Linda Wisdom – Sixty Published Novels and Counting
Linda Wisdom has been writing romance novels for over thirty years and in that time she has published more than sixty books. She has twice been nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award and been a winner of the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award. When I interviewed her, she had just released another book - Demons Are a Girl's Best Friend.
Darrell - I know you began writing for Silhouette Books then moved on to Dell and Harlequin, but how did you become a writer in the first place?
Linda - I always wanted to write. I wrote short stories as a kid and novella length through high school. I was lucky enough to have a journalism instructor in high school who critiqued and encouraged my work. Ironically, my journalism advisor in college told me I didn't have a future in fiction writing. I guess I showed her!
Darrell - Can you describe a typical day of writing for you?
Linda - I'm not sure it's typical. I usually check my email first and if I'm on a blog tour, I check in there. Otherwise, I get to work. I tend to backtrack about five or ten pages to help myself up to speed. I work three hours in the morning, break for lunch and playtime with the dog, then I check blogs and email and back to work for several hours. The perils of too many years at the computer means back problems, so I advise everyone to take frequent breaks. I don't think of writing a certain number of words or pages each day. It's whatever I'm comfortable with. Some days I'm cooking. Other days I could be struggling to the point that housework looks more appealing!
Darrell - You have a number of books available on Kindle. Where do you think the future market lies in relation to paperback and ebooks?
Linda - I've seen ebooks grow in quality and number over the years. There's always going to be readers who prefer paperbacks, but as one who acquired a Nook last year and am now totally hooked, I think more will go that route. Especially when they realize how many books they can carry around in an ereader. I also have to say I've discovered a lot of new authors to me. Either because one of their books was offered as a free book or I find it on a blog catering to ereaders.
Darrell - There seems to be a line drawn in the sand between 'literary' books and popular novels. Why do you think that is?
Linda - There's always going to be a dividing line in any type of fiction. When I was first published in category romantic fiction I was always asked when I'd write a 'real' book. Or one genre looks down on another. We're all writers, creating what we love. You'd think that would count, wouldn't you?
Darrell - You're an author who does book signings. What do you see as being the benefits of this?
Linda - I think it's the chance for an author to meet the readers. You may not sell a lot of books, but it's a great way to also meet the booksellers, and sometimes sit around and chat.
Darrell - How would you suggest someone market themselves if they are just starting out with their first published book?
Linda - They need to see what niche they fit in. Use all the social networks to talk about their book, hope for reviews and tagging the books. Even checking out blogs that cater to ebooks and see if they can guest blog there. People can't buy a book if they don't know about it.
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