Fireside Chat with ma writing buddies - Alex and Emma

So I've now been a published author for two years. I've been a would-be, trying-to-get published author for 11 years. I am so grateful for good reviews and wonderful emails from readers who love my work! The thrill of knowing other people enjoy what I write will never get "old". I've had lovely emails from readers who enjoy my books and eagerly wait for more. To all of you, I say the warmest "Thank you" from the bottom of my heart.

On this two year anniversary of being published, I sat down with some writer pals from the same publisher who gave me my very first contract and, with their permission, this was our conversation. (Since those early days we've all moved on and spread our wings, but with fond memories of these early days we looked back on what we've learned).

FIRESIDE CHAT with Alexndra O'Hurley and Emma Shortt

Jayne - So ladies, here we are sitting down with chilled chardonnay and some authorly wisdom/whining. I'm so glad you could spare a minute to stop in and chat. Put another log on the fire and grab a beanbag. I'm afraid I don't have any with Hugh Jackman printed on them. Or Justin Bieber. Sorry Alex. (And I want you to know I had to Google that to get his last name spelled correctly - that's how cool I am) Please describe yourselves and what you're wearing right now, because I know Youtube can't handle the vision of the three of us at one time.

Emma  - I’m sat here in a vest and my knickers – that would be pants to any Americans. Now I don’t want anyone to swoon over the idea of me in red lace and silk because the reality is sooo not like that! The vest is stained and the pants are about ten years old and reach to my armpits. They’re also a sort of dirty grey with faded little flowers on. I know, I know, I’m such a seductress!

Alex -I’d like to start off by saying I wouldn’t sit on a Justin Bieber bean bag if it was the last beanbag on earth.  Wait – beanbags are fun.  Yes I would.   Anyway, I’ve got my lovely authorly lounging wear on.  My tight black leggings and my blue mandarin collared tunic.  My long hair’s twisted up in a bun.  Not a speak of makeup – now that’s something YouTube couldn’t handle right there.

Jayne - Alex, Methinks the lady doth protest too much about Justin Beiber beanbags. And Emma ten year-old stains? Don't you have a maid? LOL

Emma- I have a man servant. He doesnt do laundry.
Alex- all rumors of me and Justin Beiber have been vastly exaggerated. He's still dining off those rumors. Please! He's too old for me.

Jayne - ok ladies, I know the last few years for me have been crazy. I went from being a struggling would-be author with a shoe-box of rejections and a dwindling ray of hope, to seeing eight books into e-book format and print in just two years. I'm sure you've both faced similar changes (and challenges). At what point did you feel you were finally a "writer"?
Alex - I’d have to say when I was able to hold my first print title in my hand.  I’d already had three e-books at that point and I was an author, had the checks to prove it, but there was something about holding something so visceral as a print book with my pen name on it that made it so very real.

Emma - Maybe with the first proper royalty check or when one of my books finally hit a best seller list, it kind of became real then. That being said I don’t think I’ll feel like a proper author until I earn enough money to make it my day job.
Jayne - How do you keep the fingers typing and the ideas fresh? I always want to say I do Yoga and drink wheatgrass. (does vodka count? It's wheat, right?)

Emma - The ideas are not a problem. I have documents full of them, truthfully I probably have enough to keep me going for the next ten years. It’s more the constant non-stop-ness of it that I struggle with. To keep the books coming out and to try and branch out in other directions it feels like I am never pausing. Once one book is done the next has to start and it’s exhausting! These writers that do a book a year? Geez I am so jealous of them. I’m pushing myself for one a month and I’m bloody knackered.

Alex - I’d say any type of alcohol is a whole grain and it should have its own place on the nutrition guide.  To be honest, on nights where I struggle to get the wordage in, I will pour myself a glass of wine or two.  It seems to get everything flowing rather well.  And on a scientific note, I read a report saying scientists had done an experiement where they had a group of men drink two beers and then do some math.  The tipsy group did exceptionally better than the control (ie sober) group.  So there is scientific evidence that alcohol can make you smarter.  Just don’t go crazy. 
But, I’ve been lucky enough that I’ve usually had plenty of ideas, if not too many.
Jayne - Describe your writing headquarters in five words or less.
 
Emma- Any old chair with chocolate.
Alex- Messy desk covered in men.
Jayne - Dust, toast crumbs, faint odor
Jayne -  Of your published works, which is your favorite and why?
Alex - That’s hard to say.  They’re all a part of me, a little nugget o’Alex.  Hmm, I’d have to say Burlesque Trio, just because I’ve gotten rave reviews on it and no one bought it.  It’s lying there dying, its lovely story crying in a dark corner.  I so want to go and hug it, pat it on the head, and tell it everything will be okay. http://www.bookstrand.com/burlesque-trio
 
Emma - Probably Last Chance Love. This has barely sold any copies, I mean it bombed so freaking badly, but I wrote it just for myself. My hero isn’t all alpha, he’s broken, and my heroine is all bad ass – something I constantly get moaned at by various publishers – so the romance dynamic is out of kilter in terms of what readers expect. But I love it. It felt right and I wouldn’t change it.
http://www.evernightpublishing.com/last-chance-for-love-by-emma-shortt/
 
Jayne - If you would do anything differently in any of the books you've written what would it be? Ever written a character you really didn't like afterward? And which hero you penned is your absolute favorite?
 
Alex - I actually had the chance to re-write two of my novels, which was torture.  But I was able to get them closer to the polished novels they should have been from the start.  A character I didn’t like?  Many of my villains, which I seem to have too many of.  My favorite hero – would have to be Michel from Deviant Knights.  http://www.evernightpublishing.com/deviant-knights-by-alexandra-ohurley/He’s broken and the emotion within him actually brought tears to my eyes.
Emma - I’d change The Kiss. http://www.evernightpublishing.com/products/The-Kiss-by-Emma-Shortt.html Probably add in about another 50k and really push myself on it. I don’t think I’d developed enough as a writer when it was published to do the idea justice. It ended up as a novella (about 50k), I’d make it a super packed novel if I could, and maybe will when I get my rights back
Jayne - Have you ever had an issue with an editor? Ever fought to keep something in the manuscript?
 
Emma -
Not really. I just ignore the changes I don’t want lol. I do tend to get killed in reviews for typos and grammar issues though and that pisses me off. I proof every book over and over and still some slip through!
 
Alex - One editor ripped one of my stories a new ass.  There were so many comments and changes, I could barely see the words on the page.  She tried to completely change my voice and make the work her own.  I emailed my publisher after the sixth page saying I couldn’t do it and I didn’t want to work with that editor ever again.  Besides that, the dozen or so editors I’ve worked with over the years, have all pretty much been wonderful and helped me learn my craft.  And I’ve fought for a few things, but fought might be a harsh word.  Most of the time we debate and come to a mutual agreement if I feel firm on a point.
Jayne - I have a hard time because American editors tend to want to add "gotten" and I'm always protesting that no English person would ever say "gotten" or think it. But editors work for whatever market they're in. I see people complaining all the time about spellings of certain words and I just think - honey, wait until you actually get your book contracted and you run into editors! They will pick your bones over every spelling and every colloquialism, if they believe an American audience won't recognize it.
 
Jayne - So, ladies, how do reviews effect you? Good and bad? I know there are some who dont't like what I write for one reason or another.  
Alex - I’ve been trying as of late to not really look at my reviews, as they’re all subjective.  For each bad one, I have many good ones.  I may take certain criticisms into consideration if I see the same thing repeated on a work, but ultimately, this is my art.  Others may laugh at the term art, but again, what is art is subjective.  Everyone’s going to have some haters.  It’s all about thickening the skin and letting it not affect what you love.
A bad review?  Ick!  My worst one was actually very productive.  It was for my first novel, which I was editing for re-publishing at the time.  Almost every single point she made were things I’d already changed in the book, so she was pretty spot on with her criticism.  I’d been sooo very green when I write the story and had done a crappy job of research.  I’d also put in a few items as placeholders and never went back to fix them later. 

 Jayne - I've read condemnation of my characters in nasty, anonymous blog posts which I later found out (with a little investigation - and trust me, I'm no Sherlock Holmes) were by other writers who gave up their craft. Can't please all, never will. My aim is to bring pleasure to some people, some of the time, and to write what I love to write all of the time. Simple. Easy. Or is it?
 
Emma - I rarely read them these days. I used to all the time but when a book gets a 1 star and a 5 star in the same day what the hell are you supposed to take from that? People have different opinions and that’s fine. Of course I’d like everyone to love what I write but it won’t happen. So long as I feel good about what I’ve done, that I’ve given it my all, then it’s all good.
 
Jayne - It seems there will always be people who love and people who hate. I guess we can only write what pleases us.
 
Jayne - Before I finally managed to get published I read a lot of advice to writers. Some of it was good. Some (with hindsight) was pretty bad. The publishing world is changing so quickly, the old advice just isn't relevant anymore and people who follow it are likely to get left in the dust. What was some of the best advice you were given? And the worst?
 
Emma - The best: Just write what you love.
The worst: Write for the market.
The thing is in order to carve a career, especially in the romance world, you have to do both. What I love to write usually sells shit, what I write for the market sells loads, so I have to combine the two. Otherwise I’ll spend my time writing for fun and earning nothing. Now of course it’s not just about the cash but to some degree it is. I want this to be my job and it can’t be if it pays me zilcho.
So my advice would be: Write what you love but also write for the market if you expect to earn any money. Find a way to combine the two.
 
Alex - Best – Don’t treat this as a hobby if you want it to be a career.  Even if you have to work a regular job, this is still the thing you want to be your only job.  Be professional and work every single day, reaching for what you want.
Worst – E-publishing isn’t respectable, you need a real book on shelves.
 
Jayne - And one surprising thing you've learned since getting published.
 
Emma -That readers don’t necessarily love your books as much as you do! And just because you poured your heart and soul into it does not mean they will want to buy it.
 
Alex - That my author heroes are pretty much regular joes and laugh at me with my fan squees.  The first author who approached me as a fan, treating me like I’d treated my favorites, it was kind of shocking.  It took me a minute to realize someone out there thought I’d “made it.”  I have over 20 published books and I still don’t feel I’ve completely “made it.”
Jayne - So, with that in mind, if you could give three tips to a writer looking to get published now, what would they be?
Alex - Polish your manuscript before submitting. Have at least one person you trust read through it, someone who is either strong in grammar and/or is another writer.
Learn about the business.  Join a professional group if you want.  Check out sites like Absolute Write to see other author experiences.  But take it ALL with a grain of salt.  No one’s journey to publishing is going to be the same as yours, so no one speaks the gospel of the writing world.
Go with your gut.  If something’s telling you to do something, do it.  Take a chance.  The worst that could happen is getting a no.
 
Emma - Write
Write
Write
And then write some more.
It seems like almost everyone says they have a book in them, but it means nothing until you actually complete one.
Jayne - So we write romance, but unlike Barbara Cartland we don't swan around in pink chiffon and diamante tiaras. Well, Emma does at the weekend - but that's another story. She's married to a Greek so let that be her excuse. What's the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for you? And O'Hurley, please don't mention SCRAPPLE
 
Alex - SCRAPPPPPPPPLE.  Writhing on a bed made of scrapppple.  *Sorry, that was just a fantasy of mine*
Anyhow – I know this is going to sound silly, but the most romantic thing anyone’s ever done for me was pick up my mom’s pants.  I had just met the man who would become the love of my life.  We met through an online dating service and had been talking for weeks, via emails and chat, and eventually the phone.  He called me one Saturday afternoon when I’d gone Christmas shopping with my mother in a city about an hour away.  We were stuck in traffic and rushing to get home so my mother could get her pants from the cleaners for a Christmas party she was going to that night.  I happened to mention we were stuck and trying to get to the dry cleaners when he offered to do it for us.
 I know, it’s silly.  But when I met him for the first time, to go pick up the pants, it was love at first sight. 
Jayne - yeah, you're right. That sounds silly. Soooo...anyway, moving on...
 
Alex - Hoi!
 
Jayne -  Emma?
 
Emma - When The Greek took over all cooking duties in the house! I loathe cooking and hubby is way better at it than me. Coming home to lamb and zuchinni is romance enough for me!
Not enough for your filthy minds? Oh, okay well…here’s another thing…our very first Valentine’s together hubby bought me my first ever vibrator. I was twenty-seven and had always wanted one. It was a hot pink rampant rabbit and we broke it within a month through over-use, ahhhh, good times.
 Jayne - TMI. And I thought bunny rabbits were cute, furry things!
 
So there you have the sordid truth ladies and gents. Writers and what not.
 
 
Website  for Alexandra O'Hurley:  www.alexandraohurley.com
Blog:  http://alexohurley.blogspot.com
Website for Emma Shortt:
www.emmashortt.com
 
Hope you enjoyed our chat!