Author Interview: TL Hines

Plug time. What book or project is coming out or has come out that you’d like to tell us about?

I'm an ad and marketing guy from way back, so I'm all about plugging. My first book, Waking Lazarus, will be released by Bethany House Publishers Summer of 2006. It's a supernatural thriller about a man who has died and come back to life three times, becoming something of a cult celebrity in the process. Now he has to unravel the mysteries of his own deaths to stop a killer.

My agent calls it a "cross between Dean Koontz and Leif Enger." I'm not sure how Mr. Koontz or Mr. Enger would feel about such a comparison, but I'm thrilled to have my name uttered in the same sentence as them. For those interested, I'm tracking the path to publication at my blog: www.tlhines.com.

How long had you been writing seriously before you got “the call?”

I've been writing since grade school, which is kind of the pat answer most writers give, isn't it? But it's true for so many of us, I think. I've been doing a lot of nonfiction writing for the past 15 years—as a copywriter and ad agency owner—and I do think that's helped me immensely because it's forced me to write on deadlines.

Tell us about the call.

Yeah, the call, Make that The Call. It's a rare anticipated moment that lives up to your dreams. On my birthday, I said to my wife: "Hey, maybe I'll get a nice publishing deal for my birthday today." It was a joke. Really. But the very next day, I received The Call from my agent, who said, "I have some good news. Bethany House has made an offer."

The rest of the conversation is still kind of muddy in my mind. Maybe because I was doing back handsprings across the floor while my agent kept talking. I've since thanked Dave, my editor at Bethany House, for granting my birthday wish--although I've pointed out he was a day late.

What’s the best advice you’ve heard on writing/publication?

I've heard this advice, in various forms, and I can say it's been so true in my case: focus on the writing, and the publication part will come. We concentrate so much on getting that contract: searching for an agent, trying to find out what's selling, trading information about editor moves and the latest deals. If we put all that effort into actual writing or editing—instead of pursuing publication—we'd ironically be much closer to getting published.

I don't know what it is, but I think some manuscripts say, "I'm desperate to be published." And some manuscripts say, "I have a story to tell." And publishers don't want the desperate kind. In my own case, I didn't get a publishing deal until I let go of all the worries and said, "You know what? It doesn't really matter if I ever get published, because I'm going to keep writing anyway." Within a month of saying that very thing to myself, I had a publishing deal.

What’s the worst piece of writing advice you’ve ever heard?

My personal pet peeve is anyone who tries to codify the whole writing process into a system, then push it on others as "the way to write a story." There is no one way to write, and frankly, what works for you may not work—probably won't work, in fact—for me.

Writing is an individual process, and each of us has to discover what works best for us; that's part of the commitment we all make. Sure, it's useful to be able to see how other folks do it, and to use some of their techniques and tactics in your own writing.

I'm a big fan of Stephen King's On Writing, and I find a lot of his advice useful. I use what works for me. But I detest—DETEST—when someone starts pushing something on other writers as "The Way." If you've run anything through a critique group, you've invariably stumbled across a critiquer who says something like: "In Chapter 7, you broke one of the rules Dwight Swain (or Robert McKee, or Joseph Campbell, or whomever else is being cited as an Authority) sets forth in "Secrets of the Selling Writer" (or "Story Structure," or "Hero's Journey," or whatever else is being cited as the Authoritative Source).

My advice is: completely ignore everything these critiquers say, because they're the kinds of folks who are invariably writing the Desperate Manuscripts I referred to previously. And, they're trying to cover up the shortcomings in their own writing by searching for what you "did wrong" in your story. Want to read the authoritative works they cite? Go ahead. Then use what works, throw away what doesn't, and find your own way.

But never, never, let anyone TELL you how you should write (unless you're in an MFA program, but that's a whole different question). And please note, I'm not trying to indict critique groups at all. I'm merely trying to steer you away from a certain type of person who tends to gravitate to critique groups, because said groups give him/her a forum to tell others how to write.

What’s something you wish you’d known earlier on that might have saved you some time/frustration in the publishing business?

See my answer to #4 above. I wish I would have put the pursuit of publication on the back burner a lot sooner, and just concentrated on writing more. It's something I still find myself struggling with: now that I have a book coming out, I find myself wanting to work on the marketing of it, rather than creating the next book. Which is odd, because the thing I love most about all of this is being able to write.

Do you have a scripture or quote that has been speaking to you lately?

One of my favorite verses is the basis for Christian Apologetics, 1 Peter 3:15, which says, to paraphrase, we should always be ready to give an account for the hope that is within us. I was an atheist who became a Christian at age 27, and I still identify with that unbelieving mindset in so many ways.

I think we, as Christians, have a tendency to spend way too much time trying to convert, and not enough time simply telling people about what's happened to us personally. Our own stories are much more interesting and powerful than we think.

Is there a particularly difficult setback that you’ve gone through in your writing career you are willing to share?

I have plenty of them. I shared the story of how I got my publishing contract on my own blog recently (http://www.tlhines.com/blog/000190.php), and the annotated version is this: I went through more than 80 rejections from agents before my editor actually found me. I could have been, and frankly was, discouraged by this much rejection. But that's not the important part of the story.

Instead, I want everyone to realize that my manuscript was turned down by no less than 80 agents before a publisher found it and bought it. Which kind of goes back to what I said before: NEVER let anyone tell you what, or how, to write. If an agent writes back and says he thinks there isn't a market for your book, or it's tough to sell fiction, or she just isn't enthusiastic enough, well, 80 agents told me that exact same thing before an editor bought it. So, no one is a judge of what will, or will not sell.

Write what you're meant to write, stay true to your vision, accept any advice that improves your work, and throw out anything that doesn't.

What are a few of your favorite books?

Oh, man. These kinds of questions scare me, because I know I'm always going to leave something off the list. I'm unapologetically a genre guy, and I particularly love mysteries/thrillers and contemporary fantasies with a touch of the supernatural. I grew up on Stephen King, and he'll always be the greatest influence on my own writing.

I love the Repairman Jack novels by F. Paul Wilson—pure, creepy fun. William Hjortsberg's "Falling Angel." For mysteries, anything by James Lee Burke, Elmore Leonard, or CJ Box.

In the category of "literature," I like me some Hemingway, the short stories of George Saunders and David Sedaris, and Louise Erdrich. Some recent faith-based works include Leif Enger's "Peace Like A River" (will probably forever be in my top five books), and Yann Martel's "Life of Pi."

I've also enjoyed CBA authors such as Frank Peretti, Mark Andrew Olsen, and Ted Dekker; while not CBA, James Beauseigneur's "Christ Clone Trilogy" is a great end-times story. And CS Lewis, of course, which brings me to nonfiction: "Mere Christianity" was an eye-opener for me. I also love the works of Lee Strobel, Francis Schaeffer, and Ravi Zacharias.

10. What piece of writing have you done that you’re particularly proud of and why?

As writers, I think we should be proud of anything properly motivated and inspired. I've been proud of articles, proud of books, proud of simple advertisements.

Do you have a pet peeve having to do with this biz?

Frustrations, certainly—the kind of frustrations any writer has with "business." It's always going to be there, because writing is art, while publishing is business. I think it's easy for writers to be frustrated by the business end of things.

Can you give us a view into a typical day of your writing life?

When I'm working on a book, I try to get up at 5:00 each morning, then write for two hours before heading to my "day job." That's my set, regular, schedule for creating a book. I have to say I'm probably not so structured with the editing: it ends up being whenever I can fit it in.

If you could choose to have one strength of another writer, what would it be and from whom?

Well, it would be difficult to narrow it down to just one writer. I'd like to have Elmore Leonard's ear for dialogue. I'd like to have Leif Enger's flair for simple, yet powerful, description. I'd like to have Cormac McCarthy's vocabulary.

Do you have a dream for the future of your writing, something you would love to accomplish?

As cheesy as it sounds, just getting a publishing contract has been the fulfillment of a dream. Sure, I'd like to be successful, and sell a lot of copies, but I think it's important to stay humble and remind myself, every single day, that I'm in a position 10,000 struggling, pre-published authors would love to be in.

Was there ever a time in your writing career you thought of quitting?

I've never thought about quitting writing. It's therapeutic for me, in some odd way. But, as I related above, I thought seriously about giving up attempts to get published. And really, I think that was an important step for me: once I stopped putting all my hopes and dreams into being published, things began to happen. I don't think that was coincidence.

What is your favorite and least favorite part of being a writer?

Favorite part is reading something I've set aside for a while, and really enjoying it—almost experiencing it as a reader. Least favorite part is having the opposite reaction, and stumbling through what I've written. That's gut-check time, when you have to talk yourself through the process.

Parting words?

Something your last question (a lot of your questions, actually) brought to mind: your writing has to be yours first. It has to be something you're passionate about before it can go to the next step: if your heart's not in it, readers will spot it a mile away.

But also keep in mind, if your heart really IS in your writing, and if you enjoy the process, and if it's bringing joy to your life, isn't that success in itself? The ironic twist is, if that's the case, you'll keep writing whether you ever get published or not…but you probably WILL get published, because editors and readers will be able to see what you've put into your work.

And let's be frank: you will go through times when you know—KNOW—you are the worst imposter to ever walk the earth. You'll think, "Whatever made me want to start writing? I can't do this." Every writer goes through this, but when you shut out those thoughts and pour yourself into your work, wonderful things will happen.