell others about. So keep your quality high and always work toward constant improvement. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I’d also like to say thanks for this opportunity…I greatly appreciate the interest in my work.</span><br />
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<a href="http://bestsellerstory.blogspot.com/2016/03/interview-8-kirtida-gautam-interviews.html" style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 18.4px;" target="_blank">Kirtida Gautam interviews Beth Yarnall</a><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px;">Kirtida Gautam is a clinical psychologist and an author. Follow her on Twitter</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/KirtidaGautam" style="line-height: 27.6px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">@KirtidaGautam </a><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></div>
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bestsellerstoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02692067592439974747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1297104278727960467.post-24912680639929326982015-10-23T11:16:00.000-07:002018-04-24T05:00:48.810-07:00INTERVIEW- 1: KIRTIDA GAUTAM INTERVIEWS DR. DEBRA HOLLAND<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>INTERVIEW 1</b></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.kirtidagautam.com/" target="_blank">KIRTIDA GAUTAM</a> INTERVIEWS </span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">DR. DEBRA HOLLAND</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.drdebraholland.com/" target="_blank">Dr. Debra Holland</a> is the New York Times and the USA Today bestselling author of the award-winning </span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Healing-Montana-Sky/dp/1503948803/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1445620606&sr=8-1&keywords=Debra+holland" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Montana Sky</span></a> </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 150%;">series (sweet, historical Western romance) and </span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gods-Dream-Trilogy-Boxed-Set-ebook/dp/B00NYAR5S8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1445620663&sr=8-1&keywords=the+god%27s+dream+trilogy" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">The Gods' Dream Trilogy</span></a></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 150%;"> (fantasy romance). </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Debra is a three-time Romance Writers of </span><a href="https://www.rwa.org/p/cm/ld/fid=536" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;" target="_blank"><span style="line-height: 150%;">America Golden Heart</span><b style="line-height: 150%;"> </b></a><span style="line-height: 150%;">finalist and one-time winner. In 2013, Amazon selected </span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Starry-Montana-Sky/dp/1612184677/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1445620733&sr=8-1&keywords=starry+montana+sky" target="_blank">Starry Montana Sky</a></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> as one of the Top 50 Greatest Love Stories.</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="line-height: 150%;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">When she's not writing, Dr. Holland works as a psychotherapist and corporate crisis/grief counselor and is the author of </span><span style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Guide-Grief-Grieving/dp/1615641114/ref=la_B004XXKZH8_1_12?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1445620757&sr=1-12" target="_blank">The Essential Guide to Grief and Grieving</a></span><span style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">, as well as </span><span style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cultivating-Attitude-Gratitude-Minute-eBook-ebook/dp/B00ZO7I9R0/ref=la_B004XXKZH8_1_33?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1445620815&sr=1-33&refinements=p_82%3AB004XXKZH8" target="_blank">Cultivating an Attitude of Gratitude</a></span><span style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">, a Ten Minute eBook. She's also a contributing author to </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Naked-Truth-about-Self-Publishing-Updated/dp/1517497957/ref=la_B004XXKZH8_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1445620757&sr=1-1" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank"><span style="line-height: 150%;">The Naked Truth about Self-Publishing</span><span style="line-height: 150%;">.</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"> </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPSUwiNrezxZ_AvVmGOsk4IdbyuWKeRITwXpJmz_BPRHG2Wllo2WeN44JZb-Pd0I0dNy8Z4m48-dyrjJzp-OSHjyYcSLq9OPLHdFJhs9EV98GGVXi62V4rBT3A4f718KRvJI8Gp8ehkGc/s1600/Debra+holland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPSUwiNrezxZ_AvVmGOsk4IdbyuWKeRITwXpJmz_BPRHG2Wllo2WeN44JZb-Pd0I0dNy8Z4m48-dyrjJzp-OSHjyYcSLq9OPLHdFJhs9EV98GGVXi62V4rBT3A4f718KRvJI8Gp8ehkGc/s320/Debra+holland.jpg" width="214" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 150%;">Debra holds a Masters’ Degree in Marriage, Family, and Child Therapy, and holds a PhD in Counseling Psychology from the University of Southern California, and is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; font-size: large; line-height: 150%;">Debra is a popular psychotherapist, consultant, and speaker on the topics of communication difficulties, relationships, stress, and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="style6">dealing with difficult people</span>. </span><span style="background: white; font-size: large; line-height: 150%;">She is a featured expert for the media, and does entertainment consulting. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #b45f06; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;"><b>Did your years of experience as a psychotherapist help you in writing your novels or creating characters with greater depth? Please tell the readers more about it. </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 150%;">I use my experience to delve into my characters’ wounds, as well as help them confront their fears and have emotional and mental growth.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #b45f06; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;"><b>What inspired you to write the <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Montana Sky </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">series?</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 150%;">I didn’t start out intending to write a series.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 150%;">On New Year’s Eve in 1998, I was celebrating with friends at a cowboy dance bar in Orange County, California. As the old year drew to a close, I started dancing with a handsome young cowboy—a real one. Those are hard to find in the Orange Country.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 150%;">We shared a midnight kiss. He asked me out, and still reeling from that kiss, I agreed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 150%;">The two of us began to date. We had nothing in common, but he was sexy and fun, and we had a good time. After a few weeks, I started thinking: What if we met in the Old West? Who would he be? How would I be different, and would we have worked? And so the idea came to me for the story that I titled, <i style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wild-Montana-Sky-Book-ebook/dp/B007REBLF0" target="_blank">Wild Montana Sky</a></i></span><span style="font-size: large;">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 150%;">I physically modeled the hero, Nick Sanders, after my cowboy, and I made the heroine, Elizabeth, a little like me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">I started to write some of the scenes that popped into my mind, beginning with the one where Nick and Elizabeth ride their horses by a stream—a beautiful Montana setting. After that, I had to figure out who these two characters were and what their story was. And I had to learn to write fiction.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">After a few months, my cowboy and I drifted apart. His work at the racetrack came to an end, and he moved north. I never saw him again.</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background: white; color: #b45f06; line-height: 150%;"><b>You are a three-time Romance Writers of America<i> Golden Heart</i> finalist and one-time winner. Tell the readers about your experience of winning this prestigious award.</b></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 150%;">In 2001, I attended my first RWA national conference in New Orleans. The awards ceremony is the culmination of a week of workshops, meetings, and parties. I was a finalist for my first book, <i>Wild Montana Sky</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 150%;">Before the ceremony, as I was ironing my gown, I told myself that I should practice an acceptance speech just in case I won. As soon as I said that, I had an intuitive feeling: <i>I really need to memorize this speech because I’ll be giving it! </i>I stopped ironing, went to the desk, and jotted down my speech on a notepad, including everyone I needed to thank. I didn’t want to forget anyone in the excitement of the moment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Sure enough, I won. I climbed the stairs to the stage, accepted the Golden Heart necklace, and gave my speech. Afterwards, I had so many people tell me how poised I seemed. I didn’t tell them I knew in advance. </span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #b45f06; line-height: 150%;"><b>What was your early experience as an Authorpreneur? Kindly give the readers a little advice that proved most useful in boosting the sales of your books.</b> </span></span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 150%;">The early days of Indie publishing were very different than now, for the field wasn’t as crowded. However, one thing has stayed the same—authors helping authors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 150%;">I was successful because of my friends, who’d self-published a few months ahead of me. They generously shared what to do and not to do. That sharing hasn’t change—it’s just that my friends now number in the hundreds. Indie authors are very supportive, and we have success because of pooling our knowledge.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #b45f06; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;"><b>I read about your favorite Indie moment when you said to a traditional publisher who approached you for the publishing rights of <i>Montana Sky</i> series — “Well… you had your chance. My agent submitted these books to your house several years ago, and you rejected them. You chose to stay an indie author because you love the creative control an indie author experiences. Kindly elaborate on this point for the readers.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 150%;">Self-publishing can be addicting. Once you start, you may not want to pursue traditional publishing. You may find you like having the control over your content, cover, blurb, and prices. You may enjoy receiving a check or direct deposit every month, and watching it grow bigger, instead of waiting to be paid quarterly or twice a year. You may find yourself moved to tears by a 5 star review or a fan email. And you may find you have more excitement and creativity about your writing career.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #b45f06; line-height: 150%;"><b><i>Cultivating an Attitude of Gratitude</i> is your ten-minute micro-content non-fiction self-help eBook. It’s a brilliant idea for the writers to share their knowledge with readers. What is your next book in that series? </b></span><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 150%;">Surmounting Shame</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #b45f06; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;"><b>India is an upcoming market for indie publishing. What advice will you give to Indian writers about indie writing?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">The same as I’d give to an American author--earn the craft of writing a good story. Study the publishing market. Write a great book and have it professionally edited. Then,</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack" style="line-height: 150%;"></a><span style="line-height: 150%;"> figure out if you want to approach traditional publishers or self-publish.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Debra Holland's latest book, </span><span class="a-size-large" id="productTitle" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; line-height: 1.3;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Healing-Montana-Sky/dp/1503948803/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1445623489&sr=8-1&keywords=debra+holland" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Healing Montana Sky</span></a><span style="font-size: medium;">, </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">of award-winning Montana Sky Series will be published in e-book and paperback on 28th October, 2015.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span> <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Related Post:</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://bestsellerstory.blogspot.com/2016/03/interview-8-kirtida-gautam-interviews.html" style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 18.4px; text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Kirtida Gautam interviews Beth Yarnall</a></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 27.6px; text-align: justify;">Kirtida Gautam is a clinical psychologist and an author. Follow her on Twitter</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/KirtidaGautam" style="line-height: 27.6px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">@KirtidaGautam </a><span style="line-height: 27.6px;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></div>
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