Spotlight on Gerry Bartlett
Our PAN Spotlight for this month is Gerry Bartlett.
Here is Gerry… In her own words…..
Q: How long have you been writing?
Gerry: Since 1980
Q: How long did it take you to publish?
Gerry: Sold my first book in 1998
Q: How many manuscripts do you have hidden away/
under the bed/in storage?:
Gerry: At least five
Q: Do you have a writing schedule and if so, what is
it?:
Gerry: Unfortunately not. I have to be in the mood to write, but sometimes drag myself to the computer anyway. Once there, I can sit for hours because I get into the story.
Q: Do you have a critique group? If yes, how many are in the group?
Gerry: Yes. I couldn’t have done this without my beloved team. It has changed over the years. I started out with Nina Bangs and Kimberly Raye. Donna Maloy joined soon afterwards. Many others have come and gone. Kim lives in Bulverde outside of San Antonio now so we do some critiquing by email but the rest of us hang in there with lunch and dinner meetings but not weekly like we did for years. We started in 1990 when none of us were published. So basically just three of us meet now.
Q: If this is not the only critique group you’ve participated in, how many others did you have before finding the one that worked?:
Gerry: This is it, but as I said it has changed over the years. It is very important that personalities and writing styles and priorities are compatible. Some of our members couldn’t take the criticism. Some didn’t write romance and some just lost heart and couldn’t wait for the length of time it takes to make it in this business. Only the strong survive.
Q: When developing an idea for a new story, which comes first– the plot or the title or the characters?
Gerry: I’ve been known to dream plots. The idea for the Real Vampires series came from nagging Nina Bangs. She wanted me to try my hand at paranormal because the historical market was soft. I said I’d have to do it my way and came up with the central character. Kim Raye (actually Groff) brilliantly suggested the title and plus size concept and I was off and running.
Q: How do you handle new story ideas that pop up when you’re in the middle of a project? (ex: notebook by the bed/separate word file/ etc?)
Gerry: I’m very disorganized and usually just add new ideas right into the book. I do have notebooks everywhere and slips of paper. File folders are useless around me, though I did clean out my office recently. Which lasted about five minutes.
Q: Have you ever gotten to the middle of a project
and got bored or lost your momentum? If so, how did you handle it? Gerry:I have lots of unfinished projects, but those were pre-contract. Now I try not to do anything that I don’t have a contract for. What a luxury! I highly recommend it and realize it’s a dream come true. Some day I’d like to go back to some of those and actually I steal ideas from them and incorporate tidbits into the work I’m doing now. Problem with writing under contract is that if you’re bored or out of steam, tough. You’ve got to suck it up and find your muse or fake it.
Q: Finish this sentence: If I could write anything I wanted and knew it would sell, it would be….
Gerry: I feel like I’m doing that now. I love Gloriana and I’m getting great fan mail almost every day from women who can relate to her and her figure issues even though she’s a vampire. What fun!
Q: What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received in regards to your writing career?
Gerry: To stick with it. To never give up. I’ve almost quit many times. And my buddy Nina is always pushing me to try harder, not to be content with a cliché but to try for an original line or situation. She really makes me stretch and that makes me a better writer. I love her!
Q: What is the worst?
Gerry: To write every day whether I feel like it or not. Sorry, but some of us just aren’t built that way. I have to fill the well or my creativity just isn’t there. So I play some days. Then when I do sit down to write I can do it with enthusiasm and for hours on end.
Q:What is your favorite part of the writing process?
Gerry: I love the interaction between characters, the dialogue and banter. And, yes, sometimes I do crack myself up. Hopefully, what I think is funny or sexy is also funny or sexy to the reader too. I can never be completely objective about what I write because I am so totally invested in the characters, especially when writing first person like I’m doing now.
Q:What is you least favorite?
Gerry: Sitting down to write in the first place. I’m a real procrastinator.
Q:Which came first for you – the editor or the agent?
Gerry: I sold three books before getting an agent and it sure wasn’t for lack of trying. Signing with an agent is hard, but I’m convinced it was a case of the right project at the right time with this book. Everything finally fell into place with REAL VAMPIRES HAVE CURVES. I had listened to Julie Kenner talk about her agent at a West Houston meeting, realized my new idea was similar to what she wrote and shot off an email to her agent, Kim Whalen at Trident Media Group. The rest is history and the beginning of what I hope is a long and fruitful partnership.
Q: How many contests did you enter before you sold? How many did you final in?
Gerry: I entered at least five, not sure exactly. I won the Golden Triangle in the Historical Romance category, finaled in the Golden Heart with the same book and got some decent scores in others. I sold that historical to Dorchester. It was my third sale.
Q:How do your promote your books?
Gerry: I have a web site, a My Space page and use Amazon Connect. I also had flyers printed, write for the Houston Bay Area RWA chapter newsletter and the articles are reprinted all over the world. I have flyers I hand out at my antique shop in Galveston, have spoken to several groups, including this one, and done a few signings. I also gave away Vampire Viagra (gourmet jelly beans in pill bottles) at RWA nationals to Librarians and booksellers and signed at the Literacy autographing.
Q: Free form – your chance to tell us anything you’d like - tidbits, advice, funny stories, pet peeves, hopes, dreams, etc:
Gerry: Don’t we all have the same dream? New York Times, baby! Right up there with Nora, Sandra, and all the other fabulous ladies RWA has fostered over the years. And, I’ll be honest here, I never would have sold book one without RWA. I met my critique group at a chapter meeting (Bay Area, sorry, W.Hou) and I have learned so much technique, craft and marketing I wouldn’t know where to start listing it all. Stay connected by attending chapter meetings. Otherwise, this business is just too lonely to stick with. And you’ll end up one of those dropouts that no one will ever hear of. The three in my critique group who started in 1990 have now sold a total of over 70 books! How’s that for inspiration!
