I was standing in my dorm elevator panicking because I needed a story for my fiction workshop the next day and the one I slaved over for a week felt way too personal to share with a group of mostly strangers. I banged out this story in about two hours and, ironically, I think today it’s far more personal than that other story ever was.
Melanie Moyer – 11 May 2018
About the book
What is the book about?
In short, it’s a coming-of-age story told from the point of view of an imaginary friend. It’s about a teenager going through a formative time in her life and how the figments in our brains might feel about the things we do.
When did you start writing the book?
The very first version of this book existed back in 2013 when I wrote a short story in my Intermediate Fiction Workshop in college. I didn’t really touch it after that until 2015 when I decided to sit down and make something of it.
How long did it take you to write it?
If we don’t count the few months back in 2013 when I was toying with it as a short story, I took about 4-5 months to write the first draft. After that it was another 4 months of editing and workshopping before I started shopping it. During the year it took me to get it picked up by a publisher I was pretty regularly editing it.
Where did you get the idea from?
I was standing in my dorm elevator panicking because I needed a story for my fiction workshop the next day and the one I slaved over for a week felt way too personal to share with a group of mostly strangers. I banged out this story in about two hours and, ironically, I think today it’s far more personal than that other story ever was.
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
I struggled with an actual story beyond the concept. The short story version was just a snippet, basically a little window of emotion on the idea of an imaginary friend being left behind. In order to make it an entire book, I needed an actual story and that took a few years to really think about.
What came easily?
Dialogue has always come easy to me. But that can be an issue when I don’t know when to stop the dialogue and get back to the story.
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
Everyone’s characters have a bit of their life in them. The characters are characters, but they’ve also all got aspects of me in them. One or two events they go through come from real life experiences and maybe an inside joke or two.
We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?
Harper Lee has been a huge aspiration of a writer for me and one day I hope I’ll write something good enough that I can effectively claim her as an inspiration. Beyond that, I’m influenced in various other genres by Stephen King, Jane Espensen, and Margaret Atwood.
Do you have a target reader?
It’s a YA book so tweens and teens are the ones who might find the most immediately in common with this book. But we’ve all been teenagers. We’ve all lost someone. We’ve all had moments of panic while trying to figure ourselves out. We’ve all had little bouts of existential crises. So, I think anyone can get something out of this if they’re open to it.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
I am for 1,000 words a day at least. Most of my writing happens in the morning. It’s a pre-day ritual basically. Before I do anything else I make coffee and write or edit something.
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
I try to outline vaguely, using the monomyth structure or even Dan Harmon’s story circle. Sometimes I outline chapter by chapter if I’m stuck. I also scribble ideas throughout the day when I’m away from computer and keep a running document of stuff I want to include so I don’t forget.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
I get a good chunk of it done, maybe about 20k words, and then go back and edit that just to give myself some breathing and thinking room and to make sure I’m not overly married to an ending that isn’t working in practice. After that I usually just write until the end and then give it a few months or so before I got back and start really editing. Distance is the key to perspective with editing.
Did you hire a professional editor?
I shamelessly exploit my friends for editing.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
I make playlists for everything I write. It’s also a good timing mechanism since I’ll try to write until the playlist runs out. The playlists are made up of music that spoke to me about the stories or characters so there’s never a set type of music that goes into them.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
I did. I chased agents for about a year, got some great feedback, but ultimately it was taking too long. I’d like to have an agent in the future, but the process of it seems to favor the agent and the publisher, over the author, in my opinion. There are some agents out there I talked to who were great and truly cared about the story and the works of their clients. But many were not and a lot of the interviews I was reading while doing research on agents had me frustrated with how very business-first it seemed. I understand they’re the first level of filter between audiences and the slush pile, but it’s frustrating to have the future of your work hinging on the opinion of a few.
What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
For many of the reasons above. I decided to try for indie publishers that accepted submissions without a middle man. I ended up having two indie publishers contact me with offers but I, obviously, went with Waterton for a variety of reasons.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?
The cover was commissioned by the publisher, done professionally. The only thing I really contributed to that design was the starry background you see. Everything else was all from the designer and the publisher.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
My market plan is to wing it. Kind of. I’ve got a book launch in the works and another signing event. I’ve got my eye on some other brick and mortar places to try and get into hands. We’ve got some reviews coming in (hopefully positive) and some magazine ads we’re running as well as an audio ad. That’s one of the biggest things you get back with indie, the freedom. While inheriting a huge platform certainly makes the job easier on authors going through a Big 5 publisher, I’m having fun with the ideas we’re tossing around to try and get the word out.
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
Don’t gun for dollar signs. Being young and forced to work a day job is rough when all you want to do is write, but hang onto to that freedom as long as possible. You may find the indie writing scene isn’t for you and you want that traditional route, but you need to give yourself the chance to explore all options. If you can be passionate enough to write an entire book, then you’re passionate enough to see it through on the marketing side of things.
About You
Where did you grow up?
A few places. I’ve lived in Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Orlando, and Toronto.
Where do you live now?
Philadelphia.
What would you like readers to know about you?
Hopefully it’s all in the things I write.
What are you working on now?
Some short stories, one of which was recently published in Ghost Parachute’s March 2018 issue. I’m editing a 77k sci-fi new adult novel that I’ve got next in the pipeline and brainstorming a future modern fantasy middle grade series. People can keep up with it on my Twitter (@MelMoy) my Instagram (MelMoy) and my website (www.melaniemoyer.squarespace.com).
End of Interview:
Get your copy of The Rules of Me from Amazon US or Amazon UK.