Question of the week: When do established writers find time to write?

I’m curious because I attended a an intense two-day Archebooks Professional Novelist workshop this weekend and realized how little I knew about the publishing business, The material presented was super informative but also a bit scary because one of the many tidbits I learned was that once my book,The Ride, is published, I go from author to small business owner. In other words, writing a novel now sounds like the easy part of becoming a writer. Gulp.

The burning question from my first blog was addressed during the workshop. The question concerned how an introvert can promote herself and her book. The answer was quit simple—get over it and go out and do it. I have a feeling that’s a lot easier to say than it is to do.

And, that brings us back to this week’s question—if I’m out and about all the time promoting, that mean’s I not in my little cubbyhole writing. Or like this past week, between the workshop and a trip to Key West, I barely had time to write a blog, much less work on my second book.

Okay, I can hear my friends and family saying, “You live in paradise and your life is a perpetual vacation so why a trip to Key West?” Simple answer—for an extra dose of Jimmy Buffet music, an excuse to have a frozen umbrella drink in the middle of the afternoon, and the celebration of my husband’s birthday.

Anyway, back to my point. How do authors like Jodi Picoult, who seem to come out with a new book every week, do it? Have she and others like her discovered the secret of adding more hours to the day?

I can only hope that by simply walking past Hemingway’s house while in Key West, I caught some kind of writer’s vibe that will not only act as an inspiration but will open some sort of time portal as well.

See you next week.

Jane Kennedy Sutton
Author of The Ride
Web site: http://janekennedysutton.googlepages.com/home
Email: janekennedysutton@gmail.com

May 18, 2007


Question of the week:

Is it possible to read your own manuscript without editing it?

I think I know the answer to this one—a great big emphatic—NO!

Although, if there are any of you out there that would answer ‘yes’ I’d love to hear how you know when to quit. My fear is that my book will be released and in bookstores and I’ll still be trying to edit it!

It’s not as if I thought up a story, wrote it down and voilá—it’s published. Oh, if only life were that easy. It’s been an up and down process with plenty of rejections along the way. The constructive criticism from some of the rejections, helped but each one required yet another revision of the manuscript. I’ve been through the book so often I’ve memorized some of the chapters and lost track of the number of times I said, “Yea, I’m done!”

I really thought I was finished when I found an agent willing to represent me. We got along well together (I thought) and she appeared to be excited about the manuscript so I signed on the dotted line. Then she gave me some feedback – too many unnecessary scenes. I moaned and groaned but went through the manuscript yet again.

At first, it was hard chopping those superfluous scenes (I worked so hard to write them). Several times, I even thought about hitting the ‘select all’ button and then pounding the ‘delete’ key and walking away from it all. But soon I got into the revision and actually began to enjoy hacking away. And, she was so right, the book flowed much better without them. Pleased with the outcome, I sent her my revised manuscript.

Complete silence.

Not good for the ego. She did not respond to any of my many e-mails, telephone calls or snail mail. I finally thought I’d do her a favor and allow her to back out of the contract; she didn’t respond to that either. She, by the way, is Susan Graham at About Words Agency. If she’s treated anyone else this manner, I’d love to hear from you. Misery loves company—and perhaps I wouldn’t take her rudeness and unprofessional behavior so personally. I could grumble for quite some time on this subject but it might ruin my good mood.

Once my contract expired (I’d held secret hopes that at the last minute she’d pop up saying, “Ta-da – sold”), I realized the ball was back in my court and I could longer blame inactivity on an ineffective agent.

First, I had to find out if my latest revisions were actually improvements since her silence led me to believe they weren’t. I gathered up my remaining bits of self-esteem and asked for help. An acquaintance from the GCWA (Gulf Coast Writer’s Association, www.gulfwriters.org), Ruben Colon, (author of Clarissa), bravely agreed to read my manuscript and give me his honest opinion.

I steeled myself for the worse. When I heard back from him and his first words were, “You are not a beginner,” my heart soared. However, I went through the manuscript again keeping his feedback in mind along with his refresher course in grammar and punctuation (I knew I should have paid more attention during English classes).

Now, as the manuscript moves up on the production list, I find myself going through it once again thinking that surely I won’t change a thing. But…alas, a tweak here, a comma there, some rearranging—, you get the picture. And, once it gets to the editors at ArcheBooks Publishing…well, I don’t even want to think about that now.

Thanks to all of you who reacted so positively to my first blog, it was great fun hearing from you.


Jane Sutton,
Author of The Ride, (ISBN) 1-59507-193-8/978-159507-193-4/1-59507-194-6.
Published by ArcheBooks Publishing (archebooks.com)

The Ride - The death of a relative, the revelation of shocking family secrets, her husband’s bizarre obsession and a random encounter with a handsome stranger turn Barbie Anderson’s mundane existence into chaos. As events spiral out of control, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery only to find the route is neither simple nor painless.

Tags: The Ride, Gulf Coast Writers Association, Susan Graham, About Words Agency

Question for the week:

How does one go about changing from an introverted private soul to one that toot’s their own horn without becoming the kind of person who make people want to hide behind pillars when they see you coming?

If you are reading this in search of an answer, you’re reading the wrong blog though I do hope you’ll continue.

So if I am not going to answer the question why would I ask it, you may be thinking.

Let me tell you.

I am proud and excited to announce that in March I signed a publishing contract with ArcheBooks (archebooks.com). Check them out. They’ve published some really good reads such as The Mustard Seed, by Robert Gelinas and Don Juan Con by Sara Williams, just to name a couple that I have read and can recommend. They have also come out with an innovative concept – the ArcheBookZine – a full length novel but in magazine format without the ads. How cool is that!

Anyway, back to me. My first few days after receiving the contract went something like this:

Thursday - Received contract – Jumped for joy, kissed husband, raced around the room, kissed husband, reread the accompanying email at least a dozen times to make sure it said what I thought it did, kissed husband, then celebrated with champagne and lobster—(omitted following scenes in order to keep this blog family friendly).

Friday - Dropped signed contract in the mail and pretty much repeated Thursday’s routine, minus the lobster and champagne.

Saturday - Actually saw my name on the ‘Production List’ with my very own ISBN numbers by my title. Be still my pounding heart! Repeat of Thursday again minus the lobster and champagne (must wait for the book to be on the market and selling before partaking again!).

Now my jumping for joy is under control and my book is moving up the production list, I have to wonder what have I gotten myself into now!

I’ve never been down the publishing road before and have no idea of what to expect. Therefore, visit my blog often and come along with me as I go through the steps from contract acceptance to publication to marketing.

And if you have an answer to my question of the week, please let me know. Other helpful input and insights are also greatly appreciated.


Jane Sutton,
Author of The Ride, (ISBN) 1-59507-193-8/978-159507-193-4/1-59507-194-6. The death of a relative, the revelation of shocking family secrets, her husband’s bizarre obsession and a random encounter with a handsome stranger turn Barbie Anderson’s mundane existence into chaos. As events spiral out of control, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery only to find the route is neither simple nor painless.

To read the first chapter, visit my web site at http://janekennedysutton.googlepages.com/home

To email me janekennedysutton@gmail.com