Writer’s Interview with Jennifer Blanchard

Here is a Writer’s Interview with Jennifer Blanchard:

1. First off, how many books have you published?

My first novel, Celebrity Soulmate (which is written under my pen name, Elle Riley), is being published in Feb. 2010 by Fat Frog Publishing. I start writing my second book (currently untitled) in June.

2. How long have you been writing?
I’ve been writing fiction since I was 12 years old. I’ve been writing professionally since 2004.

3. What has inspired you to write?

When it comes to non-fiction, the world around me inspires my writing. I tend to look at things that interest me, such as writers who procrastinate, then dissect the topic and find ways to help people.
When it comes to my fiction, my inspirations tend to come from music and from life (not always my life, but lives of people in general). John Mayer is my muse. His music has inspired 3 of my short stories and my first novel.

4. What sacrifices did you have to make for you to write and publish your first book? The ones after that?

When writing my first novel, I had to sacrifice some of my free time (obviously), but that’s about it.
In order to publish my first book, however, I “sacrificed” going the traditional publishing route. Trying to get your manuscript accepted through traditional publishing can take months—even years—and you still might not get the result you were looking for (acceptance of your manuscript). Plus, I’m a firm believer in an author being in control of their own work, which isn’t always the case with a traditional publisher.

By going through a small, start-up press, I am able to publish my books my way—I chose the title, the cover, the layout, the design, the size, the price, etc. And when the books sell, I get a higher percentage of the profit. I figure since I worked so hard on them, I deserve to make the most I possibly can; especially considering I’m trying to write full-time for a living.

5. About how many hours and days did it take you to write your book?
I procrastinated on writing my first novel for years. Then in March 2008, I decided enough was enough. I was turning 25 that year (Sept. 22, 2008), and I wanted to have my first novel written by then.

I ended up going through a program called, Complete That Manuscript, which is a program that helps writers finish their manuscripts—or start and finish one. This program allows you to work with a seasoned fiction editor to get your novel completed.
Using this program, I wrote my novel—from start to finish—in less than 3 months.

6. Are you happy that you went through all that to write and publish your book?

I am extremely happy for all I went though. Complete That Manuscript is by far the best program out there for writers who procrastinate. BY FAR! It keeps you on track, focused and gives you the ability to finish what you started.

When it came to publishing my book, it was a very tough decision to go with a small, start-up press as opposed to a more well-known publishing house; but I know it was the right choice for me. Yes, it would’ve been cool to have my first book published by a huge publisher, like Dell or Penguin. But when I really thought about everything—the pros and cons of a small press outweighed the pros and cons of a large publisher by a lot.

7. Was it worth it to you?
Yes, it was most definitely worth it to me. I wouldn’t give back my experience writing my first novel for anything! Yes, it was a lot of work, a lot of procrastination, a lot of excuses, a lot of doubts, a lot of hard work and dedication…but I did it! And if I can do it, anyone can.

8. Finally, what advice would you give a first time writer?
For first-time writers, I have 3 pieces of advice:

1. WRITE! Saying that probably sounds dumb, but it’s been my experience that many writers don’t actually do very much writing. Procrastination is the killer of writing…so while you’re just starting out and motivated, do yourself a favor and WRITE. Write as much as you can. Write as often as you can. Write, write, write (and write some more!).

2. Do what works for you. Early in my writing career, I was having a difficult time because I was trying to do things the way they were taught to me in my college creative writing classes. But none of those “methods” worked for me. It wasn’t until last year when I read the book, Write Is A Verb by Bill O’Hanlon, that I finally realized writers need to do what works for them.

If writing in the morning works for you—do it. If having plot outlines before writing a story works for you—do it. If standing on your head and handwriting each word works for you—DO IT!

3. Never stop dreaming! So many writers spend years writing and send things out, only to keep getting rejected. They then take that rejection to be a rejection of them, rather than just a rejection of their writing, and use it as an excuse to stop sending things out—or stop writing completely.

Do not, I repeat DO NOT let this happen to you. Keep writing; keep dreaming; keep sending your writing out. Don’t let people’s criticism or a publisher’s rejection stop you from reaching your writing dreams.

They say believing is 90 percent of achieving your dreams; they say it for a reason.

*****

Want to learn more about Jennifer? Go to these!

(twitter) http://twitter.com/ProcrastWriter

(website) http://procrastinatingwritersblog.com/