Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Perseverance and Conquering Fears: Lisa Gail Green's Journey to Publication


Guys, today I'm totally excited to have Lisa Gail Green here! She's one of my closest writing buddies and beta readers, and I'm so proud to announce the release of her YA novel, Soul Crossed. I've read Soul Crossed. It's amazing, and creepy, and thrilling. Check out this summary...

Josh lived a reckless, selfish life, so upon his death, escaping the eternal torments of Hell by assuming the role of a powerful, soul-corrupting demon is an easy choice. His first soul assignment doesn't seem too hard: the mortal Camden is already obsessed with weapons, pain, and torture. If only Josh wasn't distracted by Cam's beautiful friend, Grace.

Grace never expected to die violently at age sixteen, but now she's an Angel, responsible for saving a soul. She can already see past Camden's earthly flaws, so the job should be easy. If only that handsome, playboy Josh would stop getting in the way.

It's forbidden for an Angel to be with a Demon, so if Josh and Grace stop resisting each other, the results would be disastrous.

So, how did Lisa go from Super Mom to Super Mom plus published author? Let's find out!

Julie: Your YA novel “Soul Crossed” releases today (yay!). Can you tell us a bit about how you came up with the story idea? How much has it changed throughout revisions?

Lisa: Squeeeeeeee! Sorry had to get that out first. *ahem* The story started because I wanted a forbidden romance, so I thought, ‘what is the worst situation I can put my characters in?’ You can’t get much worse than an Angel and a Demon falling in love. Those are the kind of problems that I think make a good books. The rest kind of fell into place from there. In fact, one of my characters (I’m looking at you, Josh) did something I wasn’t expecting, which kind of saved the rest of the book for me plot wise. I love it when that happens!

Julie: You’ve persevered through a change in literary agents, and your publishing journey has definitely been a long and winding road. Can you give us a brief summary of your path?

Lisa: Hahaha! Yes, like many other authors I know I have changed agents. However, my current agent, Melissa Nasson works with my previous agent, Rubin Pfeffer! I have nothing against Rubin - he’s an awesome guy. We just didn’t make the best match for several reasons, things like my need/desire for an editorial agent and the type of books I write. I can say that it’s been quite the emotional roller coaster since I started though! And it continues to be. :D But now I embrace that. I love that you never know what’s coming and take delight in all the “small” accomplishments along the way, whether a kind tweet from someone or a nice review. I love seeing that my work made readers feel. That’s what it’s all about in the end, right?

But you wanted a summary of my path so here goes: Start writing with no clue, made the usual mistakes like querying before I was ready, joined SCBWI and learned as much as humanly possible about the industry, read, met great people like Julie Musil, read more, got an offer from Rubin and hit the ceiling/walked on air for several days straight (maybe weeks), started blogging and Twitter, met more awesome people, read more, went on submission, started getting rejections, got close, got more rejections, read, separated from agent, read, had a baby (#3 much younger than my others), was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and almost quit and — got a good doctor, got an offer from Melissa and THE OFFER from Samantha at FFF!!! Whew. Does that sum it up??

Julie: Soul Crossed was published by Full Fathom Five Digital. Can you tell us a bit about your experience with a digital only publisher?

Lisa: They’ve been AMAZING. I can’t stress enough how happy I am. They’ve made me one of their lead titles and have not skimped on the marketing, which any published author can tell you is beyond incredible. It’s all been electronic, but pretty much the same process as with any other publisher. I did edits with my awesome editor, then line edits, then copy edits with the copy editor, looked over the ARC, etc. I also love the particular way they handle the relationship contractually, but I won’t go into all that here. AND here’s the kicker — with FFF, since they have many arms, there are possibilities for more and in fact, we are doing a print version as well. I just don’t know the date of release yet. OH and one really cool thing with the digital publisher? They move so much faster than traditional ones. My sequel is due out July 1st!

Julie: What writing advice has resonated with you the most, and why?

Lisa: It has always been and continues to be: Write what scares you, which I first heard from my hero, Libba Bray. It hit me like an anvil. I had to keep improving and moving forward and the best way to do that, to challenge yourself and keep it fresh, is to go where you’re uncomfortable going. You can always revise later.

Julie: If there’s an author out there who’s doubting their writing abilities and is ready to throw in the towel, what “flick to the forehead” advice would you give them?

Lisa: Don’t do it!! If you quit, it is 100% certain it will never happen. If you keep trying, there’s always that chance. Also, that chance improves exponentially the more you improve your craft and continue writing. Look at me! I was about to finally give in, despite my habit of always encouraging others to never do that same and then IT happened. :D

Cool, right? Lisa, thanks so much for sharing your experience. We wish you the very best with your new series!

Friends, has your writing journey been a long and winding road? What's the best piece of writing advice you've ever received? Please share!

Lisa Gail Green lives with her husband the rocket scientist and their three junior mad scientists in Southern California. She writes books so she can have an excuse to live in the fantasy world in her head. She likes to share these with readers so she's represented by the lovely Melissa Nasson of Rubin Pfeffer Content. She has a parrot but would most definitely get a werewolf for a pet if she weren't allergic.

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29 comments:

  1. Glad the changing of agents was a good thing and led you to someone better.
    You're right, if you quit, it will never happen.
    Congratulations on your release, Lisa!

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    1. Alex, change isn't always easy, but sometimes it's for the best!

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  2. "Write what scares you." I love that!

    So glad this has been a good experience for you, Lisa. Congratulations to you! And thanks to Julie for hosting.

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    1. I remember when Lisa first heard that advice. It really made a huge difference for her. I know I have to push past my own fears when I want to try something new!

      Thanks for the visit, Elizabeth!

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  3. Yup, I'm going to second the love for the writing advice. If we're not pushing ourselves, we're stagnating...and who wants to read a murky-puddle of a book?

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    1. Crystal, so true! I love it when I read a book that absolutely stuns me. Like Gone Girl. That author must truly write what scares her!

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  4. Lisa's energy comes through in her answers. I love books about impossible love stories.

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    1. Susan, Lisa is definitely full of positive energy! This is such an awesome accomplishment for her.

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  5. Great to get to know you, Lisa. Changing agents is a scary thing, but seemed to work out great for you in the end. It's so important to click with those you are working with. Best wishes!

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    1. Thanks, Loree! It IS scary, but it's also just right sometimes for so many reasons. I love Rubin, but it just didn't work quite right.

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    2. Loree, these days I hear of more and more authors doing that! At least in Lisa's case it worked out for the best.

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  6. Lisa, you are living my belief, never give up and don't be afraid to be flexible. If something isn't working...change. And facing fear only makes you stronger. You deserve all the success that comes your way! Keep up the great work!!

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    1. Karlene, you're so right about never giving up. You're an excellent example of that!

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  7. Love the cover! And it's great to hear of stories of perseverance in the face of so much adversity. Gives me hope! =)

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    1. Leandra, there IS hope for sure! Lisa is truly an inspiration. And I agree about the cover...I love it!

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  8. Congratulations, Lisa! Love your positive outlook and happy things have worked out for you.

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    1. Kathryn, things have a way of working out the way they should. Thanks for the visit!

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    1. Traci, so true! Lisa's writing story is exciting, and her book Soul Crossed is exciting!

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  10. Congrats, Julie. There are so many ebook only publishers now. While I'm glad I have print copies of my books, they just don't sell as well anymore.

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    1. L. Diane, that's true. I can understand why some publishers focus on ebooks, because the overhead is next to nothing. There are still so many great reasons to create print copies, though, so I'm glad Lisa's publisher is headed that way.

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  11. So great to find this, Julie and Lisa! What a fab book this sounds like. Hurray for you, Lisa.

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    1. Lee, thanks so much for supporting Lisa! It really is a fabulous book.

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  12. This book sounds way awesome! Congrats! I enjoyed the interview -- it was neat learning about your journey to becoming a published author.

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    1. Shelley, I love hearing about the publishing journeys of other authors. It's a fun way to remember there's no single way to get there!

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