I've followed Hope Clark's blog and newsletter for years, and not because we're both former feds. (Though that's a great place to start.) I know her as somebody who "gets it." As a regular reader of her hugely successful FundsForWriters.com, I have even contributed to her newsletter (see here and also here.) So I was thrilled when she added "author of a mystery series" to her repertoire. But even better: it wasn't "luck" that got her there; it was hard work that "got her published." I recently downloaded her new book, "Lowcountry Bribe," and it was an excellent read! Carolina Slade is compelling-- and the situation she finds herself in is even more gripping-- as you turn the pages quickly. I interviewed Hope recently about her new book, creating powerful characters and storylines, how she landed an agent and publisher and...how you can do it too.
Why should a reader pick up or download your book?
The award-winning opening hook, the remarkable twist not a soul has seen coming, the witticisms, the realistic vulnerability of a strong protagonist, the vivid descriptions of an enchanting rural South Carolina, a mystery that keeps the pages flipping long into the night, the handsome federal agent, the picture painted of Americana agriculture as a prime setting for crime - - all of these are reasons relayed to me by actual readers of Lowcountry Bribe.
You had a great interplay between Slade and Special Agent Wayne Largo. How did your realistic dialogue come-was it easy or hard to write, springing from their characterizations?
Dialogue is my absolute favorite part of writing. I'm there, in the room with them, playing it out, moving, standing, hand-waving. In the South, in case you are not from the South, we tend to speak with our hands, in metaphors, with storytelling. It's a natural personality trait to me, and in a room of Southerners, you'll often find antes and one-ups on who can tell the best story, and they are relaying their own lives! But I live in a house full of men and came up in a profession full of men, so the repartee between Slade and Wayne is not so unlike that in my own home . . . with my live-in federal agent. I "see" the characters and as they dodge and weave in their back-and-forth, I also "hear" their double-dog-dare exchanges as if they stood in my study putting on a show.
You were a government employee, and as a former Federal employee myself, I can say without a doubt that you NAILED life in a govt office-the bureaucracy and middle management layers and redundancies. You made it believable, but just how do you turn something like that into exciting reading? It hooked me, and then it kept getting more and more interesting, to the point where it was hard to put it down!
The bureaucratic world is very internal, with logistics, lingo and paperwork that outsiders can't comprehend. What we don't know often bores us, especially with the government which is known for being boring. That was a trick, editing to the point I deleted all the mundane parts. Having participated in investigations, I knew to skip the long waiting parts, the meetings that get cancelled, the preparation that takes hours, like Law and Order, which you and I know involves cases that in real life take months, but on TV, take 45 minutes minus commercials. With lending, which Slade does, you only mention the appropriate items that further the story. You tap the juicy parts. And as with any story, every page has to further the story. Remember that lesson keeps you editing tight. Actually tight, visual writing can paint any profession in an intriguing light.
Can you tell us about the process of writing this book? Did you have a very well thought out plot and outline, and know the arc and ending in advance, or did you write as you went? How long did it take you?
This book was agony and ecstasy. The original version was 14 years ago. It stinks. However, I had to exorcise that version out of my system, as I did the second and third versions written completely from scratch. The original was third person, and it wasn't until I started over twice, finally in first person, did the story start becoming 3-D. Of course, I put the book down for about 5 years in between as I grew as a writer, so the actual writing time was a bit less than 14 years.
I did not have a complete outline. I do not like to write with a complete outline. I outline 3-5 chapters at a time once I know the characters I want to work with. I'm very much a setting and character writer first, then I let the characters lead the story. But once I've written that 3-5 chapters, then I return to another mini-outline. The reasoning is that my stories always change. ALWAYS. I'll be in the midst of a confrontation and realize we are headed down the wrong path, so I change direction. Outlining a complete book, then altering course innumerable times between Chapters 1 and 34, would be devastating to a writer's ego, in my opinion. Wasted work. Plus I love the enlightenment that occurs as I write, as a new twist comes in focus.
For instance, Alan, the ex-husband, was a minor player who disappeared after Chapter 4 in the first few versions. My critique group said make him more or get rid of him, because he contributed so little. So I made him HUGE in overkill manner, which made for a much richer plot. There was another man in her office in the second version, who was her silent supporter, but he never grew. Much like Alan, he aided very little. So I ditched him. The kids used to be two boys, close in age, but I wanted to spice up Slade's personal life, so I changed one to a daughter, old enough to be a handful (which works well in the second and third book). But I always know that the two arcs have to keep escalating, and somehow come together - the personal and the professional. That's also what I hate and love about writing. Solving the dilemmas. As in real life, I experience them as they play out, not knowing how to solve them, using the tools at hand to figure it out. It's not the typical classroom lesson taught in creative writing, but it works for me.
How long did the editing process take?
I'm always editing. I do this two steps forward and one step back. Write a chapter, put it down, read it, edit it and start chapter two. Put it down. Pick it up, edit chapter two then write chapter three. I have to feed the subsequent chapter from the previous, which often means editing as I write. But full edits of the completed manuscript took at least three years. I quit counting the times. At least 20. Lots of meticulous changes. It doesn't look like it, but that's the beauty of edits. The finished product has to look easy. However, keep in mind that I was developing a voice in that first book with its many edits and revisions. I love the voice I found in the process. Book two took a year to write. It's been edited three times. I'm finishing another edit on it now. I'm an editing fiend. Until they tell me to stop, I find an excuse to edit one more time.
Can you tell us about the publishing process, how you were able to secure a publisher or an agent?
I decided from the outset that I did not want to self-publish my fiction. I needed that vetting process to tell me I'd done this mission right. When I felt Lowcountry Bribe sounded decent, I started entering contests before I pitched to agents. Contests were barometric measures for me. When I started placing in contests, I realized that I was getting there, so I pitched agents. All this took two years, however, because some contests took months and I only pitched twelve agents at a time. After 35 agents, I stopped pitching and did another rewrite. Then I started pitching again. I landed agent number 72. It took her 18 months to land a contract. Some agents would have dropped me in that time period, but she believed in the voice of the series. We came close with some great publishers, even to the Acquisitions Board of a couple, but a mid-sized press, Bell Bridge Books just felt right. I adore that publisher. It was frustrating, and I admit I shed a few tears along the way, but the only choices were to keep doing it or quitting, and I loved writing too much to quit.
What's a day in the life of Hope like? How were you able to spend time writing a novel when you're managing the huge Funds For Writers newsletter, which has 26,000 subscribers?
Actually, the four newsletters reach 43,000 readers. The main newsletters, FundsforWriters, reaches 26,000. But I work full-time at this craft of ours. At least eight hours a day. And I love it. I tend to do FundsforWriters and freelance writing by day and fiction by night, when the world is asleep and nobody is emailing or Tweeting me. My days are full; I won't lie about that. But what started as a fun enterprise when I couldn't sell the mystery over a decade ago, has turned into major job. Can't let it loose now! But fiction is my energy and my first love.
I'm a night owl. I rise at 10AM, eat breakfast in front of some recorded mystery TV show, then hit the computer for a few hours. Then I take a break, run errands, work in the yard, play with my pet chickens. Return to the keyboard for an hour or two. Do dinner with hubby in front of another mystery, then hit the study until 2-3 AM. As you can see, my day is broken up, which I enjoy. It's like sectioning my tasks, severing one so I cleanly step into another duty with a clear head. It works for me.
What was your biggest mistake in this book process?
Waiting so long in between edits. To a certain degree I grew during those respites, but I was also second-guessing my abilities making me procrastinate going back to the novel. Especially since FundsforWriters was doing so well. I didn't join a critique group for years, not believing in them. I wish I'd joined one earlier in my career, because I believe I'd have improved faster. But I'm not one to rue the past. Never have. Each and every experience teaches me, and I like that.
Tell me about the role you have to take in selling and promoting this book.
My publisher does great promotional plans with Amazon. I consider Bell Bridge Books/Belle Books a leader in that regard. They regularly have a book in the top 100, and definitely in the top 100 of various genres. But I'm promoting my own book. I've learned so much about how, when, and if to deal with indie bookstores, how to approach B&N and Books-a-Million, when to give away a book and when to hold onto it. I've learned that you have to be strong with your promotion, because the whole process and the huge number of books available out there can drown your efforts quite easily. Being proactive is key. However, I will say that my publisher has toned me down a bit, because I operated under the old school that you have to push the book hard out of the gate, but these days the business model is more of a long-tail approach, building a platform over time. That's great news for most authors, but the secret is you can't stop promoting waiting for the long-tail to take effect. You have to continue to promote daily, regularly, passionately, over that long haul. That's how brands are built and series become household names.
I blog, guest blog, offer giveaways, speak to book groups, speak to writers groups, and travel when necessary. I have 13 gigs this year between Feb and Oct, with more popping up here and there. You have to keep your name out there. I've also learned to always have promo material and at least two books on me at all times. I've sold five copies at my gym, just because I told one person I wrote. 100 books sit in my study, ever available. A FundsforWriters reader came through town recently, and I met her at a bar - sold four copies. You just never know.
What would you recommend to other aspiring novelists? What must writers know NOW?
1. Write daily. If writing is something you do when you have time, then you're giving it secondary status which interprets on all levels that it isn't your priority.
2. Blog and Tweet. If you do no other social networking, do those two things. Third is Facebook. Start now. Try not to mesh your personal drama into it. Sound off daily like you are a writer and you mean it.The blog needs to be regular, and not just about hard it is to write. Boring. Show the world your voice.
3. Diligence is everything. Only you decide whether to quit. It's nobody else's fault. Fight to improve, and yes, your writing today sucks compared to your writing tomorrow. You cannot become good unless you write daily to exorcise all the crap. Keep at it, and your odds rise that you'll do something in this business. While you whine about your inabilities, others are leaving you in their dust.
What's on the agenda for you next? When do we see books 2 and 3?
Books two and three are written! Publisher is talking about them now. I like them BETTER than Lowcountry Bribe. Slade really comes into her own, but she continues to upset plans and people along the way. Seems that doing the right thing for her isn't necessarily what other people agree with. All the books are set in rural South Carolina, just in different regions. Lowcountry Bribe is in Edisto, rural Charleston County. Book Two takes place in Beaufort, specifically St Helena Island. Book Three brings us inland to Lexington County and a little town called Pelion. Readers connect with a series, and I'm bringing a different secondary character to the forefront in each book while introducing a couple of new characters.You'll love the new guy in Book Two, and Slade's friend Savvy takes center stage. That's all I can say.
However, I can say, this is a journey made in heaven. I couldn't be having a better time. I'll write about Carolina Slade until they sprinkle my ashes, and believe me, I have enough stories to last that long.#





