I am amazed by how much interest people show when they learn that I’m a writer. I don’t trumpet the information about, but at times, it does come up in conversation. People are invariably curious and impressed.
It generates the kinds of questions you would expect, i.e. where do you find your ideas (everywhere); how long does it take to write a book (it depends, but on average six to eight months); if I give you an idea, will you write the book for me? (Um…nope ;-) )
There are other questions, though, that do surprise me, such as, do you consider yourself an entrepreneur? Well, considering that it takes as much work to sell your novels and yourself to agents and editors as it takes to write them, yes, I do. As well, considering how much knowledge of sales and promotion authors need to have these days to succeed, yes, I do.
I write because I love to create stories with wonderfully happy endings, and I feel such gratification that there are those in the world who will buy my stories. I think this might be everyone’s dream: to make money doing what one loves to do.
I’m not always sure what the reception will be when I mention that I write romance novels because of the long history of romance novels not being taken seriously. What a shame. They offer a glorious escape from our daily stresses.
To my surprise, most often I find that I’m treated with respect. There are so, so many people out there who want to write a novel, but never do. They are impressed that I not only finished at least one, but that I persevered and sold.
The question asked most often about writing romance is: is there a formula? My answer? There are expectations, the biggest of which is that happy ending.
To writers reading this, what is the most common question you are asked about your writing? What is the most unusual you’ve ever been asked?
To readers, what have you always wanted to ask a published author?
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