“It’s way harder to establish a career as a working writer than to get published by a traditional New York publishing house.”
—Lisa Unger on the Business of Writing
Whether the author achieves publication of their work through traditional means, or chooses to self-publish, she or he must play an active role in the promoting, and marketing of her or his work.
In that Lisa Unger had worked in publishing for over a decade before gaining publication of her first novel, she held no preconceived notions of glory or fame on becoming a published author.
“My writing is a family business,” Lisa says. “Make no mistake, the publishing industry is a business. My husband runs the business side of my writing. He also does a lot of the publicity that Random House, my publisher, does not.”
As for writing and selling books, “It’s all about the writing. Sitting down and trying to get better each time you write every single day. That being said you have to find a way to get the message out about you, and your writing.”
Lisa finds balance between writing and promotion/marketing by putting 90% of her energy into writing and 10% towards answering e-mails and visiting her Facebook account, and her other websites.
“Writers don’t talk or think about writing,” Lisa says. “They write. Neither can you hold a fantasy, or idea about writing. You have to be writing.” At age 27 Lisa left her work in publishing and returned to work on her first novel, one she had begun at age 19. She completed it at age 29. A year later she married her husband. At age 34 she became a mother.
“Character is king,” Lisa says of her writing process. “I get to know the characters, gain a sense of who they are, by writing my novel.” Lisa does not outline. Nor does she prepare character sketches. She was, “…a student of the novel, film, poetry, and plays for 20 years. I read voraciously as a child, and then worked for a decade in the publishing industry. Through [her involvement with all of] this I deeply internalized the form, and structure of the novel.”
How long have you studied writing?
How much thought and consideration have you give to ways you can promote and market your work?
If you are a published fiction author, how have you sought to establish a platform for your writing? What is your non-fiction area of expertise?