Gemma Halliday – Want to Be a Successful Writer? Write More Books.
The Chicago Tribune has described Gemma Halliday’s books as "A saucy combination of romance and suspense that is simply irresistible." Obviously this is a formula that works as she has had a multitude of books in the Kindle bestseller list in recent months.
When I interviewed Gemma, she spoke about her method of writing and how writers can build a successful career.
Darrell - Can you describe a typical day of writing?
Gemma - First off, thanks for having me! As for a “typical” day, I hardly ever have one of those. But here’s what I did today:
Hit Starbucks at about 8am, order grande latte, write for about 4 hours. Finish my latest indie mystery, HOLLYWOOD CONFESSIONS, (yay!) and send the manuscript off to my freelance editor. Grab some lunch, then head to Office Depot to buy mailing supplies, then the post office to mail off advanced reader copies of my next New York print book, a young adult mystery called DEADLY COOL, to two reviewers, one blogger, and one charity event. Then I drive home, answer some emails, check my Facebook page, and do four interviews - two for German publications, one for a Spanish magazine, and one for a Brazilian blog. Check my sales stats for the day, then I pour a glass of wine and dig into revisions for my next young adult book, SOCIAL SUICIDE. Then collapse into bed and do it all over again tomorrow!
Darrell - You write romantic mysteries. How does someone go about plotting a mystery book?
Gemma - Very carefully. ;) (I know, old joke, but I couldn’t resist.) Actually, I usually start with setting/situation then work out the victim and suspects from there. I always like to have a couple twists and turns, but those usually work themselves out very naturally for me once I know who was killed and how. The killer is that last thing I always plot out. In fact, I often change who the killer is halfway through writing the book, then I do a lot of going back and adding details and clues to make sure everything comes together in the end.
Darrell - You've had many successful bestselling books, including some ebooks. What do you think is the best marketing that a writer can do to promote themselves?
Gemma - Honestly, I think the best thing a writer can do to build a fan base is write more books. The bigger your backlist, the more of a readership you’ll gain. I think it’s important to have a website and be accessible to readers, but I’d definitely balance time spent there against making sure you have enough time to write as many books as humanly possible.
Darrell - How long does it normally take you to write a book, then rewrite it till it's ready to publish?
Gemma - This really varies for me. The longest it’s ever taken is 9 months. The shortest is 10 days. Personally, I prefer somewhere in the middle, about 5-6 months, but deadlines and publishing schedules often dictate how much time I have to write a book, not the other way around.
As far as rewrites go, I don’t spend a whole lot of time rewriting my books on my own. I do a first draft that’s pretty tight, then go over probably once more to add in more details and smooth out the language. (Just finished doing this with HOLLYWOOD CONFESSIONS.) After that, I submit it either to my publisher or a freelance editor (if I’m indie pubbing it), and they come back with revisions. How many rounds of revisions we do and how extensive those are really depends on where it’s being published and what the particular editors’ styles are. For my indie pubbed stuff, I usually do one round of revisions once it comes back from my freelance editor. For my upcoming hardcover release, PLAY NICE, I had one very short revision round which took me about a week. For my young adult books, that editor usually likes to do 2-3 rounds of revisions, catching the big stuff first, then whittling it down to the finer details in the last rounds. So, it all really varies depending on the project.
Darrell - Where do you think the future lies for writers now that ebooks have arrived?
Gemma - Wow, I wish I had my crystal ball so I could answer that one! I’m honestly not sure, but I think it’s exciting that there are many different opportunities for authors out there now. Personally, I’m publishing both traditionally and through indie ebook sources, and I love having a hand in each. I think ebooks are just going to be another great option for readers - kind of like choosing paperback or hardcover has been in the past. Depending on the situation, I could see myself picking one format over the other at different times. I will say that my own son has become a voracious reader since getting an ereader of his own, so I’m hopeful that the new instant availability of ebooks will mean that more people are reading more often.
Darrell - What advice would you give to someone about to publish their first novel?
Gemma - Be patient. I think every author deep down has hopes that their first novel will be a runaway bestseller (I’ll admit I did!), but the truth is very few are. It takes time to build a readership and a fan base, and it often takes a backlist before you really start to see significant sales. So don’t be discouraged if sales start out slow. Every sale counts, and every bestseller has to start somewhere!
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