Today we have Anne Michaud on Six Question Saturday. Anne is getting ready to publish her collection of five Young Adult novellas, Girls & Monsters.
She's been published in several Magazines and Anthologies, and it's a pleasure to have her to answer my famous Six Questions!
What authors have influenced you the most?
So many have left strong impressions on me through the years, it's hard to recall. Still, my favorites are: Carlos Ruiz Zafon, Neil Gaiman, Suzanne Collins, Michael Grant, Jean-Christophe Rufin, Scott Westerfeld, and Edgar Allan Poe.
When did you decide you wanted to have your writing published?
At the first sell of my short story Visitors – the first thing I ever wrote after years of screenwriting, on the first magazine I sent it to. I was lucky and thought it would be that easy to get an agent and then published traditionally. What a fool.
What is your editing process and have you hired a professional editor?
Well, I have a few good beta readers who point out obvious problems, one of my friend whose English is better than mine passes through everything, and then DarkFuse's editor finished it off with two rounds of edits, polishing with final copyedits.
What are the most important things you've done to market your books?
This blog tour is pretty major, more than 30 blogs spreading the word through reviews, interviews and guest posts. The hardest is trying to find intelligent/interesting things to say and make it sound like I'm not repeating yourself. Oh, and my handcrafted collection of Skellies, each representing the monsters in my collection are pretty cute, too.
How long should an author work on building a presence online before publishing?
I have no idea!! I've been quite active on Twitter for the past two years, my blog Musings and Little Obsessions has been up for just as long, and before that I had an online journal for the main character of my novel Rebel. That was so cool, getting to explore her day to day life, until I rewrote the whole book and changed her world completely. I still read it when I miss her, though.
What lesson have you learned along the way that you would hope others could avoid?
Get out there, make friends, don't be afraid to approach people, even big writers who are so easily accessible, these days. You never know what could happen, how your moment will finally arrive and who you'll meet.
What authors have influenced you the most?
So many have left strong impressions on me through the years, it's hard to recall. Still, my favorites are: Carlos Ruiz Zafon, Neil Gaiman, Suzanne Collins, Michael Grant, Jean-Christophe Rufin, Scott Westerfeld, and Edgar Allan Poe.
When did you decide you wanted to have your writing published?
At the first sell of my short story Visitors – the first thing I ever wrote after years of screenwriting, on the first magazine I sent it to. I was lucky and thought it would be that easy to get an agent and then published traditionally. What a fool.
What is your editing process and have you hired a professional editor?
Well, I have a few good beta readers who point out obvious problems, one of my friend whose English is better than mine passes through everything, and then DarkFuse's editor finished it off with two rounds of edits, polishing with final copyedits.
What are the most important things you've done to market your books?
This blog tour is pretty major, more than 30 blogs spreading the word through reviews, interviews and guest posts. The hardest is trying to find intelligent/interesting things to say and make it sound like I'm not repeating yourself. Oh, and my handcrafted collection of Skellies, each representing the monsters in my collection are pretty cute, too.
How long should an author work on building a presence online before publishing?
I have no idea!! I've been quite active on Twitter for the past two years, my blog Musings and Little Obsessions has been up for just as long, and before that I had an online journal for the main character of my novel Rebel. That was so cool, getting to explore her day to day life, until I rewrote the whole book and changed her world completely. I still read it when I miss her, though.
What lesson have you learned along the way that you would hope others could avoid?
Get out there, make friends, don't be afraid to approach people, even big writers who are so easily accessible, these days. You never know what could happen, how your moment will finally arrive and who you'll meet.
As I get closer to my own publication date, I find myself asking more and more: what do you think is the best way to get your name out there?
Posts
Thanks so much for being part of my blog tour, Laura:))
ReplyDeleteDefinitely Social Media and a month-long Blog Tour! It IS time consuming—and work—to do the interviews and write the guest posts, but it is so rewarding and fun when people resonate with what you are writing. I've met so many GREAT bloggers and fellow writers, subscribed to their blogs, and learn from their posts. It's a wonderful way to develop relationships!
ReplyDeleteSide Note: My friend Tracie Banister (author of Blame it on The Fame) had me interview my main character in Stardust Summer and it was a great way for readers to "sample" the book before they commit to reading the whole novel! I had a lot of nice comments on that post.
xx, Lauren
You're right, Lauren - meeting people through the tour has been great, so far:)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jerry:)