I had the chance to interview bestselling author Heather Burch at a regional writers conference. She writes Young Adult and Adult novels, and she is the most organized author I have had the opportunity to learn from in my career. If you want some expert advice and insight, this woman knows her stuff! Before we get into the interview, here is a quick bio about her accomplishments.
Bio
Heather Burch is a #1 bestselling author of contemporary fiction. She lives in Southern Florida with her husband, John. Her title, One Lavender Ribbon, was in the top 100 bestselling books for the year on Amazon. In 2014, she became one of the most quoted authors by Kindle readers. Her deeply emotional stories explore family, love, hope, and the challenges of life. Her books have garnered praise from USA Today, Booklist Magazine, Romantic Times, and Publisher’s Weekly. Heather lives to tell unforgettable stories of love and loss—stories that make your heart sigh.
Interview
First off, Heather, let’s dig into the timeline of traditional publishing. Thinking about your debut novel, what was the timeline for getting it to a publisher?
At first, it was not the book the editors were really wanting. The agent who was interested in it was not signing me because it didn’t have those hallmarks they were looking for at that time. Young adult novels were very sexy and incredibly edgy. They were elements that were not in my book, and I was not really wanting to put them in. Then that all shifted, and suddenly they wanted still edgy books but cleaner. That was me! Once my agent signed me—it took over a year for her to sign me—we had a contract in six weeks. So, it was a really really long time, and then very fast.
How does that timeline compare to your subsequent books?
That first one my agent sent out as a three book deal. So, it wasn’t offered to a publisher unless they wanted to buy all three books. They made the offer on all three books, and then I had six months to finish book two and nine months to finish book three. I was like, “Oh, I don’t need nine months.” But my agent was like, “Yes, you do because you’re going to be marketing, you’re going to be out there, you’re going to be sent to conferences, and you’re going to go on book tours.” And I’m like, “Okay, I need nine months for that last one.”
Then, from the time that you send in the final work, it’s usually eighteen months before it’s actually out. Mine was quicker because it had a little bit of a Twilight-esque element to it. So, they wanted it faster. I think the first book came out in about nine months, and the subsequent ones were like six months and maybe eight months later. It was a little faster, and it can be faster, or it can be eighteen months.
Let’s talk a little bit more about agents from the author’s point of view. Once you have an agent, do they ever refuse a book or do they take every book you write?
No, they don’t necessarily take every book, but you also may not send them every book. I didn’t ever have anything turned down by my agent. Everything I sent she definitely took on, but I had done my homework. I said this is a story I think would be a fit for here, and then she would take it from there.
Does the agent have to represent everything you do or can you independently publish some too?
You can if you have set it up with them ahead of time and said I will want to do some independent work. When I signed with my agent, independent work was not a thing, but now it’s much more common place for a writer to be hybrid. But, that is something you have to discuss because typically the agent represents your whole body of work. So everything. And they represent that book forever. As long as it’s out there making money, they’re always going to get their percentage of that book.
Now let’s move on to the reality of being a full-time author. What is the percentage of time you spend working on a book verses everything else involved in a writing career?
I think it’s almost half and half. 50% writing time. Now for years before I was doing much marketing and things on my own, I wrote six to eight hours a day. That’s not even realistic for me anymore. It’s going to be about three to four hours a day that I can actually write, and maybe three to four hours a day just doing everything else. I do have some independent projects, or I might be building graphics. I enjoy the other aspects of this career. So, I like to do it myself. I had assistants in the past, some really great and others not so much, but I really enjoy all of the processes.
It is good to be passionate about all the aspects of a writer’s job because there is a lot that goes into a writing career. What’s one thing you never thought about as an aspiring author that you realized is important now?
The commitment that your family has to be willing to make. I mean, I knew that they were committed, but you spend hours alone in an office while they’re doing things. There’s a lot of demand on you as an author, and the more successful you get the more demand there is. That is a huge commitment for my kids, when they were younger, and for my husband. Right now, he’s at home and I’m here at a conference. He’s gotten to travel with me. We’ve done a lot of things together, but a lot of times it’s not realistic.
Tell me about your latest book, Once Upon A Moment.
Oh my gosh, this book is close to my heart. It’s a story about two people who meet at the wrong time in their lives, and then they come together twenty years later. Because they made a really horrible mistake twenty years before, they won’t have anything to do with each other—even though they both know you’re my soulmate. There’s this push and pull. And, it really wasn’t a horrible mistake, but they both are really honorable people so they just wash their hands of each other. Now, it’s all these years later, and it’s them working it out.
It’s really a book about forgivness. Forgiving yourselves. We all make mistakes. We all screw up. Forgive yourself. Move on. Let yourself move on. So, that’s what the story is really about, and it has a fun setting. It’s on Wishing Beach, which has a little bit of magical realism to it.
What is one thing you learned while writing this novel?
I learned a new level of forgiveness. As an author and just an overseer of what my characters are doing, I don’t see their mistakes as that big of a deal, but then I see it from their perspectives. When I’m in their heads, it’s the biggest deal on the planet. It’s awful. It’s terrible. So, I thought WOW. What we see in ourselves is sometimes no big deal to any one else, and we make this huge mountain out of this tiny little thing.
Now writing wise, I learned every idea that you’re really excited about, your agent won’t necessarily be. I told my agent about this book. She was like, “Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope.” That is one she didn’t want to handle. Now, I never sent it to her. She would have gotten on board because I always try to tackle a really difficult idea. But, she said that readers won’t go along with that and you can’t do it. Well, I did do it, and it’s been quite successful on it’s own. I knew that my readers would come along because they trust me. There’s a real trust involved between the author and the reader, and you need to respect that as the author. So, that is one that, had I sent it to my agent, she probably would have rejected. But she never did because I didn’t send it to her. I knew she wasn’t going to be on board.
Lastly, I want to leave the readers with a little wisdom from those already in the field. If you could give aspiring authors one piece of advice, what would it be?
Don’t quit. Don’t, don’t, don’t quit. Don’t let anyone talk you out of it. Don’t listen to the nay-sayers who are like, “Oh, you can’t do that” or “There’s a lot of books out there and who needs another one.” Don’t listen to any of those voices. Don’t even listen to your own voice when it’s telling you to stop or to quit or to back off.
I am not the typical writer. I say that because when I was young I was not a reader. Now, I was a storyteller, and I come from a long line of storytellers, but I could not wrap my head around a whole book. I mean, I talking like in junior high I tried to get into them and I couldn’t. I needed quick. I wanted a short story. I became obsessed with Edgar Allen Poe because they were short. Then I became obsessed with Steven King because his stuff was short. And then I got to where I needed more and wanted more, and that’s how I learned to love books. I’ve always loved stories, but I had to be taught to love books. I am not the typical author. Most authors are like, “Oh yeah, I was reading huge books. I read War and Peace when I was twelve.” I’m like, “Not me. I couldn’t even get through the first line of it.”
If I made it, anyone can do this. Anyone can make it if you say I’m going to do this. It doesn’t matter what my background is. It’s doesn’t matter if my grammar’s bad, because you can learn grammar rules and should learn the rules. But that’s all steps as you go. So, that would my advice. Don’t quit! Don’t quit! Don’t quit!
Final Thoughts
It was wonderful talking with Heather, and mining some of her wisdom. I hope it helps you as much as it did me. And remember: be patient, true to yourself, and don’t quit! Passion and determination go a long way in a writing career.
Thanks for reading!
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