Mundie Moms

Friday, December 30, 2011

2011 Mundie Moms Favorites: Author Interviews #3


It's day 13 of our 2011 Mundie Moms Favorites, and today I'm exited to share my last mini interview series post that was done with some of our favorite authors from this year. It's been a lot of fun doing these interviews and I want send out a huge THANK YOU to each of the authors who graciously took time to answer my questions. You can read each of my author interview posts here: Favorite Author Interviews #1 | Favorite Author Interviews #2


If you could go back and give your aspiring author self one piece of advice, what would that be?

Saundra Mitchell (The Vespertine):

"It's always going to be hard to do the exposition. You will always be wrecked by it. Once you make it past, you'll be fine. Just realize that struggle is never going away; stop being surprised every time it's hard to get started!"


Kimberly Derting (The Pledge & Desires of the Dead):

I would tell myself to recognize the signs that it's time to give up on that one (dead) manuscript and work on something new. I was that writer that thought my first work was brilliant, that it should be published and hailed by millions. It shouldn't have been, which was why it was rejected. Repeatedly. But instead of starting something new, I got stuck on it, and kept revising it and re-submitting it. I spent years on it. Years that I should have been writing new books.

It wasn't until I (finally) gave up on that first manuscript, that I discovered I had better stories to tell…and better writing in me.

As it turns out, that book was just really good practice!


Ally Condie (CROSSED):

I would tell myself not to worry so much about my terrible first drafts. I loved writing them and the joy of writing is always so pure in that first round when the book belongs to you and the characters--but when I'd get done and re-read, I would think, "Good grief, this is AWFUL." I've since learned that other authors feel that way too about their drafts and that it's okay to have a LOT of cleanup to do after that first attempt!


Tera Lynn Childs (Sweet Venom):

Write more. When I think back to all the time I spent worrying about getting published, staying published, and promotion and marketing, I kind of cringe. In hindsight those were countless hours I could have spent writing more books or novellas or short stories or even blog posts and becoming a better writer. I believe that everything happens in its own time and at its own pace, but writing leads to better writing. I wish I had written more from the start. Then all those other things I wasted time worrying about would have fallen into place faster.


Lisa T Bergren (The River of Time Series):

Give yourself time. There's hardly any endeavor that makes one an "overnight success," and for most writers, success is years in the making; just keep at it, one book at a time.


Thank you to Saundra Mitchell, Kimberly Derting, Ally Condie, Tera Lynn Childs, and Lisa T Bergren for stopping by today!

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