Interviews W/ Published Western Authors
Terry Burns
A Rope and Wire Interview
As a Christian author, how difficult is it, and how do you go about gaining the interest of those who wouldn’t normally consider reading books with Christian themes?
I don't have "Christian themes" per se in my books; I believe good Christian fiction doesn't. When an author is pushing some proponent of their faith at the reader, that is preaching, and not what even Christian readers read fiction for. Instead, some of my characters have faith and some don't and their interaction is what brings any faith content to the book. It is always the story that is most important, and any work whether secular or Christian must be a good, entertaining read above all.
For non-Christian readers of your books, what is it you hope they come away with after reading your work?
My books have varying degree of faith from a very little to quite a bit, but I don't believe any have content to a point where it would push a non-Christian out of the story. I like stories that touch people's emotions and often hear people say they laughed, cried, got angry, sad or happy, all through the course of the read, and faith content or not found it good, clean entertainment. The strongest reaction I might expect from my work for a non-Christian might be that it would raise a faith question that they might want to find out more about.
What do you feel is the most important thing you can offer readers of your books?
You can leave them laying on a table and not worry about your kids picking them up.
I’ve noticed you have quite a few informative articles on your website covering topics from writing tips to getting published to dealing with writers block. Do you hold seminars on any of these topics?
I gave programs at 24 conferences in that many states this year with a number of smaller events as well. Helping and encouraging writers is very important to me.
Is writing a full time profession for you, and if so, how do you break down your workday as far as time devoted to such things as reading, writing and research?
At the present time I spend more time as an agent than I do as a writer. Unfortunately that means I don't get much time to read for pleasure these days. I read 900 proposals this year, reading a full manuscript on many of them. I spend time researching markets and preparing pitches for my clients, but I do still try to protect a little writing time in the mix.
Who or what would you say has been the biggest influence on your writing career to date?
A writer by the name of Dan Parkinson got me started. Dan wrote some delightful tongue-in-cheek westerns and later turned to fantasy. Unfortunately he died before he saw what I did with my writing. After Dan there have been several accomplished writers who have helped me at various points in my career and I try to "pay it forward" by trying to be a help to others.
Not only are you an accomplished author, you’re also an agent for the Hartline literary Agency; How did that come about?
Most agents come out of the publishing industry, editors, marketing people and the like. I was a writer who sold a lot of my own stuff, and helped a number of my friends get published as well. Finally my own agent said that I had something of a knack for it and recruited me to be an agent in her agency. I still think more like a writer than a publishing industry person, which is evident when we do agent and editor panels. Is that an advantage or a disadvantage? I don't know. I do know I seem to communicate with my people more than most agents and even when I am not able to take somebody as a client am told that I write the most encouraging responses in the business. I don't know, I just try to represent my people the best that I can.
Aside from going to your website and reading your article called “How to keep from getting published”, (which incidentally, I encourage all of our readers to do), what advice do you have for writers interested in getting their work published?
Getting published is not a selection process, it's a survival process. When a submission goes to an agent or editor it is constantly meeting a series of small tests, on query letter, formatting, plot line, story opening, on and on. Passing any of these tests means it moves forward and failing one probably sends it home. The object is to survive our way to the point where it is one of several on an editor's desk, at which point it is all about the writing. It should be all about the writing, but in reality it is all about persistence, continuing to search for and knock on the right doors, learning our craft and growing as we go.
I’ve heard that the timeline between having a manuscript accepted by a publisher to when it actually hits the shelves could take several years. Is this really the case? Why so long?
Going through the process of editing and preparing the book to print, then sending it to the printer and getting it back to distribute can be a lengthy process. It can also add to the time when catalog slot they are acquiring for is far in the future, which means this process won't even start for a while. I did a survey a while back where I asked over 400 multi-published writers how long it took for them to see their first book in print from the time they first started writing. Out of such a large group the average was six years. My first was six years almost right on the money. A large number of writers give up before this point and quit or perhaps self-publish or take some other action. I have no problem with print on demand or self publishing as long as people are doing it because it suits their potential market and not simply settling because they don't have the necessary patience.
There are some would be authors who think once their book hits the stores it will just fly off the shelves. The truth is, there is still work to be done. Can you give us an idea of what a new author can expect to do as far as promoting and marketing a new book?
The truth is even with a major publisher behind a book sales rest heavily on the author. The publishers marketing dollars are going to primarily be behind the major authors who earn most of their revenue. That's why a good marketing plan and a strong platform are such an important part of a project proposal, showing the publisher that the author has the capability of impacting sales or of creating visibility that will enable the publisher's sales people to get the books out.
For those unfamiliar with your work, can you give us a rundown of your currently available novels and what projects you’re working on at this time?
My most recent are the Mysterious Ways series from the River Oak imprint of David C. Cook, "Mysterious Ways," "Shepherd's Son," and "Brother's Keeper" and inclusion in a book of "Heartwarming Christmas Stories" also from Cook. I have a book "Trails of the Dime Novel" that was written as a Young Adult title but seems to be enjoyed more by adult readers. My book "To Keep a Promise" won a number of awards and got great reviews and is currently under consideration to be re-issued as a new title that will be nearly double the size of the original book. That'll probably make the original, now out of print, a collector's item.
Any parting words of wisdom?
If life were fair we would write out tomes and wait by the fire as publishers lined up four abreast at our door to offer us obscene amounts of money to publish and sell our babies while we sit home and write the next one. But it doesn't work that way. We have to do the business end as well. 85% of all writers will not publish substantially. Why so many? As I said earlier it takes a long time and they will give up before they do the requisite work and knock on the necessary number of doors. Nobody will make them quit, they just will. Publishing is about persistence and perseverance.
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