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Interview with Elaura Niles, author of Some Writers Deserve to Starve: 31 Brutal Truths About the Publishing Industry By Christina Katz
Elaura Niles is the author of Some Writers Deserve to Starve: 31 Brutal Truths About the Publishing Industry, which was published by Writer's Digest Books in January 2005. Elaura is a former Willamette Writers writing conference coordinator who became inspired to pen an advice book to writers based on her experiences rubbing shoulders with the publishing world. She is also the author of the novel Zeus & His Mighty Nine Iron (America House, 2002), and is co-author on the upcoming I Ching For Writers (Running Press, June 2007) with Jessica Morell.
Elaura, how long ago did you decide, "I'm going to write and publish books"? And could you share a little of what precipitated that choice?
Before moving to Portland, Oregon, I lived in a Washington coast resort town (population 800 in winter). Career options were pretty limited, so I earned a living selling collectibles on eBay. Like many people, I always had a notion that someday I'd write a book, but that notion never really got moving. My writing was confined to occasional bursts of poetry, a few short stories, daily journals, and, of course, eBay. My epiphany came when I realized that between my journal and the online ads, I was writing 3,000-4,000 words a day. That's a lot. I figured, "Gee, if I could harness all these words, channel them in one direction, I'd have a book in no time."
That's what started the process. That and a subscription to the Writer's Digest Book Club. While I knew I had to write a book, I didn't know what the heck I was going to write about. From there, it took another year to find a genre I liked, take classes, and write a manuscript.
The "point of no return" happened in June of 2000 as I sat in a vintage lawn chair looking out at the bay and the San Juan Islands. Instead of appreciating the phenomenal beauty in front of me, I felt frustrated, like I had trapped myself in the world's most scenic prison cell. I knew that I didn't want to hawk antique caponizing sets for the rest of my life.
How long did it take you to gather the personal experience to be able to write Some Writers Deserve To Starve? How long to write the book?
It took about two years to write Some Writers Deserve to Starve: 31 Brutal Truths About the Publishing Industry. My evolution as a writer began at the Willamette Writers Conference. At first I was an attendee, then a volunteer, after that I joined the conference committee that organizes the event. Through working with the agents and editors I got to know them and ask a lot of questions. Right around that time I began writing a column about manuscript marketing for the organization's monthly publication. The agents were amazingly generous with their opinions and stories. A few were pretty outrageous, too. It was all fodder for what would become the book.
What was the book-writing process like for you? Was it an evolution or did it just all come out the way we read it today?
From the columns came the book, or at least a manuscript. The manuscript that Writer's Digest Executive Acquisitions Editor Jane Friedman purchased was a mere shadow of what the book is today. There were extensive rewrites. I spent more than six months turning the manuscript inside out and rebuilding it from the ground up.
Out of all 31 truths that you discuss in your book, which was the biggest epiphany for you personally?
Truth 20, "Some Writers Get Desperate" really resonated with me. Before interviewing Pulitzer-nominee Richard Vetere, I had always thought that once I had an agent everything would be okay. His advice: "An agent was once someone an artist needed to help plan the direction of their career. I say learn to make the moves your career needs on your own. Any artist who is depending on an agent to run their career or life is naïve." For me, his words made all the difference. I needed to stop dinking around and do some serious planning. But most of all, I had to find the courage to stand up and ask for what I really wanted.
Which of the truths do you think is most elusive for unpublished writers?
Elusive? How about the most overlooked? That would be Truth 9: "Not All Publishers Are Created Equal." Of the e-mails and feedback I receive the most common thing I hear is, "Wow, I didn't know I had so many options." It's exciting to see writers having that "a-ha" moment and realize that this is a very exciting time to be involved in publishing, that there are so many opportunities out there.
What did you learn from working with Writer's Digest Books, et al., and will you use that knowledge to write another book?
Working with Jane and her crew was awesome. They're like a well-oiled machine with everyone doing his part to keep functioning at a high level. And I never realized just how involved Sales & Marketing is-- at every level.
What's in store next?
My agent, Angela Rinaldi, is very proud of this book, but she also called it a "detour" and thinks I should hustle back to my original plan: FICTION. So with a little help from the publishing Gods, and following my own advice in the book, perhaps the manuscript I have making the rounds now will find a home. I've got my fingers crossed.
Copyright © 2005 Christina Katz
Article originally appeared in
Writers On The Rise.
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