Author Interview ~ Robert Elmer

Robert Elmer is the author of The Duet, and more recently The Celebrity, and the HyperLinkz youth series. He's also writes four other popular youth series with combined sales of over 650,000 copies and translations into Danish, Norwegian, German, and French. He always enjoys visiting Chicago, the setting for The Recital, and lived in the area as a child. Elmer now lives with his family in the Pacific Northwest.




What new book or project is would you like to tell us about?

I would love to tell you about The Recital, my new novel with WaterBrook. It’s a follow-up to my first book (The Duet) and it follows the lives of Joan and Gerrit as they move to Chicago. Joan has an exciting new opportunity to teach at a music school, while Gerrit is… well, a little out of sorts. It’s a story about finding your way in a new place, discovering where “home” really is, and about what it really means to put another person’s life before your own. I hope that doesn’t give it away too much.
(To read a review: click here. )

I’m also excited about my new youth books with ZonderKidz! There’s The Wall (a trilogy), which is an adventure of two kids in Berlin set against the backdrop of the Cold War. It’s some of the most intense historical fiction I’ve written. And then there’s Off My Case, which I co-wrote with Lee Strobel to fictionalize some of his “Case for…” concepts for kids.

You are a successful author of 36 youth novels. When did you start writing adult fiction? What prompted it?

My idea folder was getting bigger and bigger, and some of the ideas I had just couldn’t be told from a kid’s perspective. I also wanted to try writing more relationship-oriented stories, which really wasn’t my thing in the kids’ books. Stories where I could use four-syllable words and didn’t have to end each chapter with an explosion. So it was a challenge, and writing is all about challenges – rather than doing the same thing over and over.

How did you learn to do a woman's POV so well?

My wife told me how. Seriously. Ronda and I have been married 25 years, we have three wonderful grown kids, and she’s taught me a thing or two about how women think. So when I wrote the character of Joan Horton for The Duet, I questioned everything, at each step of the process. Would she really have said such a thing, or thought this way? Would her motivation have been different from a man’s?

It’s basically just like writing a story from the perspective of someone you know is very different than you. Someone from Mongolia or a homeless person. And then it’s fun to discover which character traits you might share, after all. By the way, I hope you’ll say the same thing about the way I present a woman’s point of view after you’ve read The Recital.

Tell us about your publishing journey. How long had you been writing before you got a contract? How did you find out and what went through your mind?

Since college, I always knew I wanted to write. The only question was what? So I started out writing technical policy and procedure manuals for a state agency, then worked as a news reporter and editor, a freelance writer, and as a writer for an advertising agency. During my time at the agency my kids were growing up, and after reading a number of bedtime stories I got the crazy notion that maybe I should write down some stories for my own kids – stories inspired by the era my parents experienced as young teens in World War 2 Denmark.

That became A Way Through the Sea. In the early 1990s after I had finished the manuscript I sent the usual query letters and sample chapters to a number of publishers, and caught the eye of Bethany House Publishers. They were looking for something that would appeal to boy readers as well as girls, and it turned out to be a good time to poke my toe into the publishing door. They called me a couple of weeks after I’d written them. I was floored. They really wanted to publish my story? And write a series, besides? The rest of the stories flowed from there.

Do you still have self-doubts about your writing?

Every honest writer I know does, usually after each book is done. We think how can people really want to read this? No one is going to want to buy the next book. Oh, no! But then we settle back down to the keyboard, and God gives us grace one more time to try again.

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

I’m guessing bull riders at rodeos have similar thoughts: “I need to get off this bull RIGHT NOW! Although, maybe it would be a better idea if I held on just a little longer." That’s what writing feels like, sometimes.

What mistakes did you make while seeking an editor or agent?

The editors were always assigned to me. And since I’d experienced what it was like on the other side of the editor-writer relationship, we usually got along great. Writers who understand that they’re on a team, and that everyone else is depending on you to deliver a good product—on time—well, that usually helps the relationship. Publishers take deadlines seriously, and favor writers who understand that, as well.

Seeking an agent is an entirely different adventure. But I’ve looked for two things in my agent. First is the relationship. We need to work together very closely, and he has to believe in my work as strongly as I do. Without that chemistry, all is lost. Second, he (in my case it’s a he) has to be effective at selling my work. But the second hopefully grows from the first.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve heard?

One of my favorite writing quotes is from Mark Twain, who said the difference between the right word and the almost-right word was the same difference between lightning and a lightning bug. I’ve always taken that observation seriously when I’ve turned in a manuscript. Editors may help, but I’ve got to come up with the right word to hit the reader between the eyes. That’s my job.

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

Wow – good question. Most writing advice is worth filtering, since writing is a personal craft and writing advice is rarely “one size fits all.” However, it’s not rocket science, either, so I take all advice seriously because successful writers can help me avoid getting shipwrecked.

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

Not really, except perhaps the common misperception that being a writer equals being wealthy. A lot of people assume that because my name is on the front cover of a lot of books, well, I must make millions. Right! Writing for the Christian market is a lot of things: exciting, life-changing, creative, fulfilling … the list goes on, but doesn’t usually include “lucrative.”

Another thing that gets me sometimes is how mystical some people think writing is. I try to debunk this idea among kids when I teach writing seminars at Christian schools and home school gatherings. Garrison Keillor said that “writing is no more difficult than building a house.” True. And writing—just like house building—can be learned.

What do you wish you’d known early in your career that might have saved you some time and/or frustration in writing? In publishing?

One of the biggest challenges in publishing is keeping a balance between being professional (making a living at this writing thing) and working daily with people that you come to care about, as co-workers in a ministry team. It can be done, but it’s a challenge and it’s hard work.

The hardest part is when you develop friendships with editors or others on the publishing team, and they make a change to go work for another publisher. I don’t think I could have done anything differently had I known of this challenge earlier, though. It’s just part of the publishing landscape.

Was there ever a difficult set back that you went through in your writing career?

I started out working exclusively with a single publisher. This is nice if you can pull it off, or if your financial needs are more modest. Anyone trying to make a living as an author—as I am—sooner or later faces the need to work with several publishing houses. That’s a bit of a balancing act but it can be done with integrity.

What are a few of your favorite books?

In the Christian market, Kathy Tyers is one of my favorite authors, also Karen Hancock. Bill Meyers has written some good stuff. I loved Eli. I also enjoy books by Deb Raney, because she knows how to build genuine emotions from realistic characters. And as a kid, my favorite author was Beverly Cleary. I still remember when Ralph the Mouse started up his motorcycle for the first time. Vrooom!

What work have you done that you’re especially proud of and why?

I pour my heart into everything I write, and I hope that somehow shows through. Robert Frost once said “No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.” So I guess some of my favorites have been those books I’ve written with tears in my eyes. Promise Breaker was one of those, for kids. I remember writing the scene where the young protagonist is left behind at an orphanage as a small child. The Duet and The Recital have been marked by emotion, as well.

Do you have a scripture or quote that has spoken to you lately in regards to your writing?

For me, writing is life, so the Scriptures that speak to my life also speak to my writing. I especially like the psalm where David asks the Lord to “create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me… restore unto me the joy of thy salvation…” People who write every day need renewing. We need restoring. And when God grants that renewal and restoration, that’s what keeps me writing the next day.

Can you give us a look into a typical day for you?

That’s the beauty of my job—it’s different every day. But for the most part I try to keep up with requests for publicity and such. E-mail. Sometimes I have to grade some lessons for kids whom I mentor as part of the Jerry Jenkins Christian Writers Guild. There’s always a little bit of ongoing research or a proposal to write. And then I need to keep going with my daily writing quota, which is usually about 2000 to 2500 words a day. I try to be done by the time my wife returns from work at 5:45 so we can have dinner together and a life. I write in the evenings only if a deadline is crunching. The variety of this schedule is gratifying to me, but I have to remember that with the flexibility and freedom come the responsibility of staying on task.

Do you have a word or page goal you set for each day?

I write it out on a calendar so I can see that it’s theoretically possible to complete a book by the deadline. Usually about 2000 to 2500 words a day, typically one chapter. If I finish by dinnertime, I let it go and try not to think too much about it for the rest of the day.

Are you an SOTP (seat of the pants) writer or a plotter?

I start out as a plotter, because I need to know where the story is going and how it’s going to end. My editor wants to know, as well. So my outlines are as detailed as I can make them, typically 10 pages or so for a full-length novel. However, once I start getting to know the characters a little better, often the plot twists a little and different events are highlighted more than I expected. So I’d say I lean toward plotting, but in practice I’m somewhere in between.

What author do you especially admire and why?

I’d zip back to the question about favorite books for my perspective on that one.

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

My favorite part is the creativity and the freedom God’s given me to glorify Him by making up pretend stories. I love playing with words and putting them together just so.

My least favorite part is self-promotion. And sometimes on a beautiful day I’d rather be out sailing, or walking in the woods with my wife. Sitting in front of a computer monitor for long stretches can get physically tedious. In the evenings I need to go down to the garage sometimes and saw on some wood.

How much marketing do you do? What's your favorite part of marketing?

My favorite part of marketing is just getting out there and meeting people, getting to know their passion for reaching their communities through the ministry of literature. That’s why I love to go to the annual booksellers’ convention to just meet with bookstore owners, to hear their stories. In the process I get to tell them about what I do, too, of course, and that’s all part of it. But the one-on-one is just a lot of fun.

Do you have any parting words of advice?

Sometimes fiction writers are criticized in Christian circles for simply writing fiction. That’s not serious stuff, we’re told, so we feel like we should stop smiling and go write something that’s true. Something nonfiction. Well, nonfiction is all well and good – and I’ll write some of that, too! But then I remember that Jesus always told stories to make a point. And if my Lord favored fiction, well, I can get back to my word processor and continue the story, as well. And I’ll be satisfied if I can put half as much passion in my stories as He did in his.