Judi Lauren

YA Author

Wednesday Writer Interview with Amy Mills

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Every other Wednesday, I’ll be showcasing authors who got an agent in the last couple of years. If you’d like to be a part of this, let me know in the comments or contact me via Twitter @judi__Lauren

I’m so excited to kick this off with an interview with Amy Mills. Not only is she an awesome writer, she’s also my critique partner and I would never have gotten an agent without her. Welcome to the blog, Amy!

What was the hardest part about writing your book?

Um—the actual writing it part? TC was my first novel I’d written. I’d dabbled in fanfiction when I was a teen, but I’d never created my own world and my own characters before. So really, the hardest part was finding the confidence to write it at all (and then showing it to others!)

Showing it to others is the worst necessary evil for me too. How did you meet your agent?

We met through the contest Agent Match.

Do you have a rough number of how many queries you sent out before being offered representation?

Around 22.

What inspires you to write?

A lot of the time it’s characters that won’t shut up that drive me to actually opening a word document. To be honest, sometimes there is no inspiration that gets me through writing…it’s just the stubbornness of wanting to finish what I started.

Can you tell us a little bit about your creative process? Where do you get your ideas and characters?

From everywhere and everything. I wish I had a more definitive answer because it might be easier getting ideas! My creative process mostly consists of me walking around town, listening to music, and letting my mind wander.

Many people have jobs along with writing. How do you balance that schedule?

I’m lucky that my day job is low stress and only requires exactly eight hours of my day. Typically I’ll write on my lunch breaks and after I get home from work (my husband and cats are pretty independent so I can get a lot done 😉

Is there a fictional character or book you wish you had created?

No. The reason I love certain characters and worlds so much is because of the way that creator made them. If I created Harry Potter, I don’t think it would’ve been nearly as awesome.

HP is the most awesome. Can you tell us what you enjoy most about writing?

Living so many different lives and experiences. That happens with reading, too, but as a writer you get so much more immersed in your characters and their world. Oh, and I also love the “sudden burst of inspiration” feeling. You know—that moment where suddenly you come up with a great idea to untangle a complicated plot and you feel like you can solve all the world’s problems? Yeah—I love that.

I love those moments too! Can you describe your awesome MC Jess in three words each?

Scientist, independent, and lonely

Before you leave, would you share the first sentence of your query that got you an agent?

I haven’t looked at my query in months! Alright, here it goes:

The last words Jess Irons heard from her murdered mother were: Hide. Lazarus is alive.

Thanks so much, Amy!

Amy PictureAmy is a science fiction author with a soft spot for STEM protagonists, adventure, and heart-wrenching romances. When she isn’t engineering or writing, you can find her tutoring math or taking dance classes. She’s lived in San Diego her entire life, making her a certified weather wimp and a lover of California burritos. She enjoys traveling around the world with her husband, even if it means leaving her three cats, Sherlock, Watson, and Moriarty (all of whom live up to their individual namesakes) at home. You can find her at her website or on Twitter @ms_amymills 

In Which I Hate My WIP

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Rubbish

I’m not sure what’s happened with this manuscript I’ve been working on since October. I started it as part of the YA Buccaneers fall writing boot camp and I enjoyed that so immensely. But I can’t remember the last time I wrote a book that gave me this much grief. That literally made me want to stop writing it almost every day. I actually enjoyed the first 20k or so, but after that, it really went downhill.

I’m about 99% positive that I’m not the only writer this has happened to. Many writers I know have one book they’ve struggled with and wish they’d never started. And then there are those ones who seem to be somehow okay with every word they’ve ever written. Those people amaze me.

There were only a few things, besides chocolate and coffee, that managed to help me finish the MS (and it was only 50k because that was ALL I could get out of it).

I took a step back

After October ended, NaNoWriMo began. I look forward to this every year, but I think I looked forward to it even more this year because it meant I got to write on something other than my current MS, Blood on My Name. During Nano, I still wrote on BoMN, but only a couple hundred words here and there. And the break really helped me pull myself together and determine that I didn’t want to give up on it. Not at 35k words in.

I remembered why I started it

I have a personal reason for writing every book I ever start. That may be part of the reason why I have such a hard time stopping an MS that’s being particularly difficult. BoMN is about revenge and broken trust and all that good stuff. Somewhere along the way, it became a little convoluted and the plot holes made me want to stop. So during my step back, I also went back to the reason why I started it to begin with. It’s a story I wanted to write. And it’s that simple.

I got feedback on it

This one was new for me. I’m a perfectionist and I don’t usually send out my stuff until I know I like it well enough. But I had a critique partner read this one during its first draft phase. And she was able to point out the problems and even gave me solutions on how to fix some of them. I’m not going to lie, it amazed me that she managed to get through the whole thing. I also won a full critique from a lovely lady that I can’t wait to hear back from. I think their combined efforts might be able to save this thing.

Which is great, because I already promised it to my agent.

Do you have any tips or tricks for getting through a difficult writing project? Let me know in the comments or chat me up on Twitter @judi__Lauren. I’d love to hear from you!

Things About Publishing That Freak Me Out

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Old Books

One of the things I feel like isn’t talked about a lot among writers is publishing fears. I’m pretty busy, so I don’t actually have a lot of time to sit and wonder about my book and how it’s doing out in the big submission world, and that’s probably how it is for a lot of writers. But these past couple of weeks I’ve had some serious insomnia and the only thing I can think about while in bed, staring at my ceiling, is things that freak me out about publishing.

Never publishing that first book

I know a lot of writers whose book that won them an agent also scored them a book deal. And then I know a few writers who had to write another book after their first one didn’t sell. And that is one of my greatest fears about this whole publishing journey. I know in my head I’d take it in stride, because you can’t make any editor love your book. But I’ve put all my blood, sweat, and tears into Still Breathing (or as I call it, Drew) that I can’t imagine it NOT going somewhere.

Publishing that book and having everyone hate it

I’m not talking about a few bad reviews. Even the big bestsellers have a ton of one-star reviews on them. I’m talking about those books that EVERYONE LITERALLY HATES. The ones that are constantly made fun of and no one ever has anything nice to say about it. This is like very, very rare, I know. But just the thought of it freaks me out.

Not earning out an advance

I’m nowhere near close to believing I’ll get a huge advance for my book, but it freaks me out to think that I might even get a low or mid-figure one and I won’t be able to earn it out.

Publishing that book and never publishing another

I read this story once about a writer who had a really popular first book, and then he couldn’t get another house to buy his next books. Or magazines to buy his articles or essays. The major reason why this one really freaks me out is because I love to write. And I can’t really imagine doing anything else with my life.

The book signing where no one shows up

So this is like a really, really long way off and not every publishing company deals in book signings. But the thought of having one and just sitting at that table for a couple of hours where no one shows up REALLY makes me cringe. There was a scene like this on a show that aired a few years ago, One Tree Hill, and I felt second-hand embarrassment for that character.

I know I’m not the only one, I’ve spoken with other writers and even one of my CPs about publishing fears. If you have any that I didn’t mention, comment below or join a discussion with me on Twitter at @judi__Lauren. I’d love to hear from you!