Welcome back to the Weirding Word (SM) Blog and Part 2 of our interview with award-winning and bestselling author Shelia Goss. In Part 1, Shelia discussed her books and writing career. The second part of her interview features her thoughts on the writing process and the business of writing.
Shelia will also kick-off our Guest Blog series tomorrow, sharing her thoughts on writing and romance. Be sure to come back and visit during the week.
WW: What is the writing process for you? Do you write every day? Do you have a lot of writer's block?
SG: Well, the only time I have writers block is if there's a lot of stuff going on in my family. Like somebody's sick or a death, and I have an emotional block where I cannot write because I'm trying to deal with that. Otherwise, if I do get writers block, it's more like procrastination. Because I'm checking e-mail, I'm checking everybody else's blog, I'm reading everybody else's books. Other than that, I don't have writers block. I write every day unless I need to do some edits.
WW: How did you first get published?
SG: I actually started off self-published. A lot of people don't even know this, but my first book was a collection of poems that I did called Embraced by Love: The Relationship. And, I put the book together through Kinko's, and I sold it to people that I worked with during the Valentine's period because the poems were romantic poems. So, my first customers were people that I worked with, the guy at Kinko's...so that's how I actually first got started.
I went to a lot of seminars, bought a couple of books, and decided, "Oh, okay, well I'm going to go ahead and publish my first novel." And, I did that and it was successful. Thank God for that. That's actually how I got my foot in the door. And, I got several people looking at me. From there, I got picked up by a traditional publisher.
WW: How long was that process?
Within two years. About two to three years. Three years at the most.
WW: So, that was really absolutely meant to be.
Yes, it was. And, I'm glad I had the experience because I got a chance to learn about the publishing business from the business end.
WW: Would you say that's something that a lot of authors don't get - especially self-published authors - is the business of publishing?
SG: Yeah, I think if you don't do your research. With the Internet now, I don't think there's an excuse that you shouldn't know. Because, fortunately, other authors do talk. If you don't know, ask. If you have a specific question, just ask. Somebody will give you the answers. If that person can't give it to you, then find someone else that you can trust to try to get the information you need. Or, you could go buy the books because they do have a lot of books at the stores.
But, I really think that it is very important that you do know about the business behind the scenes. After you sign the contract, what's next? It's very important. Even the things that are on your contract. You need to be able to understand what are royalties. If you get your advance, a lot of authors don't know you don't see a royalty until you pay that advance back. If you get a $25,000 advance and you only sold $10,000 worth of books, you still owe $15,000. You're in the hole $15,000. It's important that writers understand the nature of the contracts. And also, when it comes to the marketing. All of that is very important.
WW: What would you say is different about your writing from when you started the book, Double Platinum, to when you finished it? Did anything change about your writing or how you thought about writing? Or, was there a new surprising experience in that?
SG: I think it got better because, with each book, I get better and better. I'm more able to tap into the characters. I think the stories seem to flow the more and more I write. That's my goal with every book. To continue to get better and better. And, in between, I have a blog and I use my blog from time to time to just keep on writing. Even though I may not be working on something, with my blog I'm writing something.
So, that's the goal to always continue to get better and better. To always be able to show my characters' growth from the beginning of the book to the end of the book. And, just basically, to draw the readers in. I mean, they're real to me so I want my readers to be able to feel like the characters are real. I want the plots to be...even though you may feel, "Oh, that's so far fetched."...I still want it to be believable because I want to draw you into that world. And, I feel like with Double Platinum that I was able to do that.
WW: How would you say that your your writing evolved since My Invisible Husband to Double Platinum? What would you say are the biggest differences?
SG: The biggest difference is the fact that it doesn't take me as long to write a book as it normally would. I've gotten to the point where I don't even write a book unless I know the characters like the back of my hand. That's one of the main ways I've evolved. It's basically knowing the characters like I know the back of my hand.
WW: So these characters are your best friends basically for the time you're writing the book. You know everything about them.
SG: I know everything. Their quirks. I'm working on a book now...one of my characters, she loves Blow Pops®. And, I mention it throughout the book and it's part of her personality. There's another character in another book, she loves flowers. If you want to stay on her good side, send her some flowers or e-mail her a little thing with some flowers on it. Every character has a little something about them that they like. Just like in real life. For me, my favorite drink is a Sprite®. So, most of my friends know that if I go to their house to offer me a Sprite®.
WW: How did publishing change your life? How did getting published change your life?
SG: Wow! The experience, it's really hard to describe because this is something I've always wanted. You know, be careful what you ask for. It changed my life in a way that made it better because it actually showed me that you can have a dream and if you work towards it, it can become a reality. So, in that aspect, that's how it changed my life. Because everything I achieved thus far, I've worked for. If you work hard enough, it can actually come true.
WW: Now, at Weirding Word (SM), we believe "language creates reality". So, how does language create reality in your life and in your writing?
SG: I don't know. It's just always been a part of my reality.
WW: So, life imitates words?
SG: Well, none of my books are based on me or anybody I know. Let me put that out there because I always get that question. But, I observe a lot of people. I could be standing at Walmart and I just sit there and watch people. You know you just kind of pick up on different things if you just sit back and observe. Don't always be the one to want to talk all the time. Just sit back and observe. Even with your family and friends. Observe. I'm a little shy, too, so that kind of helps. But, with me it's just a part of life.
WW: Who do you like to read?
SG: Wow! Ooo, we'll be here all day if I told you that.
WW: Okay. What are the five people that you like to read the most?
SG: Nora Roberts. I like the J.D. Robb series. ReShonda Tate Billingsley. Frances Ray. Jackie Collins, of course. When I wrote Roses are Thorns, Violets are True, I wanted it to be kind of like a Jackie Collins-type novel. I would say James Patterson. He's another author I like to read. Terry McMillan. Ooo, the list goes on and on.
WW: In the romance genre, it sounds like you like to read a lot of the larger, thicker romances.
SG: I mention those because everyone pretty much knows who those particular authors are. But, I also read some that others may not know, but they may. I like Gwen Bolton. She's one of my favorites. Michele Moncu. Michele McGrith. There's so many. Who else? Linda Grovesner. Nonfiction, I like Carla Curtis. She writes a lot of nonfiction books. I like Joyce Meyer. I like Victoria Christopher Murray. She actually writes Christian fiction. Kendra Bellamy. She writes Christian fiction. Oh, man. It's so many people. I hate to leave someone out.
WW: What do you think is next for you?
SG: I am venturing into several other genres. So, I'm hoping and praying that those work out for me. One, I'm writing under a pen name because it's totally different than what I normally write. So, I want to keep it separate so that readers that are used to one style won't feel that I've totally left them when they pick up this particular book. And also, with the other genres, I'll be writing under Sheila Goss, but I might be writing under Sheila Marie Goss because right now I'm writing under Sheila M. Goss.
WW: What other genres are you going to be moving into?
SG: More into the suspense. Also, I guess more urban, as well as a teen series that I'm working on. Mystery and suspense, that's one that I'm really, really excited about. I'm excited about the teen series as well, but I have a mystery series that I'm really excited about.
Remember to visit Weirding Word (SM) Blog this week to read and comment on Shelia Goss' guest blogs.
Gaea Honeycutt
blog@weirdingword.com
Weirding Word (SM), a division of G.L. Honeycutt Consulting, LLC, is a virtual publication department that provides editing, freelance writing, and publication and web design services.
Interested in guest blogging? Please see the Weirding Word (SM) Blog Guide at www.weirdingword.com/PDF/WW_Blog_guide.pdf.â
Recent Comments