Author Interview: Lena Nelson Dooley

Lena works full time as an author, editor, and speaker. She has had seven novels published with another coming out next year. Two of her novels were voted Top Ten favorites by readers. She’s also had one novella published with another in 2006. Scraps of Love spent several months on the CBD Fiction Bestseller list. Lena enjoys speaking in writer’s meetings on a local and national level. She has spoken to women’s groups and retreats in Texas, Colorado, and Mexico. Her web address is www.LenaNelsonDooley.com.


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

Pirate’s Prize came out in August 2005, and the reviews are very good. I’m excited that my four-book historical series will be reissued in 2006 in one volume titled Minnesota Brothers.

How long had you been writing seriously before you got the call that you were going to be published? Tell us how you heard and what went through your head.

Actually, I finished my first novel in 1985, and it didn’t sell until 1992. About five months after I submitted the manuscript to Heartsong, I wrote a letter checking on it. When I didn’t hear for a couple of months, I wrote another letter. Finally, in June, I called the publisher. That’s when I was told that they would buy it. You can read about my journey to publication in my personal blog at www.lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com.

Do you still experience self-doubts regarding your work?

Yes. I try not to listen to them, but they come. A case in point this year: I wrote a proposal for a women’s fiction, a real departure for me. After I sent the proposal to my agent, the doubts haunted me. Thankfully, when she read the submission, she was really excited about it. She’s marketing it to publishers right now.

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

The only writers who sell are the ones who submit.

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

To submit everywhere so that probably someone will buy it. An author needs to study the markets and choose the ones where his or her book will fit. Don’t waste your time and effort and the time of the editors.

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

That it is okay to disagree with an editor’s suggestion if you don’t think it fits what you’re trying to say. At first, I thought I had to just blindly do whatever the editor said to do. Don’t get me wrong. Editors are in the business to make your book better. However, occasionally what they suggest doesn’t work. Be polite, and make your point to them. You can usually come up with a compromise that makes both of you happy.

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

Philippians 3:10 “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,” NKJ

Nothing I do has any meaning unless it is in the center of His will. I need to know Him, and to really understand Him, I must understand his suffering, death, and resurrection. Those principles even apply to my writing life.

Another one is Zephaniah 3:17 “The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” NKJ

Just think that the Creator of the universe feels this way about me. He won’t let anything harm me, even though He allows things into my life that make grow.

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

After I sold the first book, I wrote another novel that was what I wanted to read. It pushed the envelope too much. Even though two different editors loved the story and told me that it was a very good read, they didn’t buy it. That was a big disappointment to me. Then God took me out of the world of fiction writing and put me into the curriculum world. I believe I needed that time to grow in my writing, but it was hard.

What are a few of your favorite books? (Not written by you.)

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers, Double Vision by Randy Ingermanson, anything by Brandilyn Collins, anything by DiAnn Mills, anything by Susan May Warren, the Blue Moon series by Linda Windsor, anything by Pamela Griffin, a first novel by Debra Clopton The Trouble With Lacy Brown, anything by Cathy Marie Hake. I could go on and on. I love the books of many writers.

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

The thing that touches me most is when I hear from readers telling me how a book changed their lives. It makes me proud of that book. It has happened several times with more than one book.

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

I had a copy editor on one book who didn’t understand the time period I was writing, and she made unkind remarks because of it. That is the one and only time it happened.

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

Usually after breakfast, I spend special time with the Lord and in the Word. Then I go to my office (one of the bedrooms after my daughters grew up and moved out) and check e-mail. Then I spend about five or six hours working on works-in-progress or proposals. Sometimes, I’m doing research and have to go to the library instead of using the Internet. I like to take breaks and go to lunch with friends about once a week. I work in my office four or five days a week. If I’m on a contracted deadline, I work six days a week.

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

The spiritual depth of Francine Rivers and the quirkiness of Randy Ingermanson.

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

I want whatever the Lord has planned for me, and I want everything He has planned for me. Earlier this year, He did speak to my heart that my vision for my future in writing was much smaller than His vision for me was. So I have surrendered my vision to Him.

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

During those first seven years when the Christian fiction market slumped, I did sometimes wonder if I had really heard from the Lord that I was to write. However, I didn’t let that thought escalate into the thought of quitting. I write because I am a writer.

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

I love the first draft—putting the words down on paper for the first time. Creating, molding, making the story. I do, however, edit as I go so when I am finished, my first draft reads like a fourth or fifth draft.

I think the waiting is my least favorite part, but I’ve learned to go with the flow. You submit a proposal then wait. You sign a contract and write the book then wait. Etc.

Parting words?

I am glad that I am able to do what I believe God created me to do. Be sure you hear from Him then cling to that word He gives you. Even if the road is long, never give up.