Thanks!
I'm happy to answer any questions at all.
Do you feel that there are certain things that make a book "marketable" or somehow sexier in the eyes of a publishing house, and if so did you put a lot of thought into these factors when writing Locked Within?
Or did you focus on writing the best story you were able to and decide to try and sell it?
The unending debate. Should you write for yourself or for your (potential) readers?
There are most certainly things that make a book marketable and appealing to a publisher or an agent. The thing is, these people know what they're doing. They look for certain elements because they know readers want certain elements. They're what make a book sell. That said, agents and publishers are also on the lookout for books that push the boundaries
just enough to be fresh and still be appealing to readers. Humans are strange creatures. We crave variety but we resist things that are too far out of our comfort zone.
Every writer is different, as is every reader. Personally, when I first decided I wanted to be a writer, I knew it was because I wanted people to enjoy my stories. So there was never really a question for me of whether to write for myself or for readers, because writing for myself
was writing for readers. I love stories that use established tropes well. I'd much rather read a book or watch a movie where I could predict what would happen next and enjoy the skillful execution (much like watching a musical performance or a play), than one which tried to surprise me and ended up not quite pulling it off.
I knew from before I started Locked Within that I wanted it to sell, and to sell extremely well. I dove in, trying to tell the most entertaining story I could, using everything I knew about storytelling to do it. I definitely viewed it as a product as well as art.
I think the reality is that it doesn't matter how you get the first draft written. You just get it done. Afterwards you can worry about making it marketable.
Do you feel like you had to compromise your vision for the story when making these changes or do you feel like they helped you develop a more polished work overall?
Not in the slightest. If anything, the advice I got brought my work closer to my vision than I thought possible. I can't stress enough how invaluable a professional editor is in your work. They'll see things you've missed, figure out what you're trying to say and show you how to say it better. I've been blessed with a great team at WiDo Publishing.
But then, I went into this knowing that a lot could change between submission and publication, so perhaps I was prepared for the possibility of making big changes. It is, I feel, naive to send a query to a publisher or agent under the impression that nothing will be changed. You can certainly resist the changes your editor suggests, but I wouldn't do so without serious thought. Even so, learning that I had to cut the first 50 pages of Locked Within hit me hard and I was pretty rattled, I can tell you. I had no idea how I could do that and still make the book work.
My rule of thumb was that whenever I got an e-mail back with more edits, I wouldn't read the suggestions until the next morning. This gave me time to adjust to the idea that things needed to change. After I had read them, I would leave them and not start working on them until the next day. This let me have some time to absorb the advice and understand why I was being asked to make these changes.
