Interview with NYT Best-Selling Novelist, Sandra Brown

(Photo credit: Andrew Eccles)

Sandra Brown is the author of fifty-five New York Times bestsellers, including RICOCHET.Brown has published sixty-eight novels, most of which remain in print.

Ms. Brown now has seventy million copies of her books in print worldwide, and her work has been translated into thirty-three languages.

A lifelong Texan, Sandra Brown was born in Waco and raised in Ft. Worth, attending Texas Christian University, majoring in English. Before embarking on her writing career, Sandra worked in television - including weathercasting and feature reporting on the nationally syndicated program "PM Magazine."

Sandra and her husband Michael Brown live in Arlington, Texas.

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

“Play Dirty” goes on sale Aug. 14. It’s about a former Dallas Cowboys quarterback, who’s just been released from prison after serving a five year sentence for racketeering. (He threw a game.) He gets a very unusual job offer from a multi-millionaire, which has the potential of getting him into even more trouble.

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 andwhat went through your head.

I’d been writing for a little over a year. I’d submitted manuscripts that had been rejected. Then I met a bookstore owner who offered to read my next manuscript. She liked it, and on my behalf called an editor at Dell who was launching a new line of romances, Candlelight Ecstasy.

Upon the bookseller’s recommendation I sent the manuscript to this editor, who was watching for it. About a week later she called and offered me a contract on “Love’s Encore”. She asked if I’d written anything else. I had written another romance, about the same length, in the same style and the same level of sensuality. I sent her “Love Beyond Reason”. Thirteen days later she bought it, too.

When you started out, you wrote under several pennames (Rachel Ryan, Laura Jordan, Erin St. Clair). Why?

I was writing for several different publishers. Each had a pseudonym.

You write one book a year. Is this by design and if so, why?

Writing one book a year is a comfortable pace for me. If I had a couple years to write one, I think I’d get bored before I was finished. I’d get lazy, and still probably do the work in the same amount of time. If I wrote more than one a year, I’d feel rushed and pressured. Also, it’s a good schedule for my publisher. They have one new hard cover each year, along with the paperback edition of the previous year’s book.

You’ve hit the NYT bestsellers list over fifty times. What in your opinion are the key ingredients for this type of success?

If you study the bestseller lists, you’ll notice that the only thing the books have in common is that they’re on the lists. Every author on there has found a niche for him or herself. They write their “thing” and they’ve found an appreciative audience for it. I think success relies a lot on tenacity and just plain hard work. To be a success at anything, you’ve got to work at it. So far, I haven’t found a shortcut to writing a book. It can only be done one word at a time.

What are your thoughts on branding? Does it hurt sales to write in multiple genres?

I can only speak to my own experience. In the early 90’s I made a career decision to pursue the suspense market, so I stopped writing genre romances. It was a tough decision because that was a very comfortable arena for me, but I’ve never regretted it. It enabled me to devote all my time, energy and creativity to the bigger, more mainstream market. It was a matter of focusing on where I wanted to go rather than where I was.

What mistakes have you made while seeking publication?

I once tried to follow a publishing trend. It wasn’t a good fit for me. My editor at the time advised me to follow my impulses and gut instinct, to write with my voice and not try to adapt to a fad. It was excellent advice.

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

Read, read, read everything. And write, write, write every day.

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

“There’s nothing wrong with popular fiction, but you might want to try to write a real book some day.” That’s not exactly “advice,” but it’s the most condescending, obnoxious statement I’ve ever had said to me -- by a man who confessed that he doesn’t read because he doesn’t have time.

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

[From time to time we'll be holding back particularly insightful answers to bring to you in our Newsletter, along with other great stuff. (This is one of those times). You will sign up to the left to read Sandra's eye-bulging, heart-twisting, bone-grinding answer ... er, you SHOULD sign up to the left ... um, COULD sign up? Pretty pretty please with a leather-bound thesaurus on top?]

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

“Testimony of Two Men” by Taylor Caldwell
“Magnificent Obsession” by Lloyd Douglass
“Mila 18” by Leon Uris
“Resistance” by Anita Shreve
“The Flame and the Flower” by Kathleen Woodiwiss

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

Well. . . I liked the Texas! Trilogy: Lucky, Chase and Sage. I liked “Envy.” It’s impossible to say because I can’t be objective. A book that I don’t like so well is the favorite of the next fan who writes me.

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

Authors who talk trash about other authors, especially in public.

Take us through your process of writing a novel briefly—from conception to revision.

I get the idea and work with it until it lets me know it wants to be a book. (Some ideas don’t.) Then I write a 10-15 page synopsis for my editor, in which I let her know who the main characters are, what the big problem is, how that problem is going to get worse, and how it will be solved.

This is a road map, nothing more. I know where I’m going, just not how I’m going to get there. After I begin writing, I rarely consult the synopsis again. I put the characters in place, get them into big trouble, and then let them show me where this scene or that scene will take place. Some of the best plot twists, even I didn’t see coming until it was right there. Some of the best characters weren’t even in the synopsis.

I do four drafts: the first is the plotting draft, the second is the crafting draft, the third is for pacing and to make sure all the loose threads are tied up, the fourth is for polishing.

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

I’d love for each book to become #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. I’d love a feature film done right and with a great cast.

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

My favorite – writing the books.
Least favorite – the business side of it.

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

It varies from year to year. Sometimes I do a lot, then I taper off. In my opinion, the best you can do for your fans is to sit your butt in the chair and write the best book for them you possible can.

Have you received a particularly memorable reader response?

The letters I receive from service men and women are especially touching. They tell me how my books provide escape from the danger they face daily. These letters never fail to bring tears to my eyes.