Susan Mallery, author of ALREADY HOME
Susan Mallery has entertained millions of readers with her witty and emotional stories of women and the relationships that move them. In her latest novel, ALREADY HOME, Jenna Stevens, still reeling from a recent divorce, is unpleasantly surprised by the arrival of her birth parents, who seem to want her to feel a family bond immediately. She was perfectly happy with the loving, traditional parents who raised her. Can she learn to love a second mother without damaging her relationship with the woman who raised her? Join Susan’s Members Only area at www.susanmallery.com for exclusive sneak peeks, short stories, and more.
Chick Lit Plus: Susan, what advice would you give to an unpublished writer who wants to break into the business?
The publishing industry is experiencing a lot of changes right now, but my advice remains the same: Write what you love to read.
You can only read what’s being published, meaning that there’s a market for that type of book. Now, if what you love to read are books that were published in the 1930s, for example, then you might have a tough time finding a market for that type of story today. So try to find books you love that are being published today. If no other author has written a book similar in theme, content, and tone to your book, then you might have a tough time selling it to a publisher.
Once readers discover you and fall in love with your writing, they’ll want more of the same type of story from you. That’s fabulous if you’re writing stories you love. But it would be confining, uncomfortable, and ultimately impossible if you published a story that doesn’t truly fit who you are.
Which is not to say that write the same story over and over again. What I mean is that readers will want to get the same emotional experience from reading your subsequent books. If you don’t like reading scary books, then don’t write one. If it’s fabulous, you could be stuck for years writing books that give you nightmares.
I started my career writing romance novels because that’s what I looooved to read. I still do, and I still adore writing them, too. Now I’m also branching out to write stories about the other relationships that touch women’s lives.
While ALREADY HOME isn’t a romance novel, I do fulfill the promises I have made over the years to my readers: They will get an emotionally complex story with characters who feel like real people, a lot of laughs along the way, and a satisfying ending. (There are romantic subplots, too, so readers who love love will get plenty of sigh-worthy moments.)
