Finding the Right Writing Scenario: An Interview with Liz Talley

You’ve written several books, but let’s go back to the first one. Tell me about the start of your writing career?
Like so many writers, my first book has never seen the light of day. Neither has the second. I began my writing career as a member of Romance Writers of America and had some success with my second book, a Regency historical that finaled in the Golden Heart, a prestigious contest for unpublished authors.

But at a conference, I had an idea for a contemporary romance while attending a workshop. The same day I met an editor at Harlequin with whom I struck up a conversation. In a funny turn of events, my idea that was for “fun” turned into a book and I sold it to that same editor. The book was called Vegas Two-Step and was published by Superromance in the summer of 2010.

Are you active with any writing critique groups?
I was blessed to have local writers who mentored and critiqued for me, and my fellow finalists for the Golden Heart (The Ruby Slippered Sisterhood) gave me advice, coaching, and direction. I’ve found being with other writers the best medicine when it comes to navigating the choppy waters of publishing. You need someone to toss you a lifesaver sometimes.

How did you go about finding an agent/publisher?

I found my agent and editor at conferences. I’m still an advocate of networking and putting in face time with the industry. You’re much harder to ignore when they “know” you. So, it’s often worth the money spent for writers still seeking traditional contracts to attend. I have found something of value at every conference I’ve attended. I’ve made friends with future NYT bestsellers, networked with other editors and agents, and found my tribe.

Before I sold, I sent out a LOT of queries. I got LOTS of rejections. It’s like fishing. You keep casting, adjusting your line or trying new baits until you get a tug. Even if the fish gets off, you know you have something worth checking out. You keep casting until you get one on the line. If your story is good, the conditions are right, and you don’t give up and go back home for a beer, it’s likely you’ll catch a fish.

From the point you were offered a contract on that first book, how long did it take to get published?

I sold my first book in Sept of 2009 and it released in the summer of 2010. So it was a short period in the publishing world, but Harlequin works that way. Their lines acquire and publish many books per month.

What is the hardest part of writing for you?
The actual writing is the hardest for me because I am a great procrastinator. I also find that revisions are hardest on my body because once I start, it’s hard for me to step away. So, I have to see my massage therapist, do stretches, and use my standing desk. Writers have to move and take care of their bodies. That’s my tip – get therapeutic massages, take walks, and stretch or do yoga.

What does your editor remind you to do most often?
My Hallmark editor reminds me to not be so “earthy.” That’s code for turn the “sexy” bits down. And my Montlake editor reminds me there are no stupid questions. I’m not sure she’s telling the truth because we all know there are, in fact, stupid questions. But she reminds me to be bolder, to ask for what I want or need. She has tremendous faith in me and has fought so hard to get visibility for my books at Amazon that I’m apt to fight a tiger for her. I have terrific editors and have had good experience with all of mine at Harlequin, Hallmark, Berkley and Montlake. Blessed is not even the word for my editing life.

What’s the best encouragement you’ve had in your writing?
To control what I can control and be patient. Robyn Carr gave me that advice. She’s been a huge force in my career and a huge encourager for my work. She waited for so many years, watching her friends get contracts and success while she wrote and waited.

That’s the hardest thing in the world to do – wait while no one else around you seems to be doing that. Things have to fall in place. It has to be the “right” scenario for success to find you. Until it does, you put your head down and write books. So that’s what I’ve done. When I look at rankings or royalty checks and feel discouraged, I put my head down and write.

We have all experienced rejection. Give me an example of how you learned to write past it.
I think the most bruising rejection I had came from Montlake, my current publisher. I had started a series with them, an adorable series set around best friends and a bracelet. For whatever reason, the first two books didn’t meet the numbers guidelines. So, that series was done with them. My agent finally had a talk with the editorial director and she said I was welcome to submit to other publishers.

Well, everyone knows what that means. After I got off the phone with my agent, I sat and cried. Then I got an email from Robyn Carr that was heaven sent. I put on my big girl panties and wrote a proposal for a stand-alone book that was deeper, more emotional, and dealt with the #metoo movement. Montlake gave me a shot with that book, and it did well enough to earn me another contract. I learned that numbers matter and if someone shuts a door, start looking for a window. Come Home to Me was the window that I climbed through.

What has surprised you the most in writing/publishing?

I’m surprised by how small the publishing world can be. Agents and editors talk. They know who works hard. They know who complains. They know who to stay away from. Unless you can sell like Nora, Stephen, or JK it’s best to mind your manners. And let’s face it, even if you are Nora, Stephen, of JK, good manners and professionalism is the best choice.

What frustrates you the most?
Frustrating – visibility. It takes being at the top of your publisher’s PR/marketing department or a ton of money to get visibility these days. There are too many books. LOL. Never thought I would ever say that, but even gatekeepers can’t pull good books from the ocean of books out there. And that’s super frustrating.

What do you know now about writing you wished you had known sooner?

It’s hard. It takes sacrifice and determination and flexibility. I’m a linear writer and person. Start here. Go there. Do this. Reap rewards. That’s not how writing works. It’s more like Candyland. Sometimes you get stuck in the Molasses Swamp or Peppermint Forest and can’t get out.

That’s when it pays to have good writer friends. You need to know it’s not easy going in. Be prepared to be frustrated. Have a plan for when you feel horrible, no-good, and terrible. It’s going to happen. You will doubt. You will feel like giving up. You will be devastated. Have a plan. Mine is head down, write.

What is the best writing advice you’ve received or could give?
My best piece of advice is the story is the thing. Hold fast to your vision for your story. You can fix dialogue, edit language, and whittle down scenes, but keep the vision of your story foremost in your mind. That belongs to you alone.

Don’t change it unless 1.) you keep getting the same feedback from critique partners, 2.) you have a gut instinct or 3.) the publisher who pays you a lot of money tells you to.

I find so many people edit the hell out of their story, flip-flopping on how it should go, and all too often that ruins the original vision and sanitizes voice.

What is the next book coming out? Can you give me a short synopsis?
Room to Breathe officially releases on November 1st. This book essentially is a mother-daughter book that explores letting go and finding a new path. Both the women are at different places in their lives but face the same decision – who do they want to be in this new future? Lots of twists and tangles abound making this like a cross between Something’s Gotta Give and The Family Stone.

I particularly loved writing Daphne because she’s where I am in life (outside of being divorced). She’s stumbled onto fame and fortune writing children’s books about a ditzy southern poodle who fights crime with a sidekick named Mahalia. I wouldn’t mind writing some adventures of Dixie Doodle the Southern Belle poodle. Anyway, Daphne is claiming herself. And her daughter Ellery is learning that life isn’t her oyster. I sort of took Princess Ellery, tossed her in the mud, and watched what she did. In my mind, she’s a modern-day Scarlett O’Hara. It was fun watching Scarlett figure out how to survive.

My next book after that, The Wedding War, releases on April 21st next year, and I’m calling it my Steel Magnolias book because it’s an emotional Southern rollercoaster through humor, friendships, and heartache. I’m not going to lie – I’m in love with my own book. Been a long time since I’ve loved characters like I love Melanie and Tennyson.

That’s all for today’s interview. If you’d like to learn more about Liz’s books, here are some links to get you started.
My website is www.liztalleybooks.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/liztalleybooks/
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/liz-t...
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Liz-Talley/e/B...