The interview series with authors in my Twitter community continues with Sarah Sundin. Happy reading!



Website: www.sarahsundin.com
Twitter: @sarahsundin

Q: What is your genre? Why did you choose it?

SS: I write Christian historical romance. All my story ideas originate with the romance, so I guess the genre picked me. I ended up writing historicals because the concept for A Distant Melody didn’t work in a contemporary setting. The World War II era has always appealed to me, so that was a logical choice.

Q: How many books have you published? Legacy published, self-published, or a combination?

SS: I have three novels published with a traditional publisher (Revell), and I have another three-book contract with them.

     

Q: Tell us more about your WINGS OF GLORY series! How did this story idea come about?

SS: The Wings of Glory series follows three brothers who are B-17 bomber pilots with the US Eighth Air Force stationed in England during World War II. The idea for A Distant Melody came out of a “what if” question—what if a man and woman met at an event, truly clicked, and parted before exchanging contact info? Wouldn’t it be romantic if he went through great effort to track her down? It wouldn’t work in a contemporary setting—he’d “Google” her—but it made a sweet premise for a historical. My husband and I watched a History Channel special on the Eighth Air Force, and I was hooked. My great-uncle was a B-17 pilot with the Eighth, so I had access to his stories and letters.

A Distant Melody was meant to be a standalone, but while doing research, I became enamored with the Eighth Air Force and wanted to tell the full story to V-E Day. Since my hero had two pilot brothers, I decided to write a series, with each book focusing on one brother.

Q: Do you sell copies of your novel, or other works, directly from your website?

SS: Not directly, but my website has links to my books on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and ChristianBook.com.

Q: How much time do you spend on Twitter each week? Do you have a Facebook Fan Page?

SS: Twitter takes about half an hour a day, and Facebook a bit more. I find Facebook a lot more fun and really get some great conversations going there. I do have an author page on Facebook, which I enjoy. 

Q: Do you blog? How often? Strictly professional or a blend of all things?

SS: I blog twice a week. On Mondays I tend to write a World War II-related post, and on Thursdays I post a devotion or feature a book my readers might like. In addition, I post a daily “Today in World War II History” fact. My blog is www.sarahsundin.blogspot.com.

Q: Do you have a motto or favorite quote you turn to on tough writing days?

SS: God always seems to give me the exact verse I need to hear, or He sends someone with the encouragement I need. A verse I keep coming back to is 2 Timothy 1:7: “But God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”

Q: Have you outsourced editing, cover design, formatting, web design, marketing, etc?

SS: Editing, cover design, and formatting are done by my publisher. They also do a great job with marketing and publicity, but of course, I do a lot of marketing and publicity myself. Since I’m not tech-savvy, I hired a web designer. I also hired a publicist. With no name recognition as a debut author, I wanted to do well by my publisher and get the word out.

Q: Do you work with a writing group?

SS: I love writing groups! I’ve belonged to a local group for over ten years, although this past year I haven’t been able to attend, which really bugs me. I also exchange chapters with five other serious writers. These ladies are so encouraging but also have the courage to be honest.

Q: When you did you first decide to publish? How much time did it take to get from an idea to a book on Amazon?

SS: When I started writing in 2000, my children were little. I decided if I was going to spend the time writing, I was going to take it seriously and pursue publication. I started A Distant Melody in 2002 and started submitting in 2003. After five years of rejection letters, I received my first contract in 2008. A Distant Melody hit the shelves in March 2010.

Q: Have you published any of your work for free? Why or why not?

SS: No, I haven’t. The first two novels I wrote should never, ever, ever see the light of day. Please burn them when I die. I do have a novella I wrote for fun that I really like. If I can’t find a market for it, someday I might offer it for free.

Q: What tips or advice would you offer to writers who are about to have their first work published?

SS: Be teachable, cooperative, and genuine. Being teachable is vital. You want each book to be better than the last, so keep learning and listening and pushing yourself.
Cooperation helps you deal with your publisher. I trust the staff at my publishing house as experienced and knowledgeable professionals. I stand my ground when necessary, but they know way more about the industry than I do, so I let them do their thing.
Being genuine helps you relate to readers. Pedestals are very dangerous places, but every time I share something stupid I did or something inedible my dog ate, I blow up that pedestal.

Q: Is there another writer (or two) in the Twitterverse that you would recommend newbies follow?

SS: James Scott Bell is a wonderful author and fiction teacher who’s on the Writer’s Digest staff and tweets excellent writing advice and links. And he’s funny. Jody Hedlund is a debut author with an excellent blog. She’s very warm and engaging on Twitter.

Q: What is coming up for you in the next few months?

SS: Right now I’m finishing my publisher’s content edit for With Every Letter, the first book in my next series, Wings of the Nightingale. This series follows three World War II flight nurses in the Mediterranean Theater, and I’m very excited about it. I have the second book all plotted out, and I’ll start the rough draft next week. Can’t wait!

Q: Do you have (or are planning) any audio books?

SS: My novels haven’t been made into audio books yet, and I haven’t heard of any plans for that.

Q: Have you done a blog tour? Any advice or cautions?

SS: Yes, I love blog tours. My publisher arranges one with each book release, and I also hire a publicist to do a blog tour in conjunction with a big giveaway. I think the blog tours have helped get the word out about the books.

Q: Do you create an outline before beginning a new book?

SS: I’m definitely an outline-oriented writer. First of all, I do lots of research beforehand—this lets me know if my story idea will even work historically, but it also gives me ideas for scenes, problems, and characters. Then I fill out character charts (I love character charts!) and a plot chart which helps me track subplots and story arcs. Then come scene lists with everything from the date, the weather, what characters are wearing, goals and conflict, what’s happening historically, and an outline of the scene. Finally I get to my rough draft.

Q: Do you work on more than one manuscript at a time?

SS: Not in the rough draft stage, but being published does mean juggling. I’m currently doing publicity for Blue Skies Tomorrow, my most recent release, then I’m doing my publisher’s content edit for With Every Letter, which comes out September 2012, plus I just finished outlining the next book.

Q: Do you use specialty software?

SS: Nope, just Word.

Q: Tell us about some of the hurdles you've cleared on the path to becoming an author. Did you have any idea at the start what the process really entailed?

SS: The biggest hurdle I faced was the market. When I started submitting, historical fiction wasn’t selling in the Christian market. I received a pile of “good” rejection letters—they liked my writing, story, and characters, but not my genre. This was discouraging, of course. I kept praying about it, giving it back to the Lord, and when He prompted me to keep writing, I did. During this time, I kept learning the craft and attending conferences. When the market turned around, I had the first two books in the trilogy polished and ready to go.
When I started writing, I knew nothing about the publishing industry. The rejection-letter years served a good purpose—during those years I was slowly learning the industry as well as the craft. By the time I got my contract, I had a pretty good idea what the process would be like and what I needed to do as an author.

Q: What is the best comment/compliment you have received about your work?

SS: I’ve been blessed with some fabulous reviews, including a starred review from Booklist. But the comments that mean the most to me fall in a few categories. 1) Members of the “Greatest Generation” who appreciate the historical accuracy and share wartime memories with me—some sweet, some tragic. 2) Family members of veterans or active military who understand their servicemen and women better due to my books. 3) People who say the story made them realize something new about God or about their relationship with God that led to some change. Those letters make me tingle.

Q: Let's flip things around for a moment. As a reader, which of the following do you take into consideration when deciding whether or not to purchase a book?

SS: Reader reviews: Not much.

      Number of books already sold: Not at all.

      Book cover: A beautiful cover will catch my interest, and a hideous cover
     will make my shy away from what could be a great book, but in general,
     I’m more interested in the story itself.

     Word-of-mouth: This is big for me.

     Book summary: This is the most important part.

     Author's blog: Not at all.

     Author's Facebook, Twitter, and other social media: Slightly. If a writer
     has a fabulous voice on-line, I’ll be more likely to give their book a look.
     Likewise, I’ve been turned off to some writers because of an arrogant
     on-line voice or too much book talk. Do readers really need to know
     every single time a great review pops up on Amazon? Even my mom
     would be turned off if I did that as an author.

     Book price: Not at all.

Thank you, Sarah, for sharing your publishing experiences with us! We wish you continued success, and hope you'll come back and share updates with us in the spring!

Bio: Sarah Sundin lives in northern California with her husband and three children. When she isn’t ferrying kids to soccer and tennis, she works on-call as a hospital pharmacist and teaches Sunday school and women’s Bible studies. She is the author of the Wings of Glory series—A Distant Melody (Revell, 2010), A Memory Between Us (2010), and Blue Skies Tomorrow (August 2011). In 2011, A Memory Between Us was a finalist in the Inspirational Reader's Choice Awards and Sarah received the Writer of the Year Award at the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference.