Ask the Author: Amanda M. Lyons
Answered Questions (9)
Amanda M. Lyons
All the little nooks and crannies that make up our family story and history. I've already spent a lot of my life unraveling it.
Amanda M. Lyons
Left to my own devices, I tend to prefer reading one book at a time. As a mom and editor, however, I wind up reading 2-5 and if I'm doing review work as many as 6-7.
Amanda M. Lyons
I would say Stephen King on author and his novel The Stand is my favorite. I love a whole host of others but that author was one of the first individual discoveries and his work got me through so many tough times. I was in Jr High when i first read The Stand, I've read it 12 times now.
Amanda M. Lyons
Wendy Won't Go came fro ma few places. A weird dream where I saw a lady with long dark hair hanging around in corners and door frames or at the foot of the bed, my own experience with placenta acreta (a condition in which the placenta embeds itself into the uterine wall too deeply and can kill the mother or put her at very high risk of emergency hysterectomy) and the fear of dying before my children grew up. All of it blended together to create Wendy and eventually her story.
Amanda M. Lyons
I try to work through it and if that doesn't work I set it aside in favor if another project. A lot of the time you just have too much tension and the break pushes it out of your system. Never throw anything out, you never know if the inspiration to finish or redo it will come up later.
Amanda M. Lyons
By living. I get ideas from dreams, random what if questions and major events from my own life. Life itself is the central inspiration for most writers.
Amanda M. Lyons
Lycanthropship a collaborative novel about werewolves in a post WWII boating incident. It's been quite fun so far. I'm also working on Apocrypha and editing ELBF for re-release as a two book edition from JEA. After I finish with these products I hope to get back to work on some of my other Works in progress like Other Dangers, Jodie and the third book in the Broken Edges series Cool Green Waters.
Amanda M. Lyons
1.Don't give up.
2. Do plenty of PR, but make sure you keep writing too.
3. Don't overedit and don't do so little it comes off slipshod.
4.Read!
5. Take bad reviews with a grain of salt, but never forget that there is also a grain of truth in many of them.
6. Always be courteous and listen to the advice of your peers, even if it isn't right for you now, it could be valuable later.
7. Don't just collect names when you network, talk with them a little, interact and get to know them, they could just be your next ticket or your very best friend. More importantly, they're a human being and worthy of respect too.
8. Never underestimate the value of a PR opportunity, but never get taken in by scam-artists that just want your cash.
9. No reputable publisher will ask you to pay for your book to be published, they get their money from your sales, not your wallet.
10. Professionalism is highly underrated in everyday life, but it is VITAL in the publishing world. If you aren't sure if your submission letter is professional, look at the publisher's information and double-check it against other examples posted online. NEVER let your ego get in the way of your story and be sure your contact info is correct.
11. An editor may not always be right, but it's always worth talking through an issue rather than having a fight. Some things can be worked out rather quickly with some discussion and a few deep breaths to calm the frustration.
12. Cover artists appreciate a clear and concise description of what you'd like, don't over-complicate it with too much detail. Don't hold back if you have issues with the cover you're given, but give it a night before you ask for new changes, sometimes fresh eyes see more clearly. If a piece of art done for you has images that are copyrighted you'll be the one to pay (as well as your publisher if you print through them) if a lawsuit is brought up. If something looks familiar, look it up online to see if it's copyrighted and if it is ask for your money back and inform other authors/publishers about it.
2. Do plenty of PR, but make sure you keep writing too.
3. Don't overedit and don't do so little it comes off slipshod.
4.Read!
5. Take bad reviews with a grain of salt, but never forget that there is also a grain of truth in many of them.
6. Always be courteous and listen to the advice of your peers, even if it isn't right for you now, it could be valuable later.
7. Don't just collect names when you network, talk with them a little, interact and get to know them, they could just be your next ticket or your very best friend. More importantly, they're a human being and worthy of respect too.
8. Never underestimate the value of a PR opportunity, but never get taken in by scam-artists that just want your cash.
9. No reputable publisher will ask you to pay for your book to be published, they get their money from your sales, not your wallet.
10. Professionalism is highly underrated in everyday life, but it is VITAL in the publishing world. If you aren't sure if your submission letter is professional, look at the publisher's information and double-check it against other examples posted online. NEVER let your ego get in the way of your story and be sure your contact info is correct.
11. An editor may not always be right, but it's always worth talking through an issue rather than having a fight. Some things can be worked out rather quickly with some discussion and a few deep breaths to calm the frustration.
12. Cover artists appreciate a clear and concise description of what you'd like, don't over-complicate it with too much detail. Don't hold back if you have issues with the cover you're given, but give it a night before you ask for new changes, sometimes fresh eyes see more clearly. If a piece of art done for you has images that are copyrighted you'll be the one to pay (as well as your publisher if you print through them) if a lawsuit is brought up. If something looks familiar, look it up online to see if it's copyrighted and if it is ask for your money back and inform other authors/publishers about it.
Amanda M. Lyons
Using my imagination to create something vivid and interesting enough that other people can be invested and care about that story. I never get tired of seeing people talking about what I've written and how it effected them.
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