Author Interview ~ Suzanne Woods Fisher

Suzanne Woods Fisher is a contributing editor to Christian Parenting Today magazine, a freelancer for many magazines, including Worldwide Challenge, ParentLife, Marriage Partnership, and a first-time novelist: Copper Star just rolled off the presses a few days ago. Suzanne lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, Steve, their four amazing and exasperating kids, and a bunch of puppies. Find Suzanne on-line at www.suzannewoodsfisher.com

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

My first novel, Copper Star, just released a few days ago. It’s a World War II love story about a young resistance worker, Louisa, who was smuggled out of Nazi Germany by Dietrich Bonhoeffer to wait out the war in a dusty Arizona copper mining town. Unable to leave resistance skills behind her, Louisa soon turns the town upside down. You can find more about Copper Star at

www.suzannewoodsfisher.com.

Tell us about your journey to publication. How long had you been writing before you got the call you had a contract, how you heard and what went through your head.

I felt at home with non-fiction after years of magazine writing: interviews, citing sources, adding takeaway value. I never thought I would or even could venture into fiction. One day, it dawned on me that I was the only one stopping me. So I started Copper Star, and found that my non-fiction writing skills actually parlayed into creating a story with historical accuracy and plenty of takeaway value. I didn’t tell my family that I was writing a novel. After the first draft was written, I finally revealed to them why, for the last four or five months, we had no food in the fridge, why I seemed rather preoccupied and had spent so much time in the cramped laundry room with the antediluvian computer. They were shocked! Not about the lack of food—that they had noticed.

Next came rewriting, tinkering, fixing, submitting queries, proposals, synopsis, full manuscripts and…(the worst part) waiting. I received many rejections and even a few offers that didn’t feel quite right. This process was a steep but essential learning curve. Nearly a year after finishing the first draft, I received a contract from Vintage Romance Publishing--a small but traditional press that seemed like just the right fit for this novel. (By the way, I found VRPublishing in Sally Stuart’s Christian Writer’s Market Guide.) I’ve loved the experience with Vintage, too. Authors are treated well and I’ve been able to continue learning about publication, promotion and marketing. Writers can’t educate themselves enough about this process.

How did you get the job of being a contributing editor for Christian Parenting Today magazine?

I had been a freelance writer, video and book reviewer for CPT since its early days. When it was sold to Christianity Today Intl., I continued to communicate with the new staff, offered to write book reviews or help bridge the transition. I was living in Hong Kong at the time (that’s another story) and the internet was young, but CTi agreed to keep me on and eventually made me a Contributing Editor as well as a place on the Advisory Board.

Do you still experience self-doubts regarding your work?

Why? Are you saying that you think I should quit? Hmmm…maybe you’re right. But I can’t quit. I just can’t.

What mistakes have you made while seeking publication?

Mistakes? Or do you mean hard-earned lessons? I have probably moved too quickly trying to submit manuscripts before they were thoroughly tweaked. On the other hand, the path-to-publication is so mindnumbingly slow that it might be best to keep the process moving forward.

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

“Everybody is talented, original and has something important to say.” Brenda Ueland, If You Want to Write (Graywolf Press). Amen!

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

Magazine articles are for newbies. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Freelancing for magazines was where I cut my writing teeth. Writing for magazines is beneficial on many levels: the turnaround time is quick (well, quicker) than books, reader response is immediate, exposure by circulation is much larger, it’s a great way to sharpen research skills, learn to write concisely, chase down interesting topics, and develop relationships.


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

Opportunities often boil down to connections. So keep those relationships in the publishing world alive and healthy!

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

It’s taken me too long to figure out that God isn’t asking me to be THE BEST (which is paralyzing), only the best for me (which is freeing).

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

My favorite books (authors, too) point the way to God’s high path. Philip Yancey is my all-time favorite. I’ll read anything he writes.

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

My second novel, Tuscan Ketchup, is a contemporary romantic comedy currently represented by Joyce Hart of the Hartline Literary Agency. It’s written from the POV of a young blind woman. Fascinating experience to not be able to use any visual cues! Can you imagine?! The theme of the book is learning to trust what, or Whom, you don’t see.

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

Rudeness! A few rejection letters from Christian publishing houses have been unnecessarily brutal (but I’m not bitter. Really.). Any writer who has the tenacity to complete a book deserves respect, even if it isn’t the right book for that house.

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

I don’t think I’ve ever had a typical day! Not with four kids and a corporate-guy husband, a steady stream of puppies we raise for Guide Dogs for the Blind, added into that mix is my parents. They just moved in across the street (yep! You read that right.

As in wave-hello-as-you-pick-up-your-newspaper-off-the-driveway kind of proximity! Seriously! Check out my blog.) because my father is suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease. But…let’s imagine what a typical day would be like. My goal is to try and get three to four hours of concentrated work in, nearly every day. I can’t get much more than that in, yet I think that’s reasonable. I don’t want a spine that ends up resembling a question mark.

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

Can I pick two? Or better still, three? Philip Yancey’s profound intellect, Anne Lamott’s quirky irony, and David Kopp’s prose. Now that’s a package!

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

To encourage other people, who want to write but have stifled or ignored their creative bent, to write! Don’t focus on publishing; just write. Imagination is a gift from God, sparked by the Holy Spirit. The sheer joy of writing (or anything you love and want to do or make) will wash over you like a benediction.

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

Yes. There was a period when discouragement outweighed the joy of writing. Oddly enough, that’s when I began Copper Star and felt a fresh wind inside of me. I had fun again!

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

Most favorite part is that all of life is material. It’s all grit for the oyster.

Least favorite?

I still only make a dime an hour. And I still get plenty of rude rejection letters!

How much marketing do you do? Any advice in this area?

I have worked hard to coordinate a synchronized book launch: reviews, interviews, advertisements, sending out notices to anyone who has shown some interest in the book. I’ve tried to identify every possible hook there could be to this book and chase down the connection, to see if there might be a promotion possibility. For example, Dietrich Bonhoeffer plays a significant role in this book so I’m communicating with the International Dietrich Bonhoeffer Society to see if they might endorse it. Also, I have a film agent representing the film rights to Copper Star. Now that’s an added “oomph factor!”

Parting words?

A while ago, I went to my first writers’ conference expecting to connect with editors, plug a few queries, well, you know the drill. I left the conference with something even better: Three new writer friends all at the same “career place.” We have kept in touch (a cinch for e-mail junkies), edit each others’ work, and are even writing a devotional together to encourage new writers called Grit for the Oyster. I went to the conference with one intention; God had another one in mind. So my parting words are: Stay open. Stay optimistic. And remember that if God calls you to write, He’s not calling you to be the best, just to give your best.