Meet Robyn Bradley

“True deep desire breeds motivation.” That’s what Robyn Bradley said when I asked her what motivates her to write. I don’t think a truer statement was ever uttered. “True deep desire,” I believe as well, is the thing that separates the people who start writing novels from the ones who finish writing them. You’ve gotta want it. REALLY want it. ‘Nuff said.

Name: Robyn Bradley

Name of book: Forgotten April

Book genre: Women’s fiction

Date Published: April 2011

Publisher: Self-published

What is your day job? I’m a copy bitch by day (otherwise known as a freelance marketing copywriter).

What is your book about? Can two long-lost half sisters let go of the secrets from their pasts and learn what it means to be family?

What would you say is the most challenging part of writing a book? Letting it go out into the world. You give birth to this book, you “raise it,” you stay with it through the good and bad, but at some point, you gotta let your baby go forth into the world and stand on its own. That’s hard. And sometimes you question if it’s ready. I haven’t given birth to an actual human, but from the women I know who have, the analogy is apt.

What motivates you to write? I’ve wanted to be a writer since Mrs. Shea’s fourth grade class when she gave us a short story assignment. I slaved over it—drafting it in pencil first and then in pen. I had a moment where I felt the story “clicking” as I wrote it, like it all made sense, like I was doing exactly what I was put on this earth to do. I read it out loud to the class. They loved it. Mrs. Shea loved it. I was hooked after that and decided I wanted to write. Now, that’s the desire part. Your question, however, is about motivation. I think we all have things we desire, but I think when certain desires take hold and you can’t think about anything else, well… that’s when motivation kicks in. True deep desire breeds motivation. Some writers say it’s almost as if they don’t have a choice: they have to write. I think I agree with that.

Did you experience writer’s block? I actually don’t believe in writer’s block. I believe that there are times when the words don’t come as easily as other times, and that’s usually a sign from my soul, mind, and heart that I need to walk away. It took me forever to figure that one out, but sometimes the best thing I can do for my writing is to stop writing: I’ll take a shower, work out, read, go to the movies (that always works). When I come back to the page, the words start flowing again. They weren’t blocked… they just needed a few hours off.

How long did it take you to write this book? I worked on this book on and off for almost ten years. I went through five top-to-bottom, start-from-scratch rewrites. I buried it twice. The beginning always dogged me, but I had a breakthrough last fall, tackled it, and felt it was finally ready. Of course, by the time I had this breakthrough, I’d already queried the heck out of it.

Why did you decide to self-publish? I used to be the biggest self-publishing snob and felt it was a last resort for writer wannabes. Only someone who had been recognized by an agent and then a publisher was a “real” writer. (I mentioned the snob part, right?)

Fast forward to the summer of 2010 when I was re-reading one of my favorite books on writing – Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. In the section on publication, Lamott reminds us that validation won’t—and can’t—come from landing an agent or a book deal with one of the Big 6. She quotes from the movie Cool Runnings about an Olympic bobsled team and how the coach reminds the team members that if they’re not “enough” before the gold medal, they certainly won’t be enough with it. I’d probably read that section ten times before, but I didn’t really get it until that summer. Validation had to start with me. I had to believe.

I had this epiphany around the same time I was reading about the explosion of eBooks and the popularity of Nooks and Kindles. I had a backlog of short stories (some of which had been published in small journals) as well as the novel and figured “Why not give it a go and self-publish to Amazon and B&N.com?” I thought I’d be one of the first writers to do so (this was before I’d heard the names Amanda Hocking or Joe Konrath). I quickly learned that I was far from the first, and that many of those who had gone on before me were making a living doing it. So I jumped in and never looked back.

Was the self-publishing process easier or more difficult than you thought it would be? Believe it or not, I think it was easier than I expected. That doesn’t mean that there wasn’t a lot of work involved; there was, and there still is every day. But the process of getting a book on Amazon and B&N is extremely turnkey.

What is the biggest misconception about writing a book? We all have stories inside us. But rendering those “head stories” onto the page isn’t a one-step process (nor should it be). You don’t just sit down and bang out the words and you’re done. It’s easy to think that’s all it takes going into it (and God knows I was guilty of this magical thinking way back when). But it’s more involved than that.

What was your favorite aspect of the writing process for this book? This book got me past my fears of pitching 80,000 words out a window and starting over on page one from a completely different point of view. I’m much more willing to take risks now, and I’m much more open to radical revisions.

What tools/methods have you employed to promote your book? My day job as a marketing copywriter has served me well: all the stuff I’d preach to my clients I practiced myself. I’m not only active on Facebook and Twitter, but I also do my best to leverage both (more so with Facebook, just because I prefer the medium). I run FB ads, I work at engaging my fan base, and I try different things. I hang out where readers hang out, like Goodreads, Shelfari, and LibraryThing. I have a blog and YouTube Channel. And I’m willing to spend money and experiment (the adage is true: you need to spend money to make money).

I think the best advice I can give is this: You WILL need to spend money. Publishing houses spend lots of moolah to bring a book to life. You can’t expect to go from lots of moohlah to zilch and expect your book to take off. Bringing a book to market the right way (with professional editing, cover art, and promotion) will cost some bucks. It doesn’t need to be millions or even thousands, but you do need some sort of budget going in. If you don’t have it, get creative in how to get it: take on a part-time job, tutor, ask friends and family for money instead of presents for your b-day, get on KickStarter, see where you can save on monthly expenses (e.g. give up Starbucks or NetFlix or whatever just for a little while and put the savings towards your business). Remember, art is what you’re making behind closed doors when it’s just you and your story. But once the door is open and you’re putting the book “out there,” it’s a business. And businesses need money to operate. The same is true with your book.

How has life changed for you since the publication of your book? Aside from the call I got from George Clooney? ;) It hasn’t changed all that much; I continue to write regularly, which I’d been doing before.

Do you plan on writing another novel? My second novel, What Happened in Granite Creek, came out October 15. I know, I know. It’s always suspicious when an author puts out a book a year, let alone TWO. Here’s the thing: Forgotten April was pretty much done in late 2009. I had the breakthrough regarding the beginning in the fall of 2010. In the spring of 2010, I completed the draft of my second novel. I spent 2011 revising it. So I got lucky in the sense that I had two books to bring to market pretty much at the same time, even though I’d been working on one for close to ten years and the second for two.

I’m working on my third book right now as well as two novellas, which are companion pieces to What Happened in Granite Creek. I’m hoping to release those in 2012. I also have several short stories in various stages of “doneness” that I need to revisit.

My favorite last question: Oprah once famously said that there is no such thing as luck, without preparation and a moment of opportunity. Would you agree or disagree with regard to your own success as a writer? Joe Konrath says you need luck. But he agrees that you can help Lady Luck along and woo her. I think I agree with that.

That said, true “luck” in the terms of an “overnight success” is a lottery winner. You go to bed broke, and you wake up a millionaire. That’s luck, but, of course, that luck needed the opportunity: the gal had to BUY the ticket to begin with.

I believe there’s a market for my books. Readers have been responding favorably to Forgotten April, reviews have been good, and I keep picking up more fans on FB, Twitter, etc. I write and study and market and write and study and write and write some more. That’s my preparation. The opportunity is taking advantage of this exciting time to be a writer (because, really, it is – it’s a writer’s market for the first time ever). So I’m poised and ready and hopeful that Ms. Luck sees all this, looks kindly on her fellow sister, and sprinkles some of her fairy dust over me and my keyboard. Actually, I feel she already has in many ways. I’m grateful that I get to do what I love every day.

Meet Author Jennifer Trafton

I have to say that I’m in love with the premise of the middle-grade novel written by today’s debut author Jennifer Trafton and can already envision it as a film. The character names alone — Persimmony Smudge and Worvil the Worrier — bring a smile to my face. Consider it added to my Amazon Wish List. :)

Name: Jennifer Trafton

Name of book: The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic

Book genre: Children’s fantasy

Date published: December 2010

Publisher: Dial Books (Penguin Young Readers Group)

What is your day job? Freelance editor

What is your book about? Ten-year-old Persimmony Smudge leads a very dull life on the Island at the Center of Everything, weaving baskets and sweeping floors. Until, that is, the night she overhears a life-changing secret. It seems that Mount Majestic, the rising and falling mountain at the center of the island, is not a mountain at all. It’s the belly of a sleeping giant. Now it’s up to Persimmony and her new friend Worvil the Worrier to convince all the island’s other quarreling inhabitants—the Rumblebumps, the Leafeaters, and most of all, the stubborn young king—that a giant is sleeping in their midst and must not be woken.

What would you say is the most challenging part of the writing process? Sylvia Plath said, “The worst enemy to creativity is self–doubt.” The process of writing is a constant tug-of-war between potentially crippling self-doubt (which every writer experiences occasionally in their darkest moments, if they are being honest with themselves) and the sheer pleasure of unselfconscious creativity that must keep propelling us forward despite those fearful voices.

What motivates you to write? Having a story inside me that is pounding so hard to get out that I will explode if I don’t sit down and give it utterance. Also, reading great works of literature that make me fall in love with words all over again.

Did you experience writer’s block? For me there are two kinds of “block.” One is the inevitable wall I hit occasionally in the middle of a book when my ideas are running dry and I’m not sure what comes next, or there is a plot problem I don’t know how to fix. And the best solution, which has never failed me yet, is to take a break and read. Reading stirs up that part of the brain where ideas come from.

The other kind of “block” is fear, which goes back to the Sylvia Plath quote above, and there’s nothing to do but accept it and press through it until the words come again. I’ve got a number of books on my shelf that provide writing inspiration and encouragement in those “I can’t do it!” moments: The Courage to Write by Ralph Keyes, Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland, Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, and The Writing Life by Annie Dillard.

How long did it take you to write this book? It took approximately a year of writing and revising to get as far as I could on my own, but it took another four years (little by little, on top of working full-time) to do further revisions for my agent and my editor and get the manuscript ready for publication.

Do you have an agent? If so, how helpful would you say having an agent was to landing a publishing deal? I can’t imagine having gone through the process of getting my first book contract and navigating the world of publication for the first time without my agent. He was the first person in the industry to believe in my book and my potential, he gave invaluable editorial suggestions, he was able to get the manuscript in front of great editors at top publishing companies, and he’s been an advocate and career counselor ever since.

What is the biggest misconception about writing a book? That quality and speed can exist together. Writing is slow. Getting published takes time. Patience is a virtue that must be cultivated by anyone attempting a career in this field. As one of the characters in my book says, “You can’t rush art.”

What was your favorite aspect of the writing process for this book? It was simply the most fun thing I have ever done. The joy of being in the center of a story, like the eye of a hurricane with my imagination whirling around me each day, was well worth the challenges along the way.

What tools/methods have you employed to promote your book? I am very blessed to have a large network of friends and relatives who have amazed me with their enthusiasm for promoting the book to their friends and relatives. Facebook, Twitter, blogs and word of mouth have been tremendously important in this regard. As a children’s book writer, I also have the privilege of visiting elementary schools and libraries, which functions indirectly as promotion but is primarily about connecting personally with kids. Their imaginations inspire mine, as I hope mine inspires theirs.

Oprah has famously said that there is no such thing as luck, without preparation and a moment of opportunity. Would you agree or disagree with regard to your own success as a writer? I began writing deliberately when I was ten. I began sending my stories and poems to publishers and agents—and getting rejections—when I was eighteen. I published my first novel at age thirty-five. I’m thankful the process took that long, because in between I not only learned how to write but I gathered up the life experiences and creative ideas that would give me something to write about. When the moment of opportunity came, I was ready for it.