You Can Be Published! Interview with Katie Ganshert
Today we have debut author Katie Ganshert. I met her a few years ago while we were both querying. She is awesome and dynamic and has a huge heart for God/love. Thanks for joining us today, Katie!
1.How many manuscripts have you written and did the one that sold feel different? I've written six. The one that sold was my third manuscript and it definitely felt different. It was the first manuscript I wrote after I read a whole bunch of craft books. I felt so much more knowledgeable about story telling and the craft of writing as I wrote that one.
2. How many years have you been writing?
Well, I've written stories ever since I could pick up a pencil. But somewhere in my teen years, I stopped. I didn't come back to it until I went to Nairobi, Kenya six and a half years ago. I came home with a story exploding inside me, so I wrote my very first novel.
3. Tell us a little about the events leading up to your first sale.
My manuscript was going to pub board. That's all I knew. My editor liked it. The editorial team at Waterbrook liked it. Now it was a matter of waiting to see if it would pass pub board or not pass. I didn't know I'd have to wait so long. Seven months after hearing it was going to pub board, I got an email from my agent saying it made it through, but it still had one more level of approval before a book deal would come. A week later, I got the phone call from my agent, only I couldn't answer because I was teaching a room full of 5th graders at the time. So I listened to her message (that this was the phone call I'd been waiting for) and tried really hard not to jump and scream and freak out my students. (For the record, it's important to know that Katie really would jump and scream. She's fun like that!)
4. What is your biggest piece of advice to writers wanting to get published?
Persevere! Rejections are inevitable. Waiting is inevitable. Persevere! See it as part of the process. If you're passionate about writing stories and you want to share those stories, then keep at it. Keep writing. Keep studying the craft. And keep believing God has a plan and a purpose for the words He's given you.
You can pre-order Katie's book on Amazon or Barnes & Noble (or anywhere else, really).
Katie mentioned being in committee for a long time. Are you prepared for the waiting that comes with getting published? Where are you waiting right now? What do you do while waiting in life?
1.How many manuscripts have you written and did the one that sold feel different? I've written six. The one that sold was my third manuscript and it definitely felt different. It was the first manuscript I wrote after I read a whole bunch of craft books. I felt so much more knowledgeable about story telling and the craft of writing as I wrote that one.2. How many years have you been writing?
Well, I've written stories ever since I could pick up a pencil. But somewhere in my teen years, I stopped. I didn't come back to it until I went to Nairobi, Kenya six and a half years ago. I came home with a story exploding inside me, so I wrote my very first novel.
3. Tell us a little about the events leading up to your first sale.
My manuscript was going to pub board. That's all I knew. My editor liked it. The editorial team at Waterbrook liked it. Now it was a matter of waiting to see if it would pass pub board or not pass. I didn't know I'd have to wait so long. Seven months after hearing it was going to pub board, I got an email from my agent saying it made it through, but it still had one more level of approval before a book deal would come. A week later, I got the phone call from my agent, only I couldn't answer because I was teaching a room full of 5th graders at the time. So I listened to her message (that this was the phone call I'd been waiting for) and tried really hard not to jump and scream and freak out my students. (For the record, it's important to know that Katie really would jump and scream. She's fun like that!)
4. What is your biggest piece of advice to writers wanting to get published?
Persevere! Rejections are inevitable. Waiting is inevitable. Persevere! See it as part of the process. If you're passionate about writing stories and you want to share those stories, then keep at it. Keep writing. Keep studying the craft. And keep believing God has a plan and a purpose for the words He's given you.
You can pre-order Katie's book on Amazon or Barnes & Noble (or anywhere else, really).
Katie mentioned being in committee for a long time. Are you prepared for the waiting that comes with getting published? Where are you waiting right now? What do you do while waiting in life?
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