Well, it's week 3 now, so I'm guessing you've got the idea, right? Each week as part of the Third Writer's Platform-Building Campaign, I interview a fellow blogger and get to know them just that little bit better. This week is the turn of Kate Walton. Kate is the first (soon to be published) author of this series and was also the first to reply to all her interview questions. Unfortunately, Kate did not win any prizes for this, but hopefully she will gain some new blog readers. So, without further ado, please welcome Kate.
Kate, your book CRACKED comes out on January 3rd 2012.
Why should we add it to our to be read lists?
CRACKED is serious and touching, heartbreaking and hopeful. It tells the
story of a bully and his victim in alternating points of view. I thought
it would be interesting for readers to see the effects of bullying from
both sides. I taught middle school for ten years and I never encountered a
bully who didn’t have his/her own junk to deal with. That anger and
rage has to stem from somewhere.
You are represented by Sarah LaPolla from Curtis Brown. Can
you tell us a little bit about how you got your agent?
I’d like to invite everyone to go grab a cup of coffee
or tea, put your feet up and get comfy because this is going to take a
while. I sent my first query on April 7, 2008 and didn’t land the brilliant
Sarah LaPolla until August 2, 2010. Yes, that is 2.4 years. In that time
frame I did everything and anything to land an agent: sent close to 150
query letters, attended 4 SCBWI conferences…two of them national
conferences, started my blog, publically shared my query letter and the
first 250 words of my novel as many times as I could to get the feedback
(no matter how painful or snarky), racked up well over 100
rejections…many of them on partial or full requests (you know the
kind that REALLY hurt). I’ll tell you what, my husband got so damn
tired of putting Band-Aids on my bleeding soul, but he kept doing it—cheering
me on and up, telling me it was going to happen, believing in me. His
solid belief in me fueled me and I refused to give up.
What does an agent do for a new writer like yourself?
The reason I fought so long and hard to land my agent was
because I wanted my writing to be traditionally published. Without an
agent you can’t get your work in front of the Big Six publishers. I
knew Curtis Brown Ltd. had a long and powerful reputation in publishing,
and when I heard Sarah LaPolla was building her client list, I sent my
query off to her with lightning speed. What Sarah has done for me as a
writer is more incredible than I can put words to (I know—lame—I’m
a writer). Of course the obvious, she pulled me from her slush pile and requested
a partial manuscript, then full, then “the call” but the real
magical parts about her came after all that and continue to come. It’s knowing that she truly believes in my
writing and my characters. It’s how she pushes me with her editorial
notes before my books go out on submission. It’s how she works
tirelessly for me and my stories. All magical. I tell her frequently I’m
incredibly lucky to have her leading this ship.
There is a lot of talk about platforms nowadays, and this
challenge is all about building a platform; why is it so important for a
debut author?
Even though this
is my first platform building challenge I have been working diligently on
said platform for years. I think I’m everywhere I’m supposed
to be as a debut author. My follower number is low but my readers have
been loyal and I am thankful for their dedicated readership. But with that
said, I would love to build my blog readership and add more lovely people
into the fold.
Now onto writing. This is a little obsession of mine, so I'd like to know are you a plotter or pantster?
Pantser all the way. I love to see where the characters
and story will take me—it fuels me as a writer. I do generate a
bullet pointed stream-of-consciousness list before I begin writing. I also
do some character building by jotting down personality ideas for my MCs,
so I have a general sense of who they are. I give major props to writers who
plot and know the exact direction their stories will take them – I find
that absolutely fascinating.
What's your top writing tip?
Write.
Write a lot. Write some more. Revise. Revise a lot. Revise some more. Then
repeat and repeat and repeat. Never stop writing or growing as a writer.
Don’t stop at one book. Push yourself to write a second, then a
third, etc….
As a pre-published writer, I look to others for advice about writing, but I do like to share what writing resources I find, so what have been your most valuable writing resources?
For querying: Matthew Rush Casey McCormick and Elana Johnson
For writing: read ON WRITING by Stephen King (Check) and BIRD
BY BIRD by Anne Lamott (I'll have to look that one up).
