r/books • u/lauren_wilkinson AMA Author • May 29 '19
ama 12pm I’m Lauren Wilkinson, author of American Spy and newbie TV writer. AMA about my novel, the road to publication, and getting around LA without a car. AMA
Hi, I'm Lauren (@thrillkinson on Instagram and Twitter), long term lurker on r/books and r/writing, first time AMA-poster. My first novel, American Spy, came out in February. Hopefully it won't be my last! Feel free to ask me questions about the stuff that's in my wheelhouse: books, writing professionally, getting a literary agent, MFA programs, teaching fiction, applying to fellowships ＆ artist residencies, and doing my best not to get tossed out of Hollywood.
Proof: /img/t1uj255zss031.jpg
Edit: I have to get back to writing now. Thank you so much for your questions! This was a lot of fun for me.
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u/DrTom May 29 '19
Congrats on your debut novel! I imagine it was a stressful endeavor. I'm not an aspiring author, but I'm currently working on my PhD which is similar in that it requires years and years of work for one big payoff at the end. My question is: how did you deal with the stress? The uncertainty? The niggling "what if I don't finish" or "what if I'm actually terrible at this?" questions? Etc.
Thanks!
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u/lauren_wilkinson May 29 '19
I found a voice that spoke more loudly than the undermining ones.
I know who I am and I know that nothing scares me more than being thought of as failure. And I found an internal voice that reminded me quite frequently that the only way to fail was to give up. Which is true.
That voice also reminded me that I was the only person in control of whether or not I finished my book. It told me that every single day presented me with a choice: will you work on your novel or won't you? Boiling things down to that very simple decision quieted my uncertainty a bit, because I got to a place where my thinking became very binary: if I wrote on a day then that day I was a success and if I didn't then that day I was a failure.
It was a very brutal way to treat myself because I was essentially tapping into existential fear as a motivator. But it did for me what I needed it to do.
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u/Mezgraf May 29 '19
Any tips for new writers?
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u/lauren_wilkinson May 29 '19
One of the most important things to know about yourself is to know what time of day you're at your sharpest. Are you a morning person? Do you do your best thinking in the evening? Whenever it is, write then! Don't work against yourself.
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u/_wordslinger May 29 '19
Congrats!!! I also got around LA without a car but now am in the southern US. How did you go about finding the right agent? Are you a morning writer or evening writer?
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u/lauren_wilkinson May 29 '19
My agent found me. I was lucky--I had a story published in Granta, which she read. We had a meeting and she suggested that I write a novel version of the story (which I did). Once I'd finished a draft she took me on as a client and then spent seven years nurturing me. It can't have been easy to have been in her shoes!
I'm a morning writer for sure! I like to get up at 4 or 5. It's quiet then, both IRL and on the internet, and I don't feel pressure to answer emails yet.
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u/DandyGazebo May 29 '19
Thank you for doing this!!
My question is what's the best way for an amateur writer to go about finding an agent?
Adding to that, if an amateur writer hasn't published anything (either in magazines accepting submissions or online self publishing) is the best first step to seek an agent or to try to get something published in a magazine/online?
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u/car01yn May 29 '19
I’ve read your book! And the premise was very interesting!
My question is: do you read reviews? If so, how do you manage negativity vs. constructive criticism?
Are you writing anything at the moment? How will what you learned with American Spy affect what you write next?
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May 29 '19
What are some of the things you wish you were told that would have made the process or life in general easier with American Spy? Authors also tend to have bad habits when writing, were you cursed with any?
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May 29 '19
Hi! I haven't yet read your book but I have bought it! I have many questions, feel free to answer as many or few as you like. Thanks!
How did you like your MFA program? What's your advice to someone entering an MFA? What is your opinion on prestigious or name-recognition MFA programs?
What's your opinion on online v. print literary journals?
How did you find your voice as a writer?
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May 29 '19
Hi Lauren!
What will be your advice to a beginner in writing? Where should one start when he gets an idea for a story?
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u/GladiatorialPig May 29 '19
Congratulations on your debut novel and cheers to many many more. I have a question regarding determination and concentration. I have written shortstories and published it in my blog.. I'm an architecture graduate but I have always wanted to write my own novel.. But there will always be deadlines for assignments and crit which will shift my focus towards them rather than focusing on my writing. My question is how did you manage to write the novel with out loosing your focus when life interrupts you.? N what advise would you give aspiring writers like me when their passion demands a different road?
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May 29 '19
What is your process of writing? Do you outline? How did you catch the publishers attention? (I apologise If some of these sound stupid, I am very curious).
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u/squdgy May 29 '19
I "read" your book and really enjoyed it. I can't get enough of spy novels. Actually, I listened to the audio book version and the narrator was terrific. My question to you is, what kind of input do you/did you have in the choice of a narrator?
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May 29 '19
What tools and practices do you use to stay on track and well organized?
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u/TheCrystalineCruiser May 29 '19
Was American spy your first project, or hove you scrapped others?
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u/coolethan_117 May 29 '19
Hats off to you getting a historical spy fiction book sold and out there! I wish publishers took more chances on writers who revisit the Cold War with modern perspective and styling. What made you want to write in that setting, and how long did it take to find your MS a home?