What Are You Working On?
Writers on their works in progress
M.J. Rose
author and book publicity maven
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M.J. Rose (website) is the author of half a dozen novels: Lip Service, In Fidelity, Flesh Tones, Sheet Music, The Halo Effect, and the new The Delilah Complex. She has contributed to several magazines, including Poets and Writers, Oprah, The Writer and Pages. Her short fiction has appeared in Pages Magazine, The Vestal Review and several anthologies, including Best American Erotica and The Auntie's Book. After she successfully marketed a self-published novel on the Internet, the book was picked up by a mainstream publisher. This led to her developing an expertise in book marketing for authors. She is the co-author with Angela Adair Hoy of How to Publish and Promote Online, and the co-author with Doug Clegg of Buzz Your Book. She teaches online "Buzz Your Book" classes where authors learn guerilla marketing strategies for making their books known to the press and to potential readers. Rose graduated from Syracuse University and spent the '80s in advertising, working as Creative Director at the Rosenfeld Sirowitz and Lawson agency.
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I'm just about to start the fourth novel in my Butterfield Institute series featuring sex therapist Dr. Morgan Snow, who sometimes hears confessions that put her in awkward moral situations. The first book in the series, The Halo Effect (2005), was an Anthony Finalist; the second, The Delilah Complex, just came out and the third,
The Venus Fix, will be out in July.
What gave you the idea for this book?
This came out of a short story I wrote for J.A. Konrath's upcoming anthology. I don't normally write short stories but he asked and he can be pretty insistent. Once I was done with the story I realized I had a character I wanted to explore in much more depth.
I am working hard at making sure this series stays fresh, so I'm trying to change the format and up the stakes for the main character in this novel. I've just started figuring it out; it's too soon to actually commit my new ideas to words.
The problem with a series is that it's very easy to fall into patterns. You have to reevaluate the main character and premise with every book to make sure you're pushing forward and finding new ground to break. I don't want my readers to get bored -- but even before that -- I don't want to get bored.
Is there a way in
which a contract for a series is a mixed blessing? Do you find
yourself looking at that long horizon of three more books about the
same character -- when you're already written three books about her in
as many years -- with a feeling of anxiety or dread?
No, I never would have accepted the contract if I felt dread. I'm fascinated by psychology and there are hundreds of cases that Morgan could wind up dealing with that would absorb me and affect her in different ways. But to ensure I don't burn out, my publisher and I have worked it out so that every other book I am writing is not part of this series. So I do have time off from Morgan and Noah and the Insititute.
What has been rewarding about this particular project?
That it exists. Seriously, as writers we work book to book, never quite sure what's going to happen next. That my publisher just committed to this series and asked for a number 4, number 5 and number 6 is a little miracle in my life.
When do you expect (or hope) to finish? Do you have a contract
for the book?
I should be finished by early fall, and yes, I have a contract.
Your "Buzz Your Book" classes and so on must take
up a certain amount of your time. How much time do they take from your
writing, and how do you balance them?
A few years ago I tried to do nothing but write fiction -- no marketing thinking/teaching/writing -- and I realized that after so long in advertising I couldn't shut off that part of my head and that I wasn't able to write any more fiction that I had when I was doing the marketing.
I write fiction about six hours a day, most days. I spend about three hours a day on the marketing and ITW and my classes. I don't have kids -- so that helps -- but I am pretty busy. I just function better that way.
Links
Buzz, Balls & Hype -- Rose's blog about book promotion
Poets and Writers online: How lucky can you get: what happens after you sign a contract
On Rose's website, links to many articles about writing and publishing On Powells.com: The Deflowering of an Author See more What Are You Working On? interviews.
published 9 Feb 06 on Too Beautiful. email copyright 2006 Mark Pritchard, Bernal Heights, San Francisco