An Interview with "Dream Wanderers" Author, Paula Brown, Part 2
Here you go folks! This is the 2nd part to the Paula Brown interview. Part 1 was posted last night.
Q: What successes have you had since?
A: I’ve co-written a series of books on Walt Disney World. As I already mentioned, I have a novel called “Dream Wanderers”. The sequel is getting closer to completion. And I have written probably thousands of Internet articles for varies companies.
Q: Who would you say influenced your writing? Who do you look up to?
A: I have two major influences. My first one is A.A. Milne. I have loved Winnie the Pooh my entire life and some of my best childhood memories are sitting in my father’s lap and reading the books together.
My other major influence is my sister, Nancy Holzner. Nancy
As far as looking up to someone it would be my parents, who always put their kids and grandchildren first (they still do), and my late grandparents…simple the most incredible people that I ever knew.
Q: How did you find your publisher?
A: This is kind of a strange story. I am a huge fan of Walt Disney World and am a member of some fan sites. One day I received an email that there was a publisher who was looking for people to write reviews on various rides for a series of books on the parks. I wrote to him and asked if he needed someone to write about Star Tours. The next thing I knew I was writing ride reviews left and right, enough that I got my name on the covers of the books.
In talking with the publisher I mentioned that I had written a novel, and he asked if he could take a look at it. The next thing I knew he wanted to publish it. It’s a very small company, but he really believes in me and that has made a huge difference in my confidence level.
Q: What part of the publishing process was the hardest?
Since it is a small company I was responsible for getting the manuscript print ready, and I kept having all these blank pages! That was hard for me to figure out; computers confuse me. The other part is the promotion of it. I’m not very good at self promotion, and it is really hard to get the name of a new book out there.
Q: Is there anything you would do differently in regards to getting published?
A: I don’t think so. I would rather have a small publisher that likes me than a large one who always tells me everything that I do is wrong.
Q: How do you get over submission nerves? How do you handle rejections? Any advice?
A: Since I didn’t exactly find my publisher by the normal route, I didn’t really have to deal with rejections there. Before I found him I was looking for an agent and ran across someone who was rather cold. I took a deep breath and just kept looking. The trick, I think, is to not take it personally, which is next to impossible because writers put a little bit of their soul into their work.
*Please check back tomorrow for the final installment where Paula discusses future goals, writing for content mills and following your dreams.
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Patrick says:
A fascinating interview, this illustrates the many different paths in the writer's world. I look forward to the next part!
vange says:
It is so bizarre she mentions Pooh Bear. This must be the fifth reference I've run across this week. Is it Bear of Very Little Brain Week?!?
EnglishNerd says:
A very interesting and informative interview. I'm also looking forward to reading the last section and learning more.
Acadia says:
"I would rather have a small publisher that likes me than a large one who always tells me everything that I do is wrong."
That's why I dig short chicks.
Jim Ryan says:
Interesting to see the perspective of someone who had their material picked up by a small publisher. Good stuff!