On the writing life, events and workshops, and a little hard-won advice for writers just starting out.
I was always a big reader, but wasn't moved to write fiction until I found myself writing brochure copy for a sales promotion company. It was a scary step, but I enrolled in a couple of entry-level college writing classes. Later I talked my way into a graduate writing workshop where the professor told me my work was too plot-oriented and old-fashioned and that I would never publish. That hurt. A lot. But I kept writing.
I entered competitions. I met some truly generous writers who looked at my work and gave me advice. Then I got into writing book reviews for a couple of newspapers, and read and reviewed dozens of books a year. Simultaneously I worked on a novel. Then another. The first two took me 14 years altogether, and they weren't great — I consider them my practice novels. Along the way I sold a few short stories, raised a couple of kids.
When my youngest was five years old, I gave myself a year to write a third novel. It took me 11 months, then another couple to revise it. My agent, Susan Raihofer at the David Black Agency (who is the very soul of patience), submitted it to publishers on a Thursday afternoon. On the following Monday morning we had a two-book deal for a substantial amount of money. I was an overnight success after 19 years.
I write a bit in the morning, work out. After lunch I do email, and some social media. Then I work until it's time to make dinner. Evenings are family and needlework time.
To be totally honest with you, the above is my ideal writing day. In reality, it sometimes happens, but I'm more likely to start late and work late. I have ADHD, and it's extremely challenging for me to stick to a routine. It always has been, which is why I was not a great 8:30–5:00 employee. I hyper-focus when a book is really rolling and so end up with an accidental schedule. I hyper-focus best at night, when the rest of the house is asleep. It wouldn't be a bad habit if I didn't also have childhood training that declared that people who sleep when most of the rest of the world is up and working (overnight shift workers aside) are lazy. And so I end up not sleeping much when I'm writing.
70% of my writing days look like this:
Wake up at 10:30. Scroll for 30. Put on workout clothes like shorts and a t-shirt (aka Second Jammies at our house). Play with the dog. Eat something. Exercise (4 or 5 days a week). Laundry, tidying, social media, getting cleaned up, gardening in season. 3:30—sit down to work for a couple of hours. Start thinking about making dinner. Start making dinner an hour after I really should. Serve it at 7:30 and watch a show. Clean up. Say goodnight to the day shift about 10:00. Write, with occasional snack and social media breaks, until 1:00 or 2:00. Read in bed for 20–30 minutes, pass out.
Because I tend to edit as I write, it takes me a long time to write a novel. Most take me 9 months to a little over a year. The novel I've just finished writing took me 6 years. I also like to write a short story or two between books.
I'm quite possibly one of the most paranoid people you'll ever know — not in a tinfoil hat sense, but I'm definitely paranoid when it comes to imagining crimes that might happen. Every dry cleaning bag becomes a means of suffocation, every country road is a place to dump a body. Some of my stories begin in my dreams, some in news stories. I never know where a story might come from, so I'm always on the lookout.
Cormac McCarthy, Elizabeth George, Ann Cleeves, M.C. Beaton, Mick Herron, Naomi Wolf, Kate Atkinson, the Brontës, Pinckney Benedict, Patricia Highsmith, Shirley Jackson, Margaret Atwood, Stephen King, Richard Matheson, Daniel Woodrell, Luanne Rice, Joyce Carol Oates… those are just a few.
I do them all. In addition to appearances, I teach workshops for writers of all levels and ages — even kids (G and PG rated, of course). I love to travel, but am also happy to meet with folks via telephone, Zoom or FaceTime. Drop me a note here or at laura@laurabenedict.com, and I'll get right back to you.
I love to keep in touch, though I never like to be a pest. Submit your name and email on my newsletter page, and I'll put you on my list for occasional news about releases and events. Your privacy is important — I'll never share your personal information. And if you sign up, you get to download a free ebook!
The good news is that it's not difficult to get published. There are many, many quite inexpensive ways to get your writing out in front of people. It's quite a rush to have someone you haven't met before tell you that they've read what you've written and (it is to be hoped!) liked it. The bigger, more difficult question is:
How can I get someone to pay me for writing what I love, and then get them to spend money so that other people will read it?
Read. A lot. Think about what you've read — how it's constructed, what appeals to you about it, what doesn't work. Then read some more. There's an axiom that says a writer should read at least three times as many words as she writes.
Write. A lot. Then write some more. Write all you want, then edit it. Several times.
Get professional help. There are many introductory writing classes out there — community workshops, college classes, library workshops. Even if you've been writing on and off for years, you need other qualified eyes to help you learn what works and what doesn't. Read books about writing and creativity: Stephen King, Elizabeth George, Chuck Wendig, Dani Shapiro, Julia Cameron. One personal favorite is Patricia Highsmith's Plotting and Writing Suspense Fiction — not so much a how-to as a primer on how she approached her work.
Polish it up. And I mean really, really polish it. Hire a professional editor and copyeditor if you can before you start looking for an agent. Agents want work they can sell right away — they can't do anything with an unfinished or poorly constructed manuscript.
Query lots of agents. It's worth your time to research agents before wasting energy querying the wrong ones. No legitimate agent will charge you money to sell your work — not copying fees, postage, nothing. They get their 15% when they sell your work. Stay away from any agent who charges fees. I mean it. They will break your heart and steal your money. Don't worry about submitting to more than one agent at once. Life's too short to sit around waiting months to hear back from very busy people.
Enter competitions. It's easy. It's cheap. (Entry fees are common even with legitimate competitions, but any more than $10–$15 for a short story is too much, in my opinion.) Sometimes there is both money and feedback to be had. Prizes will get the attention of other people who might pay you money later. It's a great experience in both anticipation and rejection.
As soon as you send one project out the door, start the next one.
A few people are extremely successful at self-publishing. The most successful ones have nailed at least Steps 1 through 4 above. Go for it, if you're willing to put in the time to do it right.
I started my own publishing LLC, Gallowstree Press, when I published Devil's Oven in 2012 — back when people still thought ebooks were sketchy. Gallowstree Press allowed me to publish Devil's Oven as a paperback as well, with Lightning Source as printer and distributor.
These days it's way easier. I produce all of my backlist titles just as soon as I get the rights back from traditional publishers. Vellum is great publishing software, though it's no small job getting manuscripts cleaned up and formatted, covers made, and putting them up online. If you're inclined to self-publish, remember to put the best work out there you can — it shouldn't be anything less than you'd want a professional publisher to see. Take your time. Hire a developmental editor, and, for goodness sake, use AI only for (referenced) research, manuscript organization, and (if you don't have money for a designer) perhaps cover help through a design program like Canva. Writing is a unique joy — don't outsource your joy.
I'm sorry, but I cannot, due to potential legal complications. I do critique manuscripts when I'm teaching in writing workshops, or as a developmental editor.
If you're looking for developmental editing, drop me a message and we can discuss details and fees.
Didn't find your answer?
Get in TouchOccasional news about new releases and events. Join, and my welcome email includes a download link for a short story, my gift to you. I respect your inbox and your privacy.