Interview with Joyce
Lavene
Interview by Jenna Glatzer
Joyce and Jim Lavene have a passion for romance and mystery! With forty novels to their credit (including five books in the award winning Sharyn Howard mystery series) and a wide array of non-fiction articles and short stories, they are still going strong! They are active in local and national writer's groups, where they lecture and give workshops on the craft of writing. Converted Southerners, they live in North Carolina with their three children, two grandchildren, and assorted cats, dogs, computers, and herbs.
How did you get your start as a romance writer?
I wrote my first romance novel when I was 14! It wasn't much, more like a long short story, but I was reading Elizabeth Goudge and Jan Cox Speas at the time. I just loved romance stories!
You've written novels for print and for electronic publishers. Why
both? What are the differences for the author?
My first novel was with Silhouette Romance, mostly because I was working full time and had read those books for years. My husband was a computer technician but I was woefully ignorant! After that book came out, I was working part time and finally learned how to get on the Internet. Imagine my surprise when I found electronic books!
Basically, it was a matter of publishers. I had a romance I'd written about a woman who'd been stricken with polio as a child. She was beautiful but crippled and unable to have children. Needless to say, I had difficulty finding a print publisher for that story! But I found an e-publisher, Awe-Struck E-Books, who publish a line of stories about heroes and heroines who are disabled. After that, I was hooked! The independent e-publishers are very eager to work with their authors on ideas that might not fly in print markets. Also, I create my own covers for my e-books. I continue to publish in print because I have publishers for those books.
Many people believe that once you've sold a book, your career is set.
Is this true?
Oh my God, no! I believed that when I sold the first book to Silhouette! But nothing could be further from the truth! I've met many authors now and very few have had smooth sailing from the first book. Most have had to work hard on their careers and aren't able to see profits for several years. I wouldn't say this is a get-rich-quick way of making a living. But if you love to write, it's very rewarding!
Are there any particular length requirements for romance novels?
Always! That's one way an editor can tell a person who's trying to be professional from a person who doesn't care. Most length requirements can't be changed. Publishers usually have romances in different lengths for different lines.
Should I have a specific publisher in mind before I begin writing?
That's hard question to answer. When I sold my book to Silhouette, I had been reading Silhouette romances so you could say I wrote the book for them. But since then, I've published books with many publishers. I think if you can have a specific publisher in mind, that works but it's not necessary as long as you follow the guidelines for each publisher. And if you do target a book for a specific publisher and you have it turned down, don't feel it can't go to a different publisher. Once you write a book, don't give up trying to get it on the market until there are no other publishers to send it to. Then re-title it, re-name the characters and send it out again! Persistence pays in this business!
Where do you come up with inspiration for original romance stories?
Everywhere! I belong to a list called e-authors and we were talking about people being trailer trash. From that, I wrote a new book coming out in September 2001 called
'Til there was You about a woman struggling to raise her deaf son in a trailer park in South Carolina. My husband, Jim, and I write together and he has a terrific imagination!
How much of "you" sneaks into your characters?
I don't think any of me does but my children think otherwise! They say they see lots of what I taught them growing up in my books.
Any tips for character development?
One of the best tips I could give is to really look at your characters. It's important that they are people, if only in your own mind. They should have likes and dislikes, reasons for what they do and motivations for why they are the way they are. Always look at them from many angles. Characters have to be three dimensional to seem real to the reader. It helps if you can write characters based on people you really know.
How did you learn about romance writing?
Trial and error! I wrote and submitted. Then I got rejected and wrote again. I knew WHAT I wanted to say. Only writing every day, even if only a few paragraphs, can teach you HOW to say it. I'm a big fan of on-the-job-training!
How do you and your husband write together?
We both have our own strong points. We work out an idea in great detail, including plot and character. Then we come up with a rough draft. We refine parts of it individually then put it all together. Sometimes we exchange parts when one of us hits a snag.
What's one thing you wish you'd learned earlier about the publishing
industry?
Patience! This industry is a length process. Sometimes it can take a year to hear back from a specific publisher! You have to be patient and you have to be willing to take falls along the way.
Anything else you'd like to add?
Don't give up! I have written books that were revised three or four times before they were finally sold. Don't be afraid to look at your work and change things around. No one is perfect. Don't expect your work to be. Learn to look at being an author like owning any other small business. Rejection isn't personal. It's part of the business.
Visit Joyce and Jim's website at http://www.joyceandjimlavene.com.
Contact Joyce at joyce@joyceandjimlavene.com.
Want
to find out more about Joyce's perspective on romance writing? Click here
to order her e-book, Romance Writer, from Dream
Jobs To Go.
Joyce and Jim's other books are available at:
http://www.awe-struck.net
http://www.wordbeams.com
http://www.avalonbooks.com
