Guest Post by Kathryn Jones

What Readers Might Not Know About Writers

by

Kathryn Jones

As I've journeyed through this writing world for the past 30 years, I've come to believe some things about readers and writers that make us more similar than different, and in fact, connect us at the hip.
What are these things?

Allow me to preface my comments with a little tickle. Yes, some of my comments might appear funny or obvious to you, but keep in mind that the most obvious things have a tendency to be forgotten, sort of right in front of your face but not in front of your face. The sort of stuff one might take for granted.
Here goes:

1. Writers go through many drafts of their writing before sharing their work with others. Even after sharing their writing, they have to take on criticism from well meaning (and not so well meaning) folks who may struggle with what they have written even though the writer has already gone through 5 drafts. 

2. Writers are people. They get sick. They are sometimes depressed. At book signings they might even looked bored. If you see this, please speak to the author right away before depression and sickness set in.
3. Writers are insecure. They sometimes doubt their own abilities. They may get writer's block, keep themselves locked up in a room for days, or feel as if their writing will never amount to anything. They may even wonder if they are wasting their time with their dream.

4. Writers are a lot like readers. They like to escape into "strange new worlds", become preoccupied with characters that they can learn from who don't talk back, and spend much of their free time reading their favorite books; which may or may not be in the same genre in which they write.

5. Writers like to receive recognition. They like to be seen. They love hand written notes from readers, visits at books signings (as mentioned above) and free advertising. That means if you like their book and tell your friends that you like it, the writer knows it because their sales increase and that means more love and money inside the writer's heart and pocket. 

Writers and readers care about others or they wouldn't be reading. They care about learning, about gleaning all the good stuff as well as the not so good stuff. (There's nothing better than learning from a character rather than from your own personal mistakes, for example). Readers are a particular breed. They might enjoy a quiet night at home instead of the huge party up the street, may peruse the library like a candy store, and may find that their time is best spent soaking up the sun on a crisp fall morning, their favorite book and highlighter in their hand. 

Just like a writer.

Kathryn Elizabeth Jones is the author of CONQUERING YOUR GOLIATHS, A RIVER OF STONES, SCRAMBLED, and MARKETING YOUR BOOK ON A BUDGET. She also runs Idea Creations Press, helping clients with editing, cover design, and marketing. Find out more about Kathryn at http://kathrynelizabethjones.com and http://www.ariverofstones.com/

Interview with Kathryn Elizabeth Jones

Today we're chatting with author Kathryn Elizabeth Jones about her novel, SCRAMBLED.

Welcome to We Do Write, Kathryn. Tell us a bit about yourself. How long have you been writing?

I've been writing for over 30 years. I began writing before my first daughter was born and published for the first time some 8 years later. That's with writing every day and studying writing from books borrowed at the library.

Tell us about SCRAMBLED. What’s the story about?

Scrambled is about a woman named Susan Cramer who leaves her husband hoping for a better life. What she finds is a dead man in an old hotel where she's been hired as a housekeeper. It doesn't help that everyone thinks that she's the killer or that she's really not the detective type.

How did the idea of the story come to you? 

I was in a writing class a few years ago when the story idea came to me. Scrambled began as a short story, but after I'd written the first 10 pages I knew that what I really had was a novel. I brought in my experience as a housekeeper (I ran a cleaning business for a few years) and my dreams of one day writing a mystery, having been a Nancy Drew fan in my younger years, and Scrambled was born.

Do you have a critique group/partner or beta readers, or do you self-edit? 

I self-edit a few times in the beginning, and then send off my work to authors and avid-reader types. When the critiques return I make changes and then re-read the entire novel to make sure everything is as I want it.

Are you a planner or a pantser? 

I fly by the seat of my pants mostly. I do a little outlining in the beginning stages of the book, but often don't know the ending of the book until I'm there or almost there. I find that it's good to have a plan but that it shouldn't be engraved in stone. Often, the characters speak to me and I know if the scene is right or not. I make changes based on what the characters think, more than what I think they should be doing and when. A case in point: When I was writing, "Conquering Your Goliaths: A Parable of the Five Stones," I had it in my mind that Virginia would finally find a man whom she'd marry. I had him picked out. But things in books, as in life, don't always turn out the way you plan them.

What’s the hardest part of writing for you?

That would have to be setting, though I must be getting better at it. I had a reader tell me recently that she liked the back story to Susan in Scrambled, and much of that back story had setting in it.

What do you absolutely have to have nearby when writing?

A computer, a marker, paper and a calendar. Sometimes when I'm writing on my computer an idea comes to me for a new book, a new marketing idea, something I need to check on in chapter 2 (maybe I'm feeling like the scene isn't quite right or something); the calendar helps me to schedule those things like author signings, online marketing, and other writing endeavors. I like the hands-on approach to keeping a calendar and so only have a paper version.

If you could have any super power, what would it be?

Flight. I could travel anywhere and write about anything without having to purchase an airline ticket.

What's the weirdest thing you've googled?

Where are dead bodies stored if they die on board a cruise ship? (Book two in the Susan Sleuth Mystery series).

Ooh, spooky. Quick writing test! Use the following words in a sentence: assumption, symbolic, and boost.

Assumption will never bring one to understand the symbolic meaning of the scriptures and boost a person's confidence.

Finish this sentence: If I'm not writing, I'm probably ... 

reading.

Here’s the part where you thank the people who are supporting you. Let's hear your shout outs. 

There have been many, many people in my life who have assisted me through my years of writing, but foremost: My husband, Doug, my three daughters, Aimee, Tiffanie and Bethany, and two of my sisters, Jenn and Tricia. I have also gleaned experience from being a part of The League of Utah Writers and other writing groups.

And finally, where can people find you and your books online?

Paperback of Scrambled
Kindle of Scrambled

You can get an autographed copy of Scrambled at my website: http://www.ariverofstones.com/scrambled.html.

I also have 4 other books available for purchase including: A River of Stones (YA Christian Fiction), Conquering Your Goliaths: A Parable of the Five Stones (Christian Fiction), Conquering Your Goliaths: Guidebook (Christian Nonfiction) and Marketing Your Book on a Budget (Business Nonfiction, in Kindle format only).