Gemma Halliday – Want to Be a Successful Writer? Write More Books.
TheChicagoTribunehasdescribedGemmaHalliday’sbooksasAsaucycombination of
romance and suspense that is simply irresistible." Obviously this is a formula that works
as she has had a multitude of books in the Kindle bestseller list in recent months.
When I interviewed Gemma, she spoke about her method of writing and how writers
can build a successful career.
Darrell - Can you describe a typical day of writing?
Gemma - Firstoffthanksforhavingme!Asfora“typical”dayIhardlyeverhaveoneof
thoseButhere’swhatIdidtoday
Hit Starbucks at about 8am, order grande latte, write for about 4 hours. Finish my latest
indie mystery, HOLLYWOOD CONFESSIONS, (yay!) and send the manuscript off to my
freelance editor. Grab some lunch, then head to Office Depot to buy mailing supplies,
then the post office to mail off advanced reader copies of my next New York print book,
a young adult mystery called DEADLY COOL, to two reviewers, one blogger, and one
charity event. Then I drive home, answer some emails, check my Facebook page, and do
four interviews - two for German publications, one for a Spanish magazine, and one for
a Brazilian blog. Check my sales stats for the day, then I pour a glass of wine and dig into
revisions for my next young adult book, SOCIAL SUICIDE. Then collapse into bed and do
it all over again tomorrow!
Darrell - You write romantic mysteries. How does someone go about plotting a mystery
book?
Gemma - Verycarefully)(IknowoldjokebutIcouldn’tresist)ActuallyIusually
start with setting/situation then work out the victim and suspects from there. I always
like to have a couple twists and turns, but those usually work themselves out very
naturally for me once I know who was killed and how. The killer is that last thing I
always plot out. In fact, I often change who the killer is halfway through writing the
book, then I do a lot of going back and adding details and clues to make sure everything
comes together in the end.
Darrell - You've had many successful bestselling books, including some ebooks. What
do you think is the best marketing that a writer can do to promote themselves?
Gemma - Honestly, I think the best thing a writer can do to build a fan base is write
morebooksThebiggeryourbacklistthemoreofareadershipyou’llgainIthinkit’s
important to have a website and be accessible to readersbutI’ddefinitelybalancetime
spent there against making sure you have enough time to write as many books as
humanly possible.
