One Author’s Top Twenty Tips by Maddie Day (aka Edith Maxwell)

Quick Announcements: The winner of Maria DiRico's Here Comes the Body is Karen in OH!!! Congrats, Karen. Email me at jennmck at yahoo dot com and I'll hook you two up!

Also, my publisher is having a giveaway of 50 ARCs of Paris is Always a Good Idea on Goodreads. To enter click here:  https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/304021-paris-is-always-a-good-idea

One Author’s Top Twenty Tips

Maddie Day, aka Edith Maxwell

Maddie/Edith: Jenn, thank you for inviting me back on the blog!

Jenn: My pleasure! Side note: Edith was kind enough to send me an ARC of Murder at the Taffy Shop and it is sooooo good! Highly recommend!!!

Maddie/Edith: It’s a bit unbelievable to me, but Murder at the Taffy Shop (out March 31) is Maddie Day’s and my twentieth published novel, and it all happened in seven and a half years. I’ve shared most, if not all, of those releases here with the generous Reds and faithful commenters over the years, and it’s only right I celebrate my big book birthday here, too.

So I’d like to share the top twenty tips I’ve learned about the adventure of writing. Even though I get quite peeved when others presume to offer me unsolicited advice – it’s my party, so I’m going to! And I’ll send (at the end of the month, when I get them in) a copy of the new book to one commenter here today.

20: Believe in yourself. When I told Hugh (my wonderful but genetically pessimistic partner) I was writing a mystery, he said (cue dire tone): “You know, it’s really hard to get published.” Me: (cue my inborn optimistic smile) “Somebody’s going to get published, it might as well be me.” Bingo.

19: One speaker per paragraph. This is a pet peeve of mine. Please, after a line of Suzie’s dialog, don’t tell me in the same paragraph what Jimbo did. No! That’s her paragraph. Give Jimbo his own. You’ll only confuse the reader (and if that reader is me, I’m likely to toss the book into the giveaway box…).

18: Commit to your writing. People at book talks often tell me, “I have this book I want to write but I can’t find the time.” I channel Hank’s mother (did I get the gist of this right, Hank?) and say, “If you want to write a book, you will.” Period. 

17: (See #18) Find the schedule that works for you. Me, I’m working by seven every morning (except Sunday), but everyone’s different. Just fit the writing in where you can. It’s all good!

16: Have fun. Sure, a lot of writing is work, hard work. But isn’t it magical when a character does something you never expected, and you have to keep writing to figure out why? Enjoy the moment. Smile broadly, thank the Muse, and type on. 

15: Be kind. To your readers, to snarky reviewers, to clueless authors. Go high if they go low. Be kind to and about successful authors you’re a teensy bit jealous of. And of course to your family, who tolerate you ignoring them. 

14: Find a great editor. Not everyone does this (or can afford it), but all my manuscripts have been read by an independent developmental editor before I submitted them. All were hugely improved. A good critique partner or two can fill this gap if your budget doesn’t allow and if you have time to return the favor.

13: Be patient. You have exactly one shot at querying an agent or sending in your manuscript. Please don’t submit it before it’s ready (see #14).

12: Be generous. Share your fellow authors’ posts, retweet successes, “Like” newbies’ fledging Facebook pages, write positive reviews. Once you make it (however you define that), be like a Jungle Red and host guests, even clueless newbie ones (like me). Julie Hennrikus told several of us long ago, “Social media is ninety percent about sharing and retweeting and ten percent about yourself.” I tucked that into my virtual fist and haven’t let go.

11: Own your genre. Whether writer or reader, don’t let anybody knock your preferred genre. You like village-based mysteries (whether contemporary or historical) where justice is restored to the community in the end and nobody has to read about mutilations or have reason to be scared to go to bed? Be proud to read or write it. You like dark noir, international thrillers, or unreliable narrators? Go for it, and don’t let anybody tell you you’re wrong.

10: Heed your peers – mostly. In a critique group, pay attention to the same comment from several readers. Take a look and give the edit a chance. But if they’re asking for a change you truly think is wrong or doesn’t fit with your view of your story, stick to your (fictional) guns.

9: Pay attention to industry and genre standards. Don’t polish a 100,000-word manuscript about a tea shop if you want to sell it as a cozy. And don’t end your dark thriller (which might include dismemberment and obscenities) at 70,000 words if you want a publishing house to buy it.

8: (See #9) Review the book you read on its own merits. Okay, this tip is for readers only. Please don’t give a book a one-star review because you don’t like the genre (or the cover…). If you’re a domestic suspense or thriller fan who hates cozies, what’s the point in giving a cozy one star because it’s not your cup of tea (so to speak)?

7: Heed your publisher’s editors. These professionals are way more tuned into the market and your potential fans than you are. Ignore an editorial comment at your own peril. Carefully consider if you want to stet a copyeditor (ahem and however, comma before “too” is fine in my book…).

6: No matter how famous you are, please don’t phone it in. None of the Reds do this, of course, but we might all be able to think of a few writers with zillions of sales who keep writing the same story over and over. Their characters don’t grow, the love triangle never gets resolved, the language is sloppy, and the authors ignore their editors (see #7). Let this befall none of us here.

5: Get help. No, I don’t mean counseling – unless you need it, and then, please do. I mean, well, for example: I’m worthless at graphics. It takes me forever (and a new crop of silver hairs) to come up with a nice-looking square thingy (that is, “meme”) advertising a sale price or a new release. So I hire out the graphics to a virtual assistant, who also posts to Instagram for me – with my input, of course – because I’m no good at that, either. It saves me a huge amount of grief and is well worth the fairly low cost. 

4: Find your tribe. Go hang out, in person or online, with others writing in your genre – Sisters in Crime (National, your local chapter, the Guppies), RWA, SWCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators), sci-fi writers – whoever and wherever they are. You’ll hear about most of these tips from people who get what you do.

3: Schedule health. By that I mean daily exercise, lots of water, the healthy food of your choice. Because…don’t you want to keep doing this wonderful work?

2: Appreciate your readers. Because, really, aren’t we crafting the best story we can because we want people (lots of people…) to read it? I seriously don’t care if readers buy the book, check it out from the library, borrow it from their sister, or find it in the dollar sale bin. I appreciate you. If you are so moved, please tell everyone you know how much you liked my writing. And if it made your life better for a while, I’ve done my job.

1: Enjoy the ride! Grab a bottle of bubbly (forget about #3 for the moment) and some chocolate. Isn’t it glorious for your dream to come true? Whether you have a single half-finished manuscript, your first book under contract, or dozens of published books (looking at you, Reds), we’re doing the work we love. We’re bringing joy, nail-biting, sleepless nights of page turning, and escape to readers. What could be better?

Readers: What are your tips? Writers: please add yours. I’ll pick my favorite comment and send a signed copy when my ship – I mean, box of books – comes in!

Book two in the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries, Murder at the Taffy Shop, is set in August, full season on Cape Cod. When bike shop owner Mac Almeida heads out forll a walk with her friend, she finds a horrified Gin staring at an imperious summer person, dead on the sidewalk in front of Gin’s candy shop, Salty Taffy’s. When the police find the murder weapon in Gin’s garage, the Cozy Capers book group members put their heads together to clear Gin’s nameand figure out who killed the woman whom almost everyone disliked. After the killer later invades Mac’s tiny house to finish her off, Belle, Mac’s African Gray parrot, comes to the rescue. Murder at the Taffy Shop releases March 31 in a paperback exclusive from Barnes & Noble.

Maddie Day– aka Edith Maxwell – is a talented amateur chef and holds a PhD in Linguistics from Indiana University. An Agatha-nominated and bestselling author, she is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America and also writes award-winning short crime fiction. She pens the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries and the Country Store Mysteries. Maddie lives with her beau north of Boston, where she’s currently working on her next mystery when she isn’t cooking up something delectable in the kitchen. She hopes you'll visit her alter-ego and her on their web site, sign up for their  monthly newsletter, visit them on social media, and check out all their books and short stories. 

Fodder by Heather Blake Webber

JENN: I am just thrilled to have Heather Blake Webber visiting us today! I only get to see Heather at conferences but it's always a treat. She has a ready smile and always gives good panel (yes, that's a conference thing)!

Heather Blake Webber: Two time Agatha nominee and
author of more than twenty mysteries!

HEATHER: Most fiction writers know fodder is everywhere. Rarely is any story off-limits, even when it hits close to home.

For example, a couple of years ago my then twenty-three-year-old son, JJ, flew from Ohio to Florida to compete in the Orlando half-marathon with a running buddy (RB) of his who was going to grad school in Gainesville. The night before the race, JJ, RB, and the buddy’s brother (B) drove an hour and forty-five minutes down to Orlando, stayed the night in a local hotel, and set off for the race early the next morning.

Parking spaces were scarce, but they eventually found a spot about a mile away, parked, and behind schedule, decided that a jog from the car to the start line would count as their warm-up run. JJ and RB left their belongings with B, who wasn’t racing, and were ready to go when the starting gun went off.

Happily, JJ won the race (proud mom alert!) and was rewarded with a large Publisher’s Clearinghouse-type check, in addition to the promotional giveaways for being a participant (tote bag, t-shirt, etc.). It had been a great morning, but when it came time to head back to Gainesville, the trio realized they had a big problem. 

No one could remember where they parked the car.

As in not even a single clue as to the direction in which it was parked. And as they weren’t local, they had no one to call for help. So, overstuffed neon green tote bags in hand, they set off in search of the car.

After wandering around Orlando for quite a while, they were hot, tired, and more than ready to ditch the comically oversized check when JJ realized that RB was wearing his Garmin GPS watch—and wondered if it could lead them to the car. The hunch paid off. Because RB has a Garmin Connect account, it was possible they could log in from RB’s smart phone to view the route they’d taken from the car to the start line, because the watch records and maps physical activity, and that information is automatically synced to the online account via a paired phone. They were able to view the map, which led them (finally) back to the car. 

Once I heard of their adventures, I knew immediately that a GPS watch that tracks your every move would make an interesting plot point in a book. No spoilers here, but I was finally able to use that watch in To Catch a Witch, my latest release. Now I’m on the lookout for fodder for the next book…

What about you, Reds, what have been some unexpected bits of fodder from your lives that have found their way into your books?

What the critics are saying: “Always a joy, this incredible author returns with her eighth installment of the Wishcraft Mysteries… If there was such a thing, Darcy Merriweather has definitely solidified her place in the Witch Hall of Fame.” ―Suspense Magazine

LEAVE A COMMENT TO BE ENTERED IN THE RANDOM DRAWING TO WIN AN AUDIO COPY OF TO CATCH A WITCH! GOOD LUCK!!!

National bestselling author Heather Blake is back with wishcrafter Darcy Merriweather in her eighth magical Wishcraft mystery adventure.

Wishcrafter Darcy Merriweather might be a witch with the ability to grant wishes for others, but wishing isn’t going to help her catch a killer…

When wishcrafter Darcy Merriweather’s personal concierge company is hired by elite runner Abby Stillwell to organize the Wicked Mad Dash, a competition that takes place in the Enchanted Village, Darcy is more than willing to help her friend. As blizzard conditions rage on the morning of the race, Darcy’s main concern is the terrible weather—until Abby goes missing…and is later found dead, buried in the snow.

As Darcy investigates her friend’s untimely death, she learns that she didn’t really know Abby well at all. And those closest to the woman—her secret fiancé, her roommate, her ex-boyfriend, and her co-workers at Balefire Sports—seem to have plenty to hide too. As Darcy digs deeper, she uncovers complicated relationships, a possible embezzlement scheme, and allegations of cheating against a top athlete. 

Just when Darcy is convinced she’s hit a dead end in the case, a startling burglary and the hunt for Abby’s elusive ex send Darcy down a dark, dangerous trail. It will take the help from friends, family, and a little bit of magic for Darcy to stop a stone-cold killer from striking again.

Panicked About Plotting!

Monique's Typewriter by JE Theriot

LUCY BURDETTE: This is my brain on deadline. I have my word count, I’m writing as fast as I can, dictating some days, slapping the keyboard some others. And then at night I am reading a mystery, say Ann Cleeves or Michael Connelly or Barbara Ross or Rhys Bowen... Oh my God, I say to myself. I have no idea what I’m doing – my book doesn’t look anything like these books. How could I not know how to do this after 15 books published and more on the way?

I scramble through my bookshelves. Where is Hallie’s beginners guide on how to write when I need it? When I can’t find that, I go to my web browser and type in how to write a mystery. Dennis Palumbo‘s article comes up, and I read about how it’s important to have multiple suspects, and motives for each of them. Suspects? Motives? Do I have any of this? Panic! Panic!

Reds, I have to know—does this happen to you? How do you talk yourself off the ledge?

 HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  Truly, this happens every time. Lucy, don't you remember when you said this the last time? You did.  I am in the very throes of it right now  (In fact yesterday, briefly, I gave up, and decided never to write again because I have no idea what I am doing.) But here's the thing. Two things. One: it is a FIRST DRAFT.  Just go on, advance the story:  goal, motivation, conflict, decision, result, obstacle, goal, decision, result. What do they want? It doesn't matter that it stinks. You can fix it later, in the fun part. (You cannot believe what the first draft of TRUST ME looked like. Gah. And now I adore it.)

Two:  You won't know what happens until it happens. So--one step at a time. Don't think about the WHOLE THING. Think about the next paragraph. AND: I just thought of this. Think what you have previously promised the readers is going to happen. What have you foreshadowed? What already woven-in thread can you pick up and keep weaving?

You can do it! And thank you for the opportunity to give myself a pep talk, too. 

(My new book is called THE MURDER LIST. I am almost done. What does "the murder list" mean? No idea. So there.)

LUCY: This is embarrassing--apparently I write this same post, with these ramblings, more than once a year! Thanks pals for accommodating writer's neurosis, LOL!

HALLIE EPHRON: It happens to me every time. SEVERAL TIMES every time. 

I go searching for writing advice, Google suggests a link that sounds helpful, I go to read it and it turns out I WROTE it myself! So it's not about not knowing what to do. 

Do men do this, find themselves wracked with self-doubt? Waiting for someone else to tell them it's good? Which by the way is what my editor said when I sent her my manuscript two weeks ago for CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR. She loved it loved it loved it (she knows to repeat it so I believe her.) And now that having finished editing it again, so do I. 

JENN MCKINLAY: No, this sort of panic doesn't happen to me. I'm a plotter so when I start writing, I have a pretty solid sense of where I'm going and how I'm going to get there. That being said, the middle of every book is like the Dead Marshes for me, where my momentum always seems to stop and I am absolutely positive I am never going to get out alive, oh, and my book is garbage. So, there's that. I have discovered that the best way out is to plow ahead, throw in a funny scene or a poignant scene or another body, until I clear the bogs and am racing toward the finish.

by Lainey's Repertoire

INGRID THOFT:  Yes, this happens to me, and honestly, I hate it.  It’s the most difficult part of the process for me, and I don’t think it’s going to change no matter how many books I write.  You know who really doesn’t like it?  My husband.  When I fret that I can’t figure things out and proclaim, “It wasn’t this hard last time!”, he reminds me that it was just as hard last time, and I got through it, with good results.  I think there should be a support group for our mates, who feel like broken records getting us through the tough spots.

Hank offers great advice for dealing with the panic, and another person who has provided me with some guidance is Mike Lawson.  The author of a political mystery series set in D.C., Mike is an advocate of writing whatever scene strikes your fancy, no matter where it appears in the book.  I’d always written sequentially, but adopting this approach has minimized the work stoppages than can occur! 

LUCY: Yes, Ingrid, I did this with the manuscript I just turned in, and it was a life-saver!

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Oh, my gosh, Lucy, it's that terrible point when I've done all the set up and I'm stalled in the middle book doldrums. I can remember in the very early days when I thought books would get easier. But they didn't, and even though logically I know the struggle happens every time, that doesn't help. THIS book could be the one that doesn't work, that was a terrible idea, that I will never manage to muddle my way through.

But I do know from experience that the only way to get through it is to write a little bit at a time--200 words, a scene, a chapter. I'm lucky to have a couple of great writer friends to brainstorm about plot problems with, and then there is always my trusty notebook and pen. If I just start writing down the things that are bothering me, I can usually work myself over the hump.

RHYS BOWEN: Lucy, I don't get middle of book slump as much as panic at the beginning. I'm not an outliner so I start knowing very little. And every book, without exception (41 mysteries so far) I have flashes of self doubt, that this was a stupid idea, I'll never be able to work it through etc. But I forge on, 5 pages a day even if they are terrible pages, and by page 50 I see light in the tumble. And by page 100 I am advancing merrily. And in those middle chapters remember what Raymond Chandler said: when things get slow, bring in a man with a gun.

This is great advice. Not necessarily a man with a gun but something that takes your sleuths theories and derails them. An unexpected character, an overheard conversation. Something that makes the sleuth say, "I hadn't seen that coming." If you want the prime example of that read Debs's Dreaming of the Bones!
Funnily enough I'm teaching my course in Tuscany and yesterday we focused on plotting--how to keep the book moving forward through the dreaded middle slump.

Writers--confessions about your neurotic thinking? Suggestions? Readers, can you believe the way our minds work??

And PS, do you Instagram? If so, please follow us, we're having so much fun over there! (Okay, I'm going to be honest, some of us love it more than others, but we're working on this!)

Jungle Red Writers
Lucy Burdette
Hank Phillippi Ryan
Jenn McKinlay
Deborah Crombie
Rhys Bowen
Ingrid Thoft
Hallie Ephron

And PPS, Rhys and Lucy are sharing a book birthday in August and the Reds have convinced Rhys to come east. So scratch these dates on your calendars if you'll be in the area: 

August 8 at Brookline Booksmith with supporting appearances by Hallie and Hank!

And August 9 at RJ Julia in Madison CT!

Time Management for Writers

JENN McKINLAY: Last week, one of our readers (I’m looking at you, Lisa Alber ) asked that I talk about time management for writers. I did some thinking on it, trying to figure out if I have any tips and tricks worth sharing and I’m not sure that I do, but I’m happy to break down what works for me in the hopes that it might work for someone else as well.

The Stats: I write four to six books per year in two different genres with varying page counts. Combined it adds up to approximately 2,000 pages or 487,000 words annually. I write three hundred and sixty-five days per year -- even weekends and holidays. Yes, I’m a badass or crazy or a crazy badass. LOL! So, who wants to go for beers with me? I’m just kidding, I don’t have time. Again, I’m kidding! It’s all smoke and mirrors, because when you do the math out a little further, I only have to write five pages per day to reach my goal. Easy peasy!

Now the full disclosure: I don’t actually write five pages a day. I write ten pages most days, as in Monday through Friday, and then I revise and edit on the weekend. If I don’t write every day, I start to go a little sideways. It’s sort of like brushing my teeth – I’m a compulsive brusher to combat all of the sugar I eat – I feel weird, out of sorts, off-kilter and otherwise all around wrong if I don’t brush my teeth every morning and night. Writing is the same way for me. I have all the same off balance feelings if I don’t write every day. Truly, it’s a compulsion but I didn’t start here from the get go. My style of working is years in the making. So, where did I begin?

I started writing with a specific goal in mind -- finish the book -- in 1995. I sold my first book in 2001. I was on deadline for four years, writing romantic comedies for Harlequin, until the market dried up with my last book coming out in 2005. I didn’t sell again, mysteries this time, until 2008. Afraid the market would vanish again (it has – but that’s another post), I decided writing five series at a time was a great idea. It was. I hit the New York Times, I made a nice living and was able to leave my part-time job behind to be a full-time writer. Yay...and ugh!

When the Hooligans were little, I got up two hours earlier than they did and wrote before I was in full on Mom mode. I also wrote when they napped, and if I could manage it, I wrote after they went to bed. Things I didn’t do were watch television, surf the Internet, or read (gasp!). I know. It is shocking but when you have finite time to achieve your goals, adjustments (hard ones) must be made. I have zero recall on what shows, movies, and books were popular during the aughts. Seriously, if Sesame Street didn’t cover it, I was lost.

Now even with the hooligans older and in school, the time management is still a challenge but that’s because multiple deadlines breathe fire like a many headed dragon and you can’t mess around while slaying them or they will eat you alive, so I still don’t watch regular television or aimlessly surf the Internet, but I do have time to read again, and I read everything, for which I am so grateful. In fact, that is my reward when the work is done for the day. I get to read. Big happy sigh here.

So, that is the journey that carved out the following time management rules by which I live. I hope they help.

      1. Writing time is sacred. There are no errands or appointments to    be made during writing time. None.

      2. Figure out your most creatively productive time of day (mine is late morning through early afternoon and again in the evening) and make that your sacred time and guard it fiercely with a sword at the ready if need be.

      3. If you can’t work during your best time, make another time your sacred time. Seriously, I hated getting up at 5 AM to write but it was the only time I had. If being a writer is truly important to you, you will make the time.

      4. Set a realistic page count to hit each day. Do not call it a day until the page count is done. I have fallen asleep and drooled all over my keyboard, trying to get to my page count. Seems daunting? Think of it this way, a 75,000 wd book can be accomplished in less than a year (approx. 325 days) by writing one page per day. ONE PAGE! Come on, you got this!

      5. Stop watching TV. Stop cleaning stuff that doesn’t need it (I used to clean my oven – a lot). Stop looking at other people’s phony lives on Fakebook. You’re a novelist! In a year, they’ll be looking at your book – and it will be real! If you can’t control your Internet surf time, install a Waste No Time app on your computer. Mine kicks me out of all social media after 30 minutes. Here’s a link to help you out: http://www.businessinsider.com/13-best-apps-to-stop-wasting-time-2015-10

      6. Find a buddy to encourage you along your way. There’s nothing like accountability to others to motivate. Try to find a pal that is firm but gentle or a mean one, if you really need it. You can also go full tilt and try to write your novel in one month by joining NaNoWriMo: http://nanowrimo.org 

    Those people make me look like a slacker!

      7. And this one isn’t time management so much as writing advice but it factors into time management, so here it is – lose yourself in your story. If your characters are scared, you should be twitching with nerves. If they are sad, you had better be crying. The opposite is true, too. If you find your characters are boring or the scene you are trying to write is boring – guess what? It’s boring. Flip it on its head until it’s interesting to you and it will be interesting to your readers, too. For me, after so many years, writing is like falling down a rabbit hole. I have worked through dinners, school pickups, and doctors’ appointments because I got swept up in the story and forgot where I was and what I was supposed to be doing. Oops!

Pro tip: Forgiveness can usually be had for a signed book or a chocolate milkshake.

So, how about you, Reds? What’s your best time management advice?