Interview With Author Brenda Fickey - Part Two

Brenda, welcome back. A few days ago, you told us about your three book YA series and gave us an overview of yourself as the "reluctant reader's friend. Today, we look forward to hearing about your experience with Publish America and your advice to new writers.

You live in Colorado but your stories are set in Arkansas. Do you have ties there?

I was born and raised in Camden, Arkansas; graduated from the same high school as my dad did; and lived on the same farm my grandmother and grandfather (her second husband—my dad’s father) owned. The Frenchport community is where my roots are planted and my family still lives, for the most part. The setting of my books is where I grew up and am very familiar with, even though I’ve been away for most of my adult life. I still go back there every summer to visit and relive memories. My family heritage is important to me; it’s a southern thing, I guess. But I’m very happy to share a piece of history and my family with my readers. From all indications, they’re glad I’m sharing, too. In today’s society, it’s as though they are hungry for the stability I enjoy with my family, even from past generations.

Tell us about your experiences with Publish America. Advantages? Disadvantages?

PublishAmerica is a publishing company that does everything online. When I submitted my first book proposal, they were very eager to put it under contract. The advantage of going through this company is the opportunity they give without having to be known or have an agent to be considered for publication. I did not have to pay anything to have my manuscript read or put any up-front money before they would go to print. The company has taken all the financial risk to get my work out to the public. They own the plates and make the books available to all the major book distributors, Christian and secular; but I own all the right to my stories, even if they are made into movies. I am paid royalties twice a year for the books that are sold during the timeframe between payments. I also purchase my books at a great discount to have on hand for personal sales and will receive royalties for a portion of them, in addition to what I make above my cost for the copies. I am in complete control and in charge of my own stories, publicity, promotions, and marketing.

A disadvantage, for many people (but not really for me), is the company will not do any editing. I personally like this because the book will appear exactly as I have written it, without surprises because an editor decided to make changes I did not approve. They will offer suggestions for grammatical issues only. The author can accept or reject the suggestions. Since I have many years of experience as a writing teacher on every level of education, including college-level, I have the grammatical expertise and experience to do my own editing and be confident in the finished product. I have also studied under expert, published authors/mentors of children’s literature through the Institute of Children’s Literature. My knowledge and skills for age-appropriate plot development and marketing match my goals. In addition, I am an avid reader; and I know what makes me want to turn the page and what gets in my way of concentration. Putting this all together, I don’t have a problem with having to do my own editing.

To help with editing content, I incorporate test readers from various ages to help me make sure my plot ideas work. To make sure I haven’t overlooked anything, I have a group of volunteers, who know what gives a good story its punch, help me edit so I am not the only one looking at my work. Without these skills and help, this aspect of PublishAmerica would be a disadvantage for me.

Another disadvantage for others that I am finding to be quite enjoyable is in the areas of promotion and marketing. PublishAmerica helps the author with ideas for promotion, but the author is in complete control of this. If the book is going to succeed, it must be because the author is 100% involved in getting the word out about it. This can be intimidating, but I have found it to be eye opening and quite fun. I have learned how to promote my work and myself in as many mediums as I can: business cards, websites, creative gimmicks, and personal contact.

Getting my name and my work in the public eye has proven to be a slow process; but with persistence, it has been rewarding and satisfying at the same time. My work is getting out there, and my name is getting the notoriety I need to be a contender with others in the children’s market. Again, this is a disadvantage to many, but I am taking the challenge and seeing the results I want.

The key to turning this disadvantage into an advantage is matching the effort with the desire for success. I guess what I’m saying is it’s all in the perspective of the author. Disadvantages are a state of mind. If a prospective author has a plan in place to override a disadvantage, it will not be the stumblingblock others have experienced.

What is your advice to beginning writers?

If you are going to write, you need to be a reader. Until you know what is already out there, you won’t know if your writing/story idea is a marketable product. You really don’t want to spend a lot of time on a story that has already been written. Be sure there is an audience for it.

Identify and know your target audience before you begin the process of planning your story. If you omit this, the audience you try to reach will know if you are an amateur or a professional in the way you handle the material you include. Avid readers in your chosen genre will either help make you or break you as a viable author of interest. Even though I write for the reluctant reader, I want avid readers to enjoy my work, too. Therefore, I write in such a way as to appeal to both with strategies that fit both types of readers.

Be very careful with point of view. Keep it ever close to your workstation so you never deviate from it. Nothing confuses a reader more than a viewpoint that is all over the place. You do not want your work to be set aside because of a faulty presentation of viewpoint. Beginner writers should stick with one point of view (one viewpoint character) rather than the omniscient viewpoint. This is a tricky strategy that tangles even the most experienced writer if not handled carefully.

Most of all, follow your dream. Don’t give up; but don’t expect it to be an easy journey, either. Writing is difficult because it is your heart and soul on paper, even when it is a work of fiction. Rejection is part of the process. It’s the testing ground for just how serious you are about your career choice. Be okay with people being critical of your work. Not everyone will like it. That’s okay. If they want to be wrong about your work, they have that right (smile). But seriously, make every effort to give the public your best; and let your work stand or fall on its own. Learn from your mistakes and laugh out loud at the experience.

Editing is going to hurt because it’s like someone is putting your “child” under the knife without anesthesia. But it is a necessary part of the process for it to be the best piece of your soul given to the public. Writing is personal and private until it’s on paper. Then it is available for anyone to see and comment on without your permission. Be sure the public has the best possible product you can give them before they are allowed to see it.

As for the art itself, remember to make the content the most important part of the writing process. Once the content is as you want it to be, then (and only then) work on its appearance (correctness). Grammatical correctness is important only after the story is written. If you aren’t good at spelling or the other aspects of grammar correctness, have someone who is help you make the appearance on the page as professional as the story is good. It’s worth the price you pay for this service, if you don’t have someone volunteering to help.

Back up everything! I have a hard copy for my files as well as a copy on CD or flash drive of each individual book. Preserve your work in case something happens to your computer, whether it be a power surge, power outage, or crash. It is my experience that my best work is what is on the page originally. If I have to re-create those pages, it isn’t as good. So back up everything.

Being a writer is hard work. Expect to have fun; but there will also be times of frustration, disappointment, and failure. Be diligent. If this is your calling, you won’t be able to give up. Enjoy your art, and have fun in the entire process.

Thank you for a great interview, Brenda. I wish you the best with all of your writing endeavors.