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Zine-Thyme
by Judy Bridges
Welcome to Zine~Thyme. A column dedicated to interviewing E-zine owners, Authors, and Publishers
This month, I went after Janet Elaine Smith, author and much more. She has helpful suggestions and ideas on her site for aspiring authors. She is also into helping authors! Check out her site, she currently has three free chapters to her latest novel Par For The Course. Just enough to torment the reader, you get to the end of those chapters and its like; well damn! I want more.
Janet is an inspiration to all of us wanting to “get published”. When the standard publishers gave her a pile of “the best rejections”, she set about finding her own way.
Read on and learn more.
You have been a writer for many years; What have been your greatest obstacles?
Time. That and the Internet. I find myself spending far too much time in e-groups I belong to. But, it is also a good promotional tool, so you have to give something to gain something. I have had to discipline myself to spending at least 2 hours a day writing on my books, and at least an hour on my magazine work.
How did you become a “best selling author” on Amazon.com?
When that happened—it was with my first book, Dunnottar—I didn’t know it until somebody called me and asked me if I had seen that it was the No. 1 book of over 8,000 titles they had on Scotland. I did a lot of contacting, mainly the Keiths (who were the primary clan in the book) and other than that, I can’t explain it. Maybe it was just beginner’s luck.
Does this mean that the book is based on fact or just that, that particular family name was what inspired the story? And please explain what “I did a lot of contacting” means, as in, e-groups, family, friends, etc, to self promote?
Yes, Dunnottar is based on actual historical fact. I spent 9 months doing extensive research. One of my biggest joys was when the current owner of Dunnottar Castle wrote to me, complimenting me on the research, and invited us to visit the castle "whenever it fits in your schedule." He forgot to add that it was the finances, not the schedule, that prevents our going there! I did all the research without ever leaving Grand Forks, ND. I read a LOT of Scottish history books.
The original idea came when I was starting on a regency romance. I said to my husband, "I need some hidden or missing jewels or something in Great Britain." He replied, like it was a well-known fact, "Well, why don't you use our family jewels?" I asked him why he had never shown his family jewels to me, if he had some. He then told me the tale of the Scottish regalia, which was hidden at the ancestral home of the Keiths--Dunnottar Castle. His great grandmother was Caroline Keith. Every Keith I've ever met claims to be descended from the Dunnottar Keiths.
I call it "faction"--fiction based on fact. All of my historicals are based on real historical facts. House Call to the Past is about my 13th great aunt, Maria Hallett, who was accused of witchcraft on Cape Cod in 1713. She was hooked up with a pirate. I mean, come on, does fiction get any better than that?
As to contacting a lot of Keiths," yes, I did that primarily on the Internet. I went to Google and did a search for Keith. I sent an e-mail to hundreds of them. In less than a month it was the No. 1 books of over 8,000 books on Scotland on www.amazon.com.
You can do this, even if you use a fictional name. It's a bit of work, but it DOES WORK.
How many books have you published to date and by what method?
Quite a few years ago I had 3 books published on genealogy by a small (now non-existent) traditional publisher. But my real love is writing fiction. I have 9 novels out by print-on-demand publishers. That is really sort of a misnomer, because print-on-demand is a printing term, not a publishing one. Anyway, when it came onto the scene, it was my "lucky day." I had tried the traditional route for over 20 years, and I have a collection of the best rejections you have ever seen!
What were most of the rejections based on, if you don’t mind me asking?
The main problem I had with Dunnottar was that editors would say it was "too historical, develop the romance more." Others would say "It is a historical saga, and they just don't sell well." "It is too big a book for a new unknown author." "The book is very well-written, but we just can't take a chance on something that probably won't sell." I have one five-page rejection letter from an editor at Leisure, praising (in detail) many minute things from the book. "But my editorial supervisors won't go with it."
You also write for several magazines; How do you keep fresh ideas for all this writing?
Life is full of ideas. I love to "people watch." The entire book, A Christmas Dream, was built around an incident that happened at McDonald’s in Grand Forks, ND when my husband and I were having breakfast. How much more ordinary and mundane can you get than that?
I do keep a small notebook with me at all times. I have great notes on oodles of things, but my downfall is getting them all organized.
Also, with my magazine writing, a lot of the things I do there are assigned, so it involves research, not imagination.
What magazines do you write for and how often?
I am the associate editor for Memories and Mysteries, a contributing editor for Heritage Quest Magazine, a contributing writer for BBW (Big Beautiful Woman), a column on marketing in Writer’s Journal, our local newspaper, and all together I have had well over 1,000 articles published. I also write for several online sites, like I have a marketing column in Earthly Charms (online). I have just been asked by Elfreida Abbe from The Writer to do an article for the launch of their online magazine.
Was it hard getting into these magazines?
The first article I ever had published was in a religious magazine—and the byline was for "Anonymous"!
I have done a lot of writing for "free" and I still do. A paycheck is not the only form of payment. I get free ads for my books, gain a lot of devoted readers, etc.
The first real "paying gig" was with Heritage Quest Magazine. I had a toll-free phone directory, and their listing kept popping out at me. Finally, I called them. I asked the woman who answered the phone what they published at Heritage Quest. She replied, "Heritage Quest Magazine." So, I asked her what that was, and she said it was a magazine on genealogy. I had been studying and teaching genealogy for several years, so I asked if they could use an article that would be aimed at trying to get kids interested in their family history. She turned the phone over to the editor, and he said to send him the article. He not only accepted it, but called me when he got it and asked if I could do that for every issue. That was almost 15 years ago, and I have had a column in every issue since, as well as a feature article in most issues. More "beginner’s luck"?
"A paycheck is not the only form of payment. I get free ads for my books, gain a lot of devoted readers, etc."
I gather from this comment that you feel writing is not just about what the writer gets paid in cash, the value of some work for free can be enormous.
Should work you do free be as good as work you expect to get paid for?
For the answer to this question and more, plus more fun links, come back for the next installment when “The Stump” updates.
© Judy Bridges
2/16/03
Disclaimer: Any resemblance to any fictitious character is purely coincidental and all interviewees are genuinely human and not a figment or fragment of this writers imagination.
All information is current at the time of submission to “The Stump”
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