Elephants and Clowns

Recently Maralys sat down with Committment.com for an interview about not only her journey as a writer, but as a published one. A must-read for anyone who wants to be an author and not giving up on getting published.

Read entire interview

Author Maralys Wills recently chatted with Gregory Kompes, the man responsible for “The Fabulist Flash, A Newsletter for Writers”, to partake in some Q&A. Read some of the author’s revelations below – from discovering one’s writing style to self-marketing tips and of course, the most important lesson for writers – perseverance.

When did you ‘know’ you were a writer?
Long before I sold my first article, (about our sons’ adventures in hang gliding), I saw myself as a writer. As I collected 129 rejection slips for poems, essays, stories, and first-hand accounts, I wondered how many rejection slips it would take to sell something. In my mind it was always “when,” never “if.” Still, writing for money altered my title. Now I was an author. Before, I’d been a mother with a typewriter.

How would you describe your style of writing?
Straightforward. Vivid. Full of scenes and vignettes. Often humorous. A story-teller’s quest for the unusual, the humorous, the dramatic, the ironic. But securely anchored in the real world.

What is your writing process?
Except for publicity chores (which are all too time-consuming), I write whenever I can find the time. Sometimes I push things away to “make” time. When I’m deeply involved in a project, I let ordinary “living” go by the board. Laundry, shopping, cooking—they all wait. I have no schedule. Every stolen hour in front of the computer becomes my “schedule.”

What was your path to publication?
No special path. At first I simply sent things out (129 things), until United Airlines Mainliner magazine “bit.” From then on, every published book was achieved a different way. I was agented for my first nine books, yet for five of them the sale would not have occurred except for something I did myself. Even with an agent, you have to be part of the process.

What is your favorite self-marketing idea?
Speeches. There is no second choice. I have searched high and low for something that works as well as giving speeches, but have yet to find it.

8. What are the biggest surprises you’ve encountered as a writer?
Read the whole interview here.

Meet author Maralys Wills at the 2010 Las Vegas Writers Conference taking place April 15-17th at Sam’s Town Hotel and Casino. As part of this year’s faculty, Maralys will be speaking on topics ranging from starting your manuscript to how to turning your life story into a book.

Registration is required for this event. Click here for more information.