Learn more about
Taylor and her work at www.taylormorris.com.
Q: I've read the
very fun bio on your website, but for those who have not… can you tell us a
little bit about your path to publishing?
A: The best thing
I did to get my writing started was to take a novel writing workshop. I did the
12-week intensive course through Media Bistro—this was actually before they had
a YA or children's series, too. My poor classmates! I'm so glad I got that early
feedback and help with structure and plot because I really had no idea what I
was doing or even what I was writing about.
Through the
12-week course I wrote a little over 100 pages, then took maybe a year to
finish writing it as well as have good friends read it for feedback (including
one of my new friends from Media Bistro). And let me tell you, it was a mess.
Thank goodness for that feedback.
As for getting an
agent—I literally bought a book of children's book agents. I wish I could
remember what it was called. I also went through novels I liked by authors I
admired who thought I might be compared with and read the acknowledgements to
see who their agents were (an old trick). Then I simply looked up the agent's
query guidelines—and I followed them to a T. After sending out a few queries
(and being rejected), one named Steven Chudney bit! He suggested lowering the
age of my characters from 15 and 16 to 13, changing from high school to junior
high. I took his advice and eventually sold to a two-book deal. That book I
worked on in the Media Bistro class became my first novel, CLASS FAVORITE.
Q: The main
character of your HELLO GORGEOUS! series is 13 years old, and you note that you
write for tweens. Are your books considered Young Adult or Middle Grade? How
would you describe your typical reader?
 |
| Taylor Morris |
A: My books are
definitely considered tween. I think within tween there are different levels
and ages of readers. Hello, Gorgeous readers might be a bit younger than my BFF
BREAKUP readers, for example, but it's all under the tween umbrella.
As for my typical
reader? I'm not sure but from the readers I've met and heard from online I
think they're a bit like me—slightly shy girls who like makeup and such but
also don't mind getting their knees dirty. Girlie girls with a slight tomboy
edge.
Q: HELLO
GORGEOUS! is described as an "ongoing series." How many more books
are planned? Can you tell us a little bit about the process of writing a series
like this?
A: The series will
land on five books total. The fifth book, "Do's and Don'ts," came out
in May. I signed on for a four-book series and although there was talk about
having six total, the publisher has settled on five.
The process of
writing a series like this? Well, if you have a full-time job like I did
through most of the writing, it is insane. The pace is relentless.
Theoretically I'd have three months to write the first draft; while my editor
edited it, I'd start conceptualizing and outlining the next. Then, she gives me
her edits while I give her my outline for the next one.
It rarely went
this smoothly and there were many times I was working on two books at once. And
with my full-time job—it was exhausting and I wrote the five books over a year
and a half or so. I often worked for an hour or so before work, getting up at
5:30 or 6, then another hour when I got home. Weekend days were always for
writing. I'm not saying I gave up all of my Saturdays or Sundays but it was
rare that I didn't work six to seven days a week.
Now, though, my
life is a very different. My husband recently joined the Army—he's a music
conductor—and we left New York City in November and are now living in Virginia.
All along I'd been saving most of my book money so now I'm able to write
full-time, especially with my husband's steady job and our low-cost of living.
I also recently got a ghost writing job (more on that below), so it's all
working out nicely for us so far.
Another important
thing I should mention is how I got the Hello, Gorgeous series. This was a
good-old fashioned case of connections. One of my writing instructors at Media
Bistro (I took two more courses after that first one) knew Penguin (the
publisher) had been looking for a writer for a series about a girl who works at
her mom's hair salon. She put the editor in touch with me and I wrote a sample
for them about how I thought the characters would be and how the story would go
and—they chose me! So I guess I can say I've gotten published by not knowing a
soul in publishing (Class Favorite) and later by having a connection (Hello,
Gorgeous).
Q: Can you tell us
about the promotional support your books receive from your publisher, and
if/how you supplement with your own efforts?
A: I think my
answer is the same as others on this loop have talked about. Not a ton of
publisher support in terms of marketing (but lots of excellent editorial
support). I'm terrible at self-promotion (aside from posting pics of my books
on Facebook as they come out) and I think most authors feel this way.
Also, because I'm
not a huge author with name recognition, there's a level of humiliation to
anything I try to do. I've been turned down too many times by schools,
libraries and festivals that there's really only so much a girl can take. I do
giveaways on Goodreads and I promote on Facebook. The good thing about Facebook
is a lot of my friends from high school now have kids who are my readers' age,
so I've definitely sold books and gained fans that way. I suspect that, in big
publishing houses, you have to be a part of the 1%—meaning, the best sellers
and award winners—to get that great promotion we all dream about.
Q: What are you
working on now?
A: I'm currently
ghost writing a series for my publisher. I wish I could say what celebrity I'm
ghosting for but it's a secret! After my HG series ended my publisher was
looking for someone to work with this person on a tween series and asked me,
along with several other authors, to create samples from the concept they
had—similar to what I did for Hello, Gorgeous but more involved. The editors
and celebrity liked my sample and one other. From there I had a phone interview
with the celeb and editors to see how all our chemistry worked and then…well, I
was shocked when I was chosen. I won't get any name recognition (maybe a bit in
the acknowledgments) but it's great work for someone who just went to full-time
writing. The money is decent and having a contract certainly gives me a sense
of purpose as I stay home each day when my husband marches off to work. Also,
the series (four books) is a lot of fun to work on.
(Ask me any
questions about ghosting. I knew nothing about it before this began in February
so I'm happy to answer any questions I can.)
I'm also working
on a YA book that I started before Hello, Gorgeous but had to put aside because
of the grueling schedule. I've also started coming up with new tween ideas and
running them by my agent.
Thanks so
much, Taylor.
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