Catherine’s Comments (group member since Jul 25, 2012)

Catherine’s comments from the Q&A with Catherine McKenzie group.

Sandra wrote: "Every small step toward our dreams is a successful one. Circumstances differ and it might take longer to achieve our dreams, but there's no such thing as overnight success. Like Katie, writers who ..."

Like the positivity, Sandra!

In the beginning of the novel, Katie is writing for small local music or indie magazines, trying to make it as a music writer, but the impression she has of herself and that others have of her is that she’s not a success or doesn’t have a “real” job. Discuss if there are limits (age, amount of time, salary) to following your dreams, and how people are influenced by the expectations of others.

Susan (The Book Bag) wrote: "I have both of these books on my TBR list!I am re-reading The Language of Flowers - love it!"

Highly recommend JESSICA Z. as well.

Kathleen wrote: "I'm catching up on my British chick lit--great for summer vacation. Although i did just finish Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn--that was worth some serious discussion!"

GONE GIRL in my TBR pile.

I recently finished THE NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morgenstern - great book. I'm also re-reading JESSICA Z. by Shawn Klomparens, an favourite. How about you?

Margaret wrote: "Hello Catherine! Being a fellow Canadian I have begun to notice lately novels that are considered chick lit and are in fact written by Canadian authors. They do not seem to be very abundant in thi..."

Hi Margaret,

It's true that chick lit (whatever that means :)) is not a big genre in Canada in the sense that there are not that many novels in the genre written by Canadians that I know of. Two exceptions - Isabelle Lafleche (J'Adore New York) and Kim Izzo's Jane Austen Marriage Manual. In all honestly, I wasn't trying to write in any particular genre, I was just trying to write the best book I could with the ideas that I had. I got my Canadian book deal more than two years before my US one - it was hard to break into the US market and I still haven't succeeded in England, so who knows.

Shannon wrote: "Hi Catherine. I love your books. Where do your ideas for them come from? Do they start off as something small and become bigger, or do you know going in that the whole thing is going to center arou..."

Hi Shannon,

Thanks! Phew - a lot of questions. I get my idea from different places - usually I have lots of little ideas floating around & then the coalesce into one. I know what the beginning, middle and end is going to look like before I start, but till recently, not much more. Trying to get better at outlining before I start as this makes things a lot easier as I go along.

Javier wrote: "Catherine, once what do you think of giving away ebook copies. Some authors claim it helps sales, but I'm having a tough time giving away something I've worked so hard to make. Will patience eventu..."

Javier - dropping the price on an e-book can sometimes get people to try it & then help create word of mouth. But there's no guarantee. If you do one, do it for a brief period, a day or two and let people know about it - see how it works - do people keep buying the book afterwards?

For me it's often the cover, then the summary, then the first page. You guys?

Jay wrote: "Hi Catherine
I am about to publish my first novel CONTRIVED. It is a 300 page long crime thriller. What is the best way to advertise? Google ad or ad in goodreads or something else? (I have a budge..."

I've found Facebook ads effective. Goodreads seems to have a good affordable option too.

Cyndee wrote: "What books influenced you to write? At what age?"

I've always loved books and I've always written. There have been times that I've read a book I loved then immediately started trying to write the same book. This doesn't work, of course! I was able to actually write a book when I put aside influences and just wrote something that inspired me from within.

Melissa wrote: "How many ideas did you have floating in your head that you either decided to use for a book or rejected as soon as you saw them on paper? I'm asking because I always have story ideas going around i..."

Melissa,

I often have lots of ideas as well, but the important thing for me is to see if it goes anywhere. If I can't see the ending of a story, and the big story arc in the middle, then I put it away. Sometimes a solution comes back to me eventually, sometimes it never does.

Jacques wrote: "In your opinion, what is the best way to boost sales of your book ? Paid advertising in newspapers and magazines, promote it on your website or blog, book signing in libraries, other ...?"

Jacques - that is a tough one. I think that lots of factors play into boosting sales but they all come down to visibility and word of mouth - whether that's in the store, or through advertising - different people have different successes and different theories. For me, store placement has been the most important.

Karolyn wrote: "If you had to name your two favorite (most helpful) books on writing, what would they be, and why?"

Karolyn,

I"ve found Donald Mass' books on writing helpful. I hear Stephen King's book is great too, but haven't read it yet. Also Bird by Bird.

Louis wrote: "Catherine, I notice that you are an attorney. Do you currently practice law? If so, how do you fit writing time into your schedule? Do you have a set number of hours or set times to write?"

I am still a practising attorney. When I'm in writing mode, I try to write a bit everyday, usually at night, and then more on weekends. I use vacation as a time to make big pushes on a manuscript.

Eric wrote: "What is the magic word or phrase that will get Lit/agents to actually read your queries? Before deciding to self publish, I sent out 5 to 10 a day for about a year. I got very few polite declinatio..."

Eric, I don't think there is a magic word or phrase, but there is a formula. Check out this post by Shawn Klomparens (and check out his books too, they're great) for advice on how to write a query letter that will get agents to ask to see your work. Of course, once they do, that work has to be the best you can make it so make sure it is before you send out queries. In my experience, if you were not getting any bites on your queries it's because of your query letter. http://www.shawnklomparens.com/blog/2...

Ashley wrote: "Who is your inspiration? Do you have any words of wisdom for anyone who is looking to break it in the novelling world?"

That's a tough one, Ashley. This sounds cheesy but I think inspiration has to come from yourself - the voices in your head, the stories you want to tell - if you have that, then sit down and start telling it and see where it takes you.

Darin wrote: "What/how do you write (laptop, notepad, etc..)?
What software do you use?
Is there a particular time/place that you write?"

Darin - I write on a laptop, but I keep notes in notebooks, scraps of paper, whatever. Lately I've been using Scrivener, which I found really helps for visualizing your whole book in one place, things like chronology etc. I tend to write at night and on the weekends, often in front of the TV or listening to music. I also write well on airplanes.

Daren wrote: "Being a new author, I feel the book world moves at a slower pace, than that of the music industry, for instance. Do you feel the same way about the book industry, Catherine?"

Daren, the book world definitely does move at a slow pace - don't know about the music industry, but a typical delay between a book deal and publication is 12-18 months. My first book had a 6 month delay and that was crazy compressed.

Ask away!