I'm a Sunday Times bestselling thriller author

[BestsellingAuthor101]

I saw the other thread by the author and found it interesting. Thought I'd throw my hat in the ring here.

I'm published by Penguin Random House. I've published between 6 and 10 Sunday Times bestsellers (vague due to outing - I can be much more candid on my answers if I am not outed). I'm a woman. They're psychological thrillers. I am a full-time writer. I quit a professional career when my books sold well, and I now live off the writing income. AMA.

@LadyWithLapdog

How has COVID affected you, in terms of travel, engagements etc, and did you enjoy the enforced break?

Authors don't have as much of this as you would think. I would often write on trains around events and I had just as many but on zoom, so in some ways I did sort of lose time. However I very much appreciated my life not changing all that much. How to deal with the pandemic in fiction is another issue...

@Fadingout

Are their any books you wish you’d written?

What one piece of advice would you give a writer starting out?

No comment on the first as it'll only invite speculation that I'm recommending everyone but me/or recommending myself!

As to the second, finish the draft. That's all.

@Snugglepumpkin

Did you ever write fan fiction or do things like NanoWrimo?

If you developed a character/world that you ended up writing in the longer term over a series of books, would you let someone else write in it (the way Todd McCaffrey took over Anne McCaffreys Pern) or would you want your character/world to end when you did the way Terry Pratchetts Discworld has?

Do you ever think of the character in Misery when you kill someone off in one of your books & wonder if you might get a crazy fan reaction?

Do you have to do the promotion stuff or could you refuse & do you think it really helps with sales?

Do you ever consider writing in a different genre under a pen name?

Did you ever write fan fiction or do things like NanoWrimo?

• I don't do the former but I did the latter once before I was published. Good for getting a quick draft down.

If you developed a character/world that you ended up writing in the longer term over a series of books, would you let someone else write in it (the way Todd McCaffrey took over Anne McCaffreys Pern) or would you want your character/world to end when you did the way Terry Pratchetts Discworld has?

• absolutely the latter. I'm a total loner. No one reads until my agent and editor and no one gets much say either

Do you ever think of the character in Misery when you kill someone off in one of your books & wonder if you might get a crazy fan reaction?

• no, I think so much of it is instinct. And I do understand the importance of a good and happy ending for readers...

Do you have to do the promotion stuff or could you refuse & do you think it really helps with sales?

• it depends on the format. You could refuse but why would you? There are tonnes of authors in waiting and not many publishers relatively speaking. It helps more with hardbacks than paperbacks, where sales are say 50k+ so selling 150 at an event makes less difference.

Do you ever consider writing in a different genre under a pen name?

• Not yet!

Has your former profession influenced your writing much?

How important or relevant is it to have a social media presence (eg Twitter)? Do you factor that into your work?

@KittyFilter

Can you tell us about your research? How long do you spend? Do you do it all before you start writing or as you go along? What are your favoured sources?

It really does depend. Say for example if I am writing a police perspective I will definitely visit a station and get a flavour and I also email a lot of contacts snippets along the way to check I'm not writing a set up that would NEVER happen, and then they read again at the end. Some of my novels require almost no research though; only for me to visit a place, say.

@ElizabethinherGermanGarden

I'm fascinated by the editing process. How much input does your editor have, and what's that like for you? For example, do they suggest major changes and comment on character/plot etc, or do they tend to just keep an eye out for inconsistencies? Do they have any stylistic or grammatical input?

You do a structural edit with major changes, first. On this, I've never had anything major change like the ending or the whodunnit (if it is one) changed, but I have had big-ish things suggested or changed. Mostly I agree and I save the times I don't for the ones I feel very strongly about.

Then you're line edited which is prose based but luckily my editor only really tries to clarify when things don't make sense or I've used repetition.

Then copy edited which can get quite pedantic: the type of flowers in a hospital waiting room not being in season, sort of thing.

@Madhairday

Thanks for answering all these questions OP, really interesting. I'm a writer too and only really had success in non fiction so far, but have pitched a couple of novels to agents with no success as yet (just some nice comments about my writing, but basically not commercial enough. So my question would be: how do you get through all those early rejections? It's so easy to feel like a failure and just stop bothering. What would be your tip for keeping going and trying again? And is there a certain amount of agents you would stop at, and realise it's not worth it. Finally, what do you think about self publishing?

Thank you so much :)

Generally speaking, I tried to accept that I wouldn't be able to please all people but if say 25 UK agents rejected me then I knew there would likely be something they were seeing that they believe wouldn't sell - to publishers and the general public. I tried to understand what this was - I asked some of them who had read the full manuscript or given personal feedback (if it wasn't clear). I also read the bookseller and tried to see what publishers regard as marketable.

@Bettybantz

Has your former profession influenced your writing much?

How important or relevant is it to have a social media presence (eg Twitter)? Do you factor that into your work?

Not at all, on the first.

On the second, it isn't essential to get a publishing deal at all, but I think it's good once published as sort of proof-of-brand. Readers engage with you and follow you to know when your next novel is out.

Thank you. That's very interesting what each type of editing is. I often wonder when I read the acknowledgements what a copy editor is.

Hi 👋

Do you start with an idea and put pen to paper to see where the story goes, or do you plan your books first?

Do you try to write at the same time every day, or whenever inspiration hits?

In your experience, do publishers of popular fiction prefer certain viewpoints eg first person?

Sorry for all the questions & Merry Christmas

Oooh. Placemarkimg for some better thought out Qus in the morning :)

@Ladyrattles

Hi 👋

Do you start with an idea and put pen to paper to see where the story goes, or do you plan your books first?

Do you try to write at the same time every day, or whenever inspiration hits?

In your experience, do publishers of popular fiction prefer certain viewpoints eg first person?

Sorry for all the questions & Merry Christmas

Do you start with an idea and put pen to paper to see where the story goes, or do you plan your books first?

• I do plan, but some of my best plot develops come when I allow a bit of flexibility with that plan

Do you try to write at the same time every day, or whenever inspiration hits?

• it's my job so I pretty much write say 10-4 and do other stuff like promo and tax and proof requests at other times. I almost always work six days a week

In your experience, do publishers of popular fiction prefer certain viewpoints eg first person?

• I don't think so, no. There is little difference really between them. The girl on the train would've been substantially the same book if told in third (I think it was first?). I think the most important thing is a great story, told well.

Wow, i am
In AWE! I read, I read I read, I read! I ha e always wondered .. now this might be difficult for me to explain.. I read a passage, say.. I woman (I'm talking about the current Grisham I'm reading' he says she's in her lap too at night, I read this and see her glass of white wine, her curtains are open because she's on the third floor and the stars are out so she looks at them whilst she ponders, her kitchen is to her left, everything is off Bar the hob light, and it illuminates the pot she left, it's clean but she didn't put it away...: tell me I'm not a weirdo!! Tell
Me when you read a passage you imagine all the wee bits too???

Thank you - that's really interesting about all the stages of editing.

Ah OK. I was thinking thinking you might be an author who used to be a an allied health professional (physiotherapist).

Any recommendations for choosing kindle books by new authors? They vary so wildly in quality... best to go for ones already picked up by ie the sunday times etc?

@harriethoyle

Any recommendations for choosing kindle books by new authors? They vary so wildly in quality... best to go for ones already picked up by ie the sunday times etc?

I personally only read authors with traditional publishing deals as they will have had the vetting that sometimes self published novels don't get

Hello.
Do you use special software or just Word? (Or write in longhand....?)
Have your books been translated?
Thanks for answering!

Do you just get ideas for thrillers and just start writing and see how it all knits together or carefully work out your chapter, plots, characters and then put it altogether?

All together not altogether...that's crap English!

@rifling

Hello. Do you use special software or just Word? (Or write in longhand....?) Have your books been translated? Thanks for answering!

Yup, just word! I think a lot of aspiring authors are looking for workarounds, something to avoid having to sit down and basically write 100,000 words. The simpler the software the better I think!

@inheritancetrack

Do you just get ideas for thrillers and just start writing and see how it all knits together or carefully work out your chapter, plots, characters and then put it altogether?

No I do plan meticulously. Plenty of authors don't, but I don't know how you could write in a twist that makes sense without knowing it from page one.

Oh my gosh

Guaranteed I’ve read your books

I love women authors who write psychological thrillers!! I can also speed read so read 3-4 books a week.

Bet you ive got one of yours!!!

I also love Peter James. I recently read one of his books and he got the idea of this book from his wife’s running app!!

Couldn’t believe how that book came from seeing his wife’s running app. Love it.

@Nocutenamesleft

Oh my gosh

Guaranteed I’ve read your books

I love women authors who write psychological thrillers!! I can also speed read so read 3-4 books a week.

Bet you ive got one of yours!!!

Likely