Writing Between The Lines with M.J. Rose
M. J. Rose faced the marketing dragon and decided to slay it on her own. When her first novel, Lip Service, was turned down by several houses because they didn't know how to "position" it, Rose self-published. Because she had a story that needed telling.
"All of my books start with a theme that matters to me, even if my readers don't ever focus on the theme," Rose says. "Why women close their eyes to reality and allow themselves to be swept through life instead of walking through it on their own is both a symptom of our society and a description of Julia Sterling at the beginning of the novel."Rose spent two years writing Lip Service, while working in advertising. "I was scared the whole time that I would fail at creating the characters I could see move and think and speak in my mind, and would fail at pacing the book so that it moved and didn't get bogged down in ideas. Most of all, I was afraid I would fail in telling the truth about this woman and what she goes through."
But the result pleased both Rose and her early readers. "I have been told many times in the ten years since it was published that the book is brave and unflinching, and that is something I'm most proud of."
Rose was on her way as a novelist. The Memorist, her tenth novel, has
just released. But that doesn't mean the writing comes any easier. "It
seems every time I start a book I'm starting all over again, learning
all over again. And I'm still scared. About all of the same things
except here it's the reincarnation aspects of the book not sexuality
that makes me nervous."
The Memorist takes place in the present
and two past eras. As a child, Meer Logan was haunted by memories of
another time and place always accompanied by the faint strains of
elusive music. Her past has reached out again in the form of a strange
letter that sets her on a search to unlock the mystery of who she once
was. With the help of her father - a Kabbalist, known as the Jewish
Indiana Jones - Meer attempts to learn the meaning behind her
hauntingly vivid memories. What they discover could reveal a
frighteningly powerful secret hidden for generations by one of the
greatest composers of all time.
"With each step she comes closer to remembering the connections between a clandestine reincarnationist society," says Rose. "A lost flute linked to Ludwig van Beethoven and David Yalom, a journalist who understands all too well how the past affects the future and who plans to force the word to understand - thorough a single violent act - that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
Rose comes up with her twisting plots this way. "I write five or six days a week. I make a huge effort to not work all seven days - which is all to easy for me to do. I spend one hour thinking about the book in the morning - walking or swimming - planning what I am going to write that day. Where the book is going. Then I write from four to five hours writing during the first draft process. 12 PM-2PM and then 3PM-6PM. Give or take. In between I take a walk, go get coffee, or talk on the phone. After the first draft (and I usually have three to four drafts) I usually work more than that - from 6-9 hours."
But fiction is not the only thing Rose is known for. Among writers, she's considered an expert in the often frustrating art of marketing a book. On that score, her advice is simple.
"Get the best agent you can, learn as much as you can about the industry, the process and the ways you can be your publisher's partner, invest in your own book and be proactive but remember that you can't go the distance without a publisher backing you - so don't drive yourself crazy over anything but the writing."
Contributing editor James Scott Bell is the author of Try Darkness (Hachette/Center Street) and Write Great Fiction: Plot & Structure (Writers Digest Books)
The Memorist takes place in the present
and two past eras. As a child, Meer Logan was haunted by memories of
another time and place always accompanied by the faint strains of
elusive music. Her past has reached out again in the form of a strange
letter that sets her on a search to unlock the mystery of who she once
was. With the help of her father - a Kabbalist, known as the Jewish
Indiana Jones - Meer attempts to learn the meaning behind her
hauntingly vivid memories. What they discover could reveal a
frighteningly powerful secret hidden for generations by one of the
greatest composers of all time."With each step she comes closer to remembering the connections between a clandestine reincarnationist society," says Rose. "A lost flute linked to Ludwig van Beethoven and David Yalom, a journalist who understands all too well how the past affects the future and who plans to force the word to understand - thorough a single violent act - that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
Rose comes up with her twisting plots this way. "I write five or six days a week. I make a huge effort to not work all seven days - which is all to easy for me to do. I spend one hour thinking about the book in the morning - walking or swimming - planning what I am going to write that day. Where the book is going. Then I write from four to five hours writing during the first draft process. 12 PM-2PM and then 3PM-6PM. Give or take. In between I take a walk, go get coffee, or talk on the phone. After the first draft (and I usually have three to four drafts) I usually work more than that - from 6-9 hours."
But fiction is not the only thing Rose is known for. Among writers, she's considered an expert in the often frustrating art of marketing a book. On that score, her advice is simple.
"Get the best agent you can, learn as much as you can about the industry, the process and the ways you can be your publisher's partner, invest in your own book and be proactive but remember that you can't go the distance without a publisher backing you - so don't drive yourself crazy over anything but the writing."
Contributing editor James Scott Bell is the author of Try Darkness (Hachette/Center Street) and Write Great Fiction: Plot & Structure (Writers Digest Books)ThrillerFest
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ThrillerFest VI will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City.
The dates will be July 6-9, 2011.
More information to follow.
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