Spotlight on Sharie Kohler/Sophie Jordan
Q:How long have you been writing?
Oh, off and on since I was a teenager. So I guess about twenty years. Although I never completed a book until college.
Q:How long did it take you to publish?
Just shy of two years.
Q:How many manuscripts do you have hidden away/under the bed/in storage?
Er, don’t throw eggs at me, but I only have the one that I wrote in freshman year college stowed away somewhere. It’s a godawful book set in the post Civil War South that doesn’t know if it’s a romance or a coming of age novel : mostly because (at nineteen) I was still embarrassed to admit I read and wanted to write romance. I think I titled it SOUTHERN REMNANTS and thought it was the best title ever! Snort.
Q: Do you have a writing schedule and if so, what is it?
I write most every day, but the page count varies. Basically I know when the book is due and I figure how much I need to write as each month looms before me. Sometimes it’s 80 pages a month (fairly easy) or a crushing 200 pages a month (a bit trickier).
Q: Do you have a critique group? If yes, how many are in the group?
I have people I brainstorm with: four super-smart-findplot- holes-in-the-dark-ladies (Big wave to Tera, Ane, Robyn and Christy!), any of which will look at pages for me. But my writing schedule is so tight that I push straight through a book, revising very little as I go. That being the case, I don’t think it’s very productive for others to critique material that I already know needs drastic changes anyway. By the time I finish the book and finally know my characters and plot, I know where changes need to be made, and quickly make them: because the book is usually due that week or the next, leaving me no time for anyone else to read through it.
Q: How many other critique groups have you participated in?
I’ve been with some of these ladies from the start – or near start, anyway. I’ve drifted apart from a few other cps, but that’s the reality of life. We all change, grow, evolve : and choose different paths in life. Writing is a tough business. It’s a huge investment of time, work, etc. And it does not always come with a paycheck at the end of the day. That said, I begrudge no one from deciding to prioritize other areas of their life.
Q: When developing an idea for a new story, which comes first – the plot or the title or the characters?
Ha, NEVER the title. My new release, SURRENDER TO ME, is the first title I ever got to keep. The plot always comes first, or at least some slice of it. Sometimes I just have a scene in my head, a single event, which I then build an entire plot around.
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?)
I’ve filed naughty little intrusive ideas away, but I’m usually so focused on my current project and making deadline that those kinds of distraction don’t happen. As I near the end of the book, I start thinking of the next book and that enthusiasm helps me finish the current book.
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?
Well, that does happen, and that’s usually when I take a step back and say to myself, “This is boring!”. I then decide to make something BIG happen. I think of Donald Maass’s “tension on every page” adage and do what I can to make that happen.
Q: Finish this sentence: If I could write anything I wanted and knew it would sell, it would be:.
the book I’m writing right now. While it is certainly savvy to write what’s marketable, if you don’t love what you’re writing, then it’s just not going to be that great. So why bother? I firmly believe you can write something “saleable” while also writing to your heart.
Q: What is the best advice you ever received?
Hmm. Tough question. There is a lot of good advice out there, but I’ve learned it does not apply to everyone. Just when you hear one “rule of thumb”, you hear a scenario of someone breaking it and succeeding. That said, I suppose the “have a good agent” is pretty standard, but true. I credit my agent with a lot of my success. She’s tenacious and fights me.
Q: What is the worst?
“You don’t really need an agent”.
But I also hear about people who stick with an agent through thick and thin when maybe they should have gotten out while things were “thin”. So make sure you have an agent who a) knows what the heck they’re doing, and b) really is looking out for YOU.
Q: What is your favorite part of the writing process?
Writing the last fifty pages when I finally “get” my book and know the characters and where it’s all going : and I can finally REVISE the sucker! I love, love, love revising the book. It’s a time of high hopes for me, when I see everything fairly objectively and suddenly believe the book may not be horrible, but actually pretty good!
Q: What is your least favorite?
The first 100 pages. Groan. Confession time. The way I’m contracted, I basically need to write a book in four months. Get this: I use 3 months to write the first 100 pages. I know, so unrealistic for me! That means I get a month to finish the rest of the book!
Q: Which came first for you – the editor or the agent?
Agent!
Q: How many contests did you enter before you sold? How many did you final in?
Sheesh! I probably averaged 2 contests a month for 18 months. I did not start finaling until the last year though.
Q: How do your promote your books?
I usually try something different with each book, other than the standard website, bookmarks, arc distribution, and blog “tour” at the time of release. I also buy extra copies of my books, as much as I can afford, and give them away. I believe the book itself is the most powerful tool at an author’s disposal (assuming it’s good, of course!). The more people you can hook, the more people who will remember to buy the next one.
Q: Free form – your chance to tell us anything you’d like – tidbits, advice, funny stories, pet peeves, hopes, dreams, etc.
I guess, my biggest realization upon selling was that I felt different, changed, and I was — but no one alerted the rest of the world. I’m still a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, a friend who now annoys her friends when she doesn’t call as often as before.
And that’s why being a part of a writing community is so important — to have people in my life that GET me. That said, thank you to WHRWA for all you’ve given me : and for “getting” me. I’m lucky to belong to such a wonderful group.
