Today I’m very pleased to introduce the wonderful Lisa Hall as guest author on my blog. Lisa is the author of the very successful psychological thriller Between Me and You. Lisa’s next novel Tell Me No Lies is due for release in October this year and currently available to pre-order on Amazon. Lisa loves words, reading and everything there is to love about books. She dreamed of being a writer since she was a little girl – either that or a librarian – and after years of talking about it, was finally brave enough to put pen to paper (and let people actually read it).
They say every marriage has its secrets.
But no one sees what happens behind closed doors.
And sometimes those doors should never be opened…Sal and Charlie are married. They love each other. But they aren’t happy. Sal cannot leave, no matter what Charlie does – no matter how much it hurts.
Between Me and You
It was supposed to be a fresh start.
A chance to forget the past and embrace the future.
But can you ever really start again?
Or does the past follow you wherever you go…Tell Me No Lies
THINGS I NEVER REALISED UNTIL AFTER I WAS PUBLISHED
- The real work starts AFTER publication.
So, you’ve finished your manuscript, edited, polished and honed it to perfection before submitting to your agent/publisher (depending on how you’re going to do this.) Then, hurrah! Somebody wants to publish it! This is excellent news – but this also signifies the beginning of the real hard work. When writing Between You and Me I never gave a thought to what would happen if someone did decide it was good enough to publish – what actually happened (after the celebratory champagne) was months and months of re-writing and editing, slashing out huge chunks of the original manuscript and replacing it with stuff that I’d never even thought of when writing the original draft. Add in to that the constant promotion, tweeting and events that need to be attended, along with the next book that needs to be written and you’ll soon find it is far less exhausting to be unpublished. I may sound like I’m moaning, but I absolutely am NOT – I’m exhausted, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
- Not everyone will be happy for you.
Don’t get me wrong, the majority of people have been extremely happy for me – I don’t think you can get a prouder Dad than mine right now – but there will always be some that are less pleased. There will always be one person who will respond to your, “I got a book deal!” with, “That’s great. So yeah, my life is pretty shit right now…” There will always be someone who will congratulate you on your book hitting the Top 100, Top 10, Top whatever with gritted teeth. But you know what? Don’t let them rain on your parade – you got a BOOK DEAL, and that is pretty bloody amazing.
- Your editor is your best friend. Ditto, your agent.
I love my agent. She is just utterly fantastic, and I really don’t know what I would do without her. She holds my hand when I’m freaking out, battles her way through the minefield that is a publishing contract while I cower in the corner, whimpering, “but I don’t understand!’ and generally fights my corner. In addition to this, she makes me laugh til my belly hurts and makes me read books that I would never normally have thought to pick up. She is a legend.
Equally, I love my editor. It’s always hard to get your manuscript back with bits telling you what works and what doesn’t, but remember, the chances are your editor knows best. And if, in your gut, you don’t agree with their changes you should always be able to tell them so. My editor is fantastic – she tells me when I’m rubbish, but equally tells me when I’ve been brilliant. Chances are you’ll want a long, working relationship with your editor and your agent, so it’s best to have the kind of relationship where the admiration is mutual. (I love you guys!)
- One star reviews are not the be all and end all
So, my first one-star review was like a dagger to the heart. How could they say these things about something I’d put my heart and soul into? Then I delved a little deeper into the reviewer’s profile (we all look, anyone who says they don’t is a liar!) – and it turned out that this reviewer had only reviewed books that they hated. All their reviews had one star. I figured that said a lot more about the reviewer than it did about my work. I stopped reading ANY reviews, and I figure that if someone wants to let me know how much they loved/hated Between You and Me, then they’ll tag me in their review, or contact me directly. No more daggers to the heart and I still get to feel the love.
- I didn’t realise how important writing is to me.
Yes, I always loved writing. Yes, I always wanted to be a writer. But life got in the way. I got married, had a family, held down a full-time job, but until I decided to take the plunge I never realised that writing would become as important to me as the air I breathe. Those of you that have always known it – I envy you. I’ve only just discovered that a rough day can be made easier by writing, that ideas and plots that swirl around in my brain stopping me from sleeping will settle if I just write them down. If you love to write, DO IT. Make the time. I’m still a novice, still on a steep learning curve, but I’ll tell you one thing – I’ll never look back.
Lisa Hall on social media:
Website
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Purchase Between Me and You from Amazon here or pre-order Tell Me No Lies here
Eva Jordan 