Tish Cohen is the author The Invisible Rules of the Zoe Lama, a middle grade novel forthcoming in July, 2007. She has edited an online women's magazine and contributed articles to some of Canada's largest newspapers, including The Globe and Mail and The National Post. She grew up in California, but currently lives in Toronto. Town House is her first novel. Visit her website at http://www.tishcohen.com/.
What book or project is coming out or has come out that you’d like to tell us about?
My debut novel, Town House, is coming out May 8th from HarperCollins. It’s about the son of a legendary rock star who is too crippled by panic attacks to leave his Boston town house.
Tell us about your journey to publication. How long did it take before your novel was published?
It took me about three years to get published. I’d secured agents for two books prior to Town House, but neither book sold. The second one came close. I probably received about twenty or thirty rejections from editors for those two novels. Town House sold in a bit of an unusual way. My agent sent it out to editors, who then sent it off to literary scouts, who took the manuscript to Hollywood studios. By the time I found out what was happening, about a dozen studios had it. The film rights sold a week after the manuscript went out, and the book sold a week after that. The film interest was so unexpected, it launched me into panic attacks of my very own!
What mistakes have you made while seeking publication?
In the tough times, believing the odds in this business are insurmountable.
What’s the best advice you’ve heard on writing/publication?
Keep moving forward. As long as you take the next step, there’s hope.
What is the worst piece of writing advice you’ve heard?
Many new writers get bogged down by the rules – for queries, for manuscripts, for sentence structure. If you write the way you speak your natural voice will surface and your writing will be seamless and compelling. I did everything wrong in my query letters—from comparing my book to others to repeating what my mother thought of it—but I made sure my voice was heard. And the query letters brought in requests.
What is something you wish you’d known earlier that might have saved you some time/frustration in the publishing business? That the industry wants something different—but not too different.
What are a few of your favorite books?
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John IrvingThe Accidental Tourist by Anne TylerWater for Elephants by Sara GruenSideways by Rex Pickett
I am Not Myself These Days by Josh Kilmer-Purcell
Can you give us a view into a typical day of your writing life?
I write every day, weekends included. Typically, I get up and do yoga, eat and sit down at the computer by 9:30 am. Other than a quick lunch break, I work until about 7 pm. If I’m working on a first draft, I may work after dinner—until my eyes get scratchy or my hand cramps. I have absolutely no balance in my life. I’m working on that.
If you could choose to have one strength of another writer, what would it be and from whom?
I’d love to have Alan Hollinghurst’s sense of social subtleties.
Do you have a dream for the future of your writing, something you would love to accomplish?
My dream is for my characters and stories to really affect my readers, and to see some of my characters brought to life on the big screen.
What is your favorite and least favorite part of being a writer?
The best thing about being a writer is being able to make up stories all day long. The worst thing is the angst that goes along with exposing your soul.
How much marketing do you do? Any advice in this area?
I do a ton of marketing, everything from a MySpace page to website with interactive “What’s Your Phobia?” section, I blog with other debut authors on TheDebutanteBall.com, and I’ve hired an independent publicist. Another thing I did was contact as many sites that deal with anixiety or phobia I could find, and ask them to highlight Town House. Many did and my website gets quite a bit of traffic as a result.
Parting words?
The publishing world is made of ups and downs. Don’t let either distract you from what it’s all about—the words you’ll write today.
very encouraging. thanks!
ReplyDelete"Many new writers get bogged down by the rules." I'm feeling a bit of that myself. Thanks for your advice to just let it flow, even if the rules are broken.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your journey with us. There's a lot of wisdom in your parting words - don't let either distract you. The ups can be as distracting as the downs. Thanks again!
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