SQ: How do you market your books and which ways work best?
SO: Most of my time now is taken up with commissions from educational publishers. When I do get a chance to write fiction to please myself, I check publishers to see what they're producing now and, more importantly, how booked-up they are. If it's January and they're closed to submissions until August, there's no point in writing to suit their guidelines.
SQ: As a prolific author with a close-knit family, what tips can you offer other authors in keeping the romantic-zest (and parental-ties) alive? (Darrel's input welcomed too!)
SO: Writing romance or romantica is a great way to keep romance alive, especially if you try out the techniques in person before committing them to the page. I also work in the main room of the house, so I'm not shut away. I always try to make time to watch a movie, go to the shops, go swimming, walk the dogs or whatever. When the children were young, I made up the time by working far into the night. I still often do that. You can always go to bed at 10, get up at midnight, work until 3 and go back to bed....
SQ: What advice can you give aspiring prolific authors?
SO: Try to curb your tendency! "Prolific" is not a good label to wear. Too many people seem to think it means the same as "potboiling". I prefer to call myself "versatile" or "diligent". If you are naturally fast, don't send too many ms to a single publisher at any one time unless invited to do so. Keep meticulous track of what you send to whom and what happens to it. That saves embarrassment later. Don't neglect your health. Don't ever do what I did and wear out your hands while the rest of you is still active. And, most of all, if you're not enjoying writing, don't do it. Take up some other habit or hobby or vocation that you WILL enjoy. It's far too hard and far too demoralizing to even consider if you don't love doing it.
SQ: Is there anything you would like to add to this interview?
SO: Yes. Always try to make time to write things you really want to write, even if they're unlikely to sell. I write poetry for the heck of it. I used to sell it in the 1980s, but the market faded away.
SQ: Thank you Sally, for sharing your amazing insights!
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