Interview with...Mick Silva

      Today I’m thrilled to welcome editor Mick Silva to the blog. Mick has worked in the publishing industry for over 10 years, including time with Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group. Mick’s currently a freelance editor and consultant to authors. He’s building a fabulous online community at YourWritersGroup.com. Please welcome Mick!

1.      Thanks for joining me on the blog today, Mick. Could you tell the audience how you came to be involved in the publishing industry? 

Mick: I don't know how else Peter Pan stays in Neverland once he gets a wife and kids. Madeline L'Engle, E.T., and The Hobbit. That order. They made me want to read and that made me want to write. After film school, I went to Focus on the Family, started acquiring marriage books, went to WaterBrook Press and then began helping Windblown Media after The Shack took off. And now I run a website for discovering and telling stories for "writers of a higher purpose," code for "misfits and reformed hoodlums." 

2.      What are the pros and cons of being an independent editor vs. part of a publishing house?

Mick: Pro for indy: no one spits in your coffee. Con: you have to make it yourself. Pro: It's better coffee. Con: You buy it yourself. Pro: You appreciate that more. Con: less time to appreciate it. Pro: You can schedule more time for that. Con: You have to figure out how to explain it to your wife so she doesn't question. Pro: You do, in fact, figure that out  eventually.

3.      What keeps you engaged with a story? What does “story” mean to you in the big picture?

Mick: There are no fairytales left. What I always want is a believable fantasy so I can believe my life really could be like Peter Pan's. Many books tickle ears and think they're doing that but there's no substance. Some books slap your face, some punch your gut. I don't have time for those. Very few show you they really know you have ice around your heart that needs melting. I'm looking for what I think everyone wants deep down which is escape from myself so I can be unfrozen.

4.      What are two of your all-time favorite books, fiction or non-fiction? Why?

Mick: Great question. I always love the book I'm currently reading the most, but if I could fuse A Wrinkle In Time and The Alchemist into one book, I'd probably give up trying to write. They broke the rules. They didn't write what they should have. They didn't fit. And they didn't hoard their vision but they included everyone in it and made the world better by showing us we're all like them in some undeniable ways. And in those books and others like them (To Kill a Mockingbird and The Book of the Dun Cow come to mind now as well) we learn that we all need each other. (parenthetical examples don't count in the tally, right?)

5.      In your career, what are the primary reasons manuscripts fail to grab an editor’s interest?

Mick: Sadly, I think it comes down to one thing: the author hasn't read enough. I was going to say their acknowledgments page isn't long enough yet, but I think that grows as readers discover more of who they owe for their very minds. And minds come from books. Books are the antidote to stupid, which I'll humbly suggest here as my memorable soundbite. They cure ignorance. Books are a way to experience knowledge which is the definition of we grow and mature and realize all we don't know. It's the rare folks who've read their heritage and defined a fresh interpretation that can catch an editor's eye.

6.      E-books, POD and e-readers have altered the publishing landscape. How do you envision the publishing realm continuing to change over the next 5-10 years?

Mick: Grossman wrote a great article in Time a year or so ago about how the old neat orchard has become an overgrown jungle. And some people freak out about that but if you look at diversity through the eyes of millions of young readers who don't know any different and haven't yet found their favorite books yet, you begin to think maybe what's coming isn't so bad. Sure it's a mess right now. The floor is covered in digital static. But we're also freer to move around because the room is expanding. And freedom is always dangerous but despite the predictions, over 2000 years ago we were told the making of books would be endless. I appreciate that we've got work to do in this new Guttenberg era to craft and lead our collective dream of a better life. But God knows what he's doing and I'm just excited to share my hope in the wonderful surprising journey.

Writing from the Heart

Some of you will laugh at the title of this blog post. "Isn't that what you're SUPPOSED to do?"

It's easier said than done. As writers, we begin with the kernel of an idea which (if it's a good one) will sprout into a plot, even if it's just a skeletal one. We'll create some characters to populate this story and maybe even map it out a bit --- unless your a pantster. 

From here, different writers take different tacts. Some let their characters do all the work. The writer allows them to set the story tempo and tell the story, since it's theirs to tell. This works greeat, especially in fiction. You have the plot-first crowd who maps out every detail they can possibly dream up and then write from that base. Again, perfectly solid and respectable.

This is all well and good for fiction, but what about nonfiction? What about a story where you may be the main character? This is where I find myself today.

Writing from the heart has come to assume a totally different meaning for me since I started Sarah's story. This isn't just me writing about people I may or may not know. This is a story about my family. About my baby girl. About me. 

Writers and agents often speak about "bleeding on the page." Well, I can vouch for the fact that writing a personal narrative can feel just like that. Literally. Each word stirs a memory. Those memories aren't always easy to depict in narrative and yet, when writing from the heart, from the life you've actually lived, can be exhilirating. And painful. And freeing.

Today, are you writing from your heart in your fiction or nonfiction? What is the most difficult aspect of letting it "all hang out" so to speak? 

WIP Thursday: Where to Begin (or End)?

I hope you enjoyed this week's interview with Lucienne Diver. Next week, editing guru Mick Silva is on tap. So don't miss out Tuesday! (By the way, Mick didn't ask for the "guru" moniker but I think he deserves it anyway.)

Have you ever found yourself flip-flopping between projects? Have you ever been torn between finishing one project while another is pestering you "write me, write me?" Well, that's where I find myself this week. On the one hand, "Big Joe" should be my focus. I'm feverishly attempting it to get it prepared to query but the opening still has me scratching my head, based on feedback I've received.

So we come to project #2, which I've been talking about off and on here: Sarah's story. It's the story that will not leave me alone. I can't walk, read, sleep or eat without thinking of it the past few days. Maybe it's my mind being clouded over for a week with the onset of bronchitis. Or maybe, this really is THE story I should be focusing on in the present.

The difficult part for me is Sarah's story is such a personal one that it takes a lot of energy just recounting some of the events. I have no doubt non-fiction has the potential to toughen me up as a writer. Good Lord, just writing a book proposal will do that! At some point I think I need to make up my mind. Or do I? I've heard some writers who work on drastically different projects at one time, and certainly as a writer we're equipped to juggle our workload as deadlines and circumstances dictate.

I've always been a person who focused on one thing, finished it, and moved on to the next. With my writing, I've found that much more challenging. Anyone out there have trouble juggling different projects? How do reach a sense of accomplishment with both projects?

Interview with...Lucienne Diver

Today's guest is a type-A workaholic by her own admission. Lucienne Diver is a wife, mother, writer AND an agent with the Knight Agency. She's one busy, focused lady! Lucienne was gracious enough to accept my invitation to the blog so please welcome her with me.


You can find Lucienne online at:
http://luciennediver.wordpress.com/ - her blog
http://www.luciennediver.com - author website
http://knightagency.net - agency website

1.      As both an author and agent, what do you find most challenging about separating your careers?

Lucienne: I don’t actually have any trouble separating them.  I write first thing in the morning, before my inner agent has downed the requisite two cups of coffee (super-sized) and come on-line.  My inner critic is likewise still abed at that hour, which means I can get out of my own way and just listen to the voices in my head rather than insert myself into the process.  Once business hours roll around and I know that authors and editors will be calling, my agent-brain kicks in, and it would be impossible for me to focus on anything else.  At that point, it’s my “To Do” list rather than my novel scrolling through my head, and the only way to keep it manageable is to keep it moving.

2.       Writers glean from all facets of life, including their own. How much of your own personality and life experience appears in the characters of your novels?

Lucienne: It’s interesting how well you come to know yourself as a writer.  I’ve realized that much of my early work features characters that are a lot like me.  They want to cut to the chase and not dwell on all that messy emotional stuff.  However, as I’ve gone on, I’ve realized that I’m going to have to open up other parts of myself to keep from stagnating, and that will sometimes mean drawing on issues and events that aren’t comfortable.  As I’ve been working on my new (currently hush, hush) project, I’ve begun internalizing the immortal words of Ernest Hemingway: “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”

3.       What is the best thing about being a 1) writer and 2) agent?

Lucienne: Best thing about being a writer: when you learn that you’ve really affected someone with your work.  I love feedback from readers, particularly reluctant readers, who’ve become absorbed in my work and cared enough to let me know it. 

Best thing about being an agent: working with authors.  Truly, my clients are some of the  most amazing, talented, brilliant, empathetic, intriguing people in the world, and I’m privileged to have a place among them.

4.       What advice can you give aspiring writers who think they’re ready to submit their work?

Lucienne: Do NOT rush it out the door.  After you’ve written your novel, workshop and revise it until you can’t look at it any more, then put it away for a time.  I’d suggest a month, minimum, but if you can’t give it that, a few weeks at least so that you can go back to it with fresh eyes.  I guarantee you’ll find a whole host of new things to tweak that you’ll wonder how you ever missed.  You don’t often get a second chance to impress the pros with the same manuscript, so you want to make every opportunity count.

5.       I know from reading your bio and blog that you’re one busy woman. How in the world do you maintain such high standards (and quality in your work) when it seems you barely have time to sleep?

Lucienne: You know that schedule running through my head that I mentioned back in the answer to question #1?  Well, I’m a serious Type A personality, which means that I don’t know how to relax and any gap in my schedule just stresses me out with the idea that I should be doing something to fill it.  I’m pretty much incapable of relaxing, though my husband’s working on introducing me to the concept.

6.       Are you currently accepting new clients? What would you say is the most important writing attribute for you when considering a new client?

Lucienne: I’ll always be on the look-out for something that really blows me away.  I’ve sold three wonderful debut novels within the past twelve months.  That said, I already work with forty authors of fantasy, science fiction, romance, mystery and young adult fiction, so I’m not as actively looking as I might have been earlier on in my career.  In a manuscript I seek out voice, marketability, pacing and originality.  In a client, I look for someone who’s creative, motivated, responsive and a strong communicator.

7.      Could you name one or two of your literary or publishing heroes or role models?

Lucienne: A few literary heroes: Sharyn McCrumb for pretty much everything she’s ever written. Ditto for Mary Stewart. In YA and middle grade fiction, I’m a big fan of Suzanne Collins, Rick Riordan and J.K. Rowling. I know, I’m hardly unique in this, but I love them all the same.

Writing: In It for the Long Haul

I’m finally shaking the cloudy brain caused by my bout with bronchitis this past week. Happy to be on the other side of that, let me tell you. I hate being sick at all and it always seems like when I do it, I do it big. 

As many of my writing friends are apt to say: Writing is a marathon, not a sprint. If you come into the writing life thinking you'll have agents falling all over your writing (a first draft, even!) or that you know everything about the industry, you'll be in for a rude awakening.

Nothing in life is easy or free and writing is no different. In fact, I would place it near the top of most difficult non-dangerous professions. Most writers don't experience overnight success but they do receive many rejections. The key is to move past those, not take them personally and continue to improve your work. 

I'm struggling right now and I'll readily admit it. The opening to both my novels has received mixed feedback and it's frustrating. However, I've been in the business long enough (even as a pre-published author) to realize it would be easy to just hang it up now. Enough is enough already, right? 

But to do that would be to turn my back on a dream I've had since I was in 3rd grade. To give up would be to surrender a talent I believe God has given me. We all struggle with emotional ups and downs in our writing, but each time we fall, we have to be willing to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and fight another day.

That's what I'm doing and will continue to do. I'm certain fiction will have a place in my writing life and I'll do what is necessary to improve it, land an agent, and hopefully (eventually!) a book deal of some kind. What if no book deal ever transpires?

The writing will continue because I have a lot of stories to tell and not all of them are fictional. Just imagine the stories encompassing biliary atresia and other liver diseases. My own family's walk through this and transplant, which I'm currently documenting. And so many more ideas. 

You see, writers don't just get one or two ideas, sell a book and then retire to live lavishly on the riches those books have accumulated. You've got to be realistic and you've got to be tough. As for me, I'm in it for the long haul. Are you?

Happy Father's Day

To all the fathers who spent time investing in their children, leading the way by example and who were always available, emotionally and otherwise. I salute you!

Out Sick

I'm battling a bout of bronchitis this week. I hope to have the blog up and running again as normal by Monday. And myself, as well.