AMA: Q&A from a Thriller Author About Writing, Publishing, & More!

A peek behind the curtain at life as an author and what it’s like to write and publish books.

Welcome to this AMA, and thanks to everyone who sent in these fabulous questions over the past couple of weeks! In case you’re new here, I run periodic AMAs in which paid subscribers can ask me anything about my books, publishing journey, writing process, what I’m watching/reading/playing, or whatever you’re curious about. I’ll choose one question to answer publicly, and the rest will be exclusive to paid subscribers, who will also be able to leave a comment to ask a question for the next AMA.

But first, some updates!

Things have been pretty eventful on my end as they’ve trickled in…

• I signed with a new film agent—Kim Yau of Echo Lake Entertainment—and I’m so excited (and nervous!) to see what happens with Under the Surface in Hollywood.

• I’ve been hearing from lots of indie bookstores who are excited to stock Under the Surface. If you’re a bookseller and would like signed bookmarks and book plates for your readers, let me know! Here’s how to reach me and here’s what they look like.

• I rewrote the first six chapters and a chapter-by-chapter outline for Book 5 and sent those to my editor. This is the first time I’m mapping a book out so closely before drafting in the hopes of making revising easier. We’ll see how it pans out! Either way, I’m excited to tell this new story—it’s very different from anything I’ve written so far and I can’t wait to see what you think.

Plus, I wrote up answers to all your fantastic questions. Whew!

In today’s AMA, I’ll answer these questions:

• What’s your day-to-day like as an author?

• What makes writing thrillers and murder mysteries enticing for you?

• Were any of the plots/backstories in your books inspired by your own high school life?

• Have you based the characters off of anyone?

• How do you come up / keep up with so many backstories? I for one am exhausted just keeping up with one.

• Does it hurt when you have to kill your own characters? Or like, torture them? Or unnecessarily put them through traumatic events?

• Did you plan the ending of All Your Twisted Secrets, or did you come up with it as you were writing?

• What’s it like to be an author? (Merged with: What’s the hardest part about being an author?)

• I’m a junior in high school. What steps should I take now if I want to become an author? What did you major in?

• What’s one piece of advice you’d give to an author starting out?

• What are the steps to becoming a published author? (Merged with: How did you find your agent?)

• How long does it take to start making a profit off a book?

• Do you occasionally do workshops or have writing partners i.e., people you meet up with for the sole purpose of writing especially at those times when you may have writer’s block?

So let’s dive in! I hope this is interesting (and helpful, if you’re a writer).

Questions about writing and my books

What’s your day-to-day like as an author?

It varies based on where I am in the lifecycle of the book I’m working on. I don’t write every day, either—sometimes I’ll have full days dedicated to marketing tasks, answering emails, etc.

Ideation/outlining phase. This is my least favorite part because I like to end my day being able to quantify my output (words written, chapters revised, etc.), and this phase includes a lot of staring at the wall or going for walks or daydreaming. It’s hard to measure progress or hours invested. My days are extremely variable during this phase.

Drafting phase. The slog of pulling words out of absolutely nowhere. Difficult, but measurable. I try to get up at 6:30am each day, wash up, make my coffee, and write until I’ve hit 1,000 words. Sometimes, if I’m really in the zone, I’ll keep going and write 2,000 – 3,000 words. Other times, I’ll switch my focus to marketing for the book I’ve finished but is yet to be published, or tackle some other author-related task (taxes, interviews, email correspondence, gabbing with other authors, etc.).

Revising phase. My favorite part of writing a book! I usually go through 3-5 rounds of revision before even sending a draft to my editor. This is where the real magic happens for me. I have a similar schedule to drafting during this phase, except my goal will be 1-3 chapters a day, depending on how short a deadline I’m on. But when I’m in the zone, I can work 12-14 hour days and hardly notice time has passed. Not that I want to glamorize long days. Breaks are important!