An interview with Allison Winn Scotch

Allison Winn Scotch is the New York Times best selling author of The Department of Lost and Found and Time of My Life. Her newest book, The One That I Want, will be released on June 1, just in time to launch your summer reading plans. She sits down with Between the Covers for a candid Q&A.

BTC: As a writer, you must have a million ideas percolating at any given moment. Describe the moment when you know you've got an idea that you can run with and turn it into a book.

A: This is a great - and difficult- question to answer. For me, I almost need to feel something visceral, something totally connected to the idea, and more importantly, to the main character, to know that I'm going to be able to build an entire world around her. Three hundred pages is
a long time to spend with your protagonist, so she- and her life - need to be complex and need to have the ability to expand as the book goes along. I've had a lot of quieter ideas that, to be honest, I just thought would bore me by page 200. So I'm usually drawn toward bigger ideas- time travel, flash-forwards, amnesia (for my next book) - that create big plot action but also allow me to still write these characters intimately and humanly.

BTC: You are known for encouraging and promoting rookie authors. Why is this important to you and what is the single best piece of advice you give aspiring authors?

A: Thanks! Yes, this is something that's really important to me partially because I remember how daunted I was when I first started out. And how much I wished there had been a resource- a kind, honest, supportive one- whom I could look to and aspire to. When I hear that my advice has tangibly helped a newbie writer, it's incredibly gratifying. As far as specific advice, I always say that aspiring authors need to listen to criticism and take their egos out of the equation. Too many folks- myself included- think that their early/first work is untouchable, when, in fact, it's far from it. The only way to improve is to figure out where your weaknesses are, and in order to do that, you need to be open to constructive advice. I can sincerely say that if I hadn't taken criticism early in my career, I never would have been published. Sometimes, you think you know what you're doing when, if fact, you have no idea.

BTC: You've developed quite a fan base with your first two novels. How does that change the way you approached writing your new book, The One That I Want, as opposed to your first book, The Department of Lost and Found?

A: The honest answer is that it made this book harder to write. This is the first book I've written where I was acutely aware of the fact that people were anticipating what would come out of me, and for a while, I felt fairly paralyzed by this pressure. Which sounds like a ridiculous thing to complain about, and I'm not complaining! Only that I really, really want to please my readers (AND myself), and I thus set really high expectations of this book. I kept pushing the bar higher and higher, and eventually-even now, to be honest- I had to just let go and accept that I very much hope that people love it as much as they did my previous books, and if they don't, that's okay too. I try to challenge myself each time I step up to the plate, and I'm content knowing that I did.

BTC: A lot of people have this idealistic vision of a writer's life, which may explain why so many people aspire to "become" writers. What is the reality?

A: The reality is that, but for a few fortunate writers, a group in which I am so, so, so grateful to be a part of, most authors will never earn enough money to quit their day jobs, and most books don't sell enough to garner much attention at all. Wow. Did that sound pessimistic? I don't mean it to be! If you follow my blog, you know that I am the eternal optimist who really hopes for the best for ALL writers. But that's not the reality. Most book advances are pitifully low (less than 10k, which, after your agent fee and taxes and three-way payout, is next to nothing), and most print runs are equally small. You'll be rejected literally hundreds of times before you get anywhere, and even once you've gotten there, you'll inevitably be met with disappointment: nearly every debut author I know has, after publication, experienced a real let down. NOW. Of course, there are a zillion WONDERFUL things about being a published author: the freedom, the creativity, the joy of connecting with readers, the thrill of seeing your book in stores, the ability to quit your day job (if you're lucky), and the flexibility all of these things afford you. I LOVE my job and my career. I cannot express how grateful I am to be in the position I'm in. But it is A LOT of hard, hard, hard work with miles of rejection and no guarantee of success. If success comes, then it's all the sweeter.

BTC: We've heard authors describe a book release as "similar to giving birth." If this is true for The One That I Want, how would you rate the process?

A: That is it exactly. And I would rate this along the lines of having my third child. You know what's coming, you can anticipate the contractions and the pain and the havoc it's going to cause and the mess it's going to leave, but because you know what's coming, you're much calmer and feel much more in control. And of course, you know how sweet the day after is going to be when your little baby is out in the world, and you couldn't feel more proud.

BTC: Many readers of your books will find themselves questioning their own life choices in light of your protagonists' experiences. Was that your intent?

A: Yes, that's the intent exactly. I do the same thing as I'm writing. I like to take these women who maybe aren't living fully-fleshed out lives and examine how I can help them do that. And in the process of taking them on this journey, I go on it a bit myself. Where have I compromised myself when I shouldn't have? What can I do to steer myself back on the path I'd hoped for? I think we all, at one point or another, can lose our way a bit in life, and I do think the message of the books is that it's never too late to try to figure out how to right yourself. Not that I write them to be preachy! Pure enjoyment is also great too.

BTC: In your mind, who does The One That I Want speak to? When you picture someone curled up on the couch reading it, who do you see?

A: I really think it speaks to anyone who has ever had a complicated relationship with her family or who has ever given more of herself to people other than herself (hello, motherhood!) or really, just anyone who has struggled through a tough relationship with her spouse, sister, friend or parent. Which doesn't mean this book is dark and gloomy. There are a lot of really light aspects to it, so it might also be for anyone who really enjoyed their prom (a big plot line) or ever sung her heart out in the high school musical, which may or may not have been Grease. :)



This interview was conducted by Tiernan McKay, a Denver area freelance writer and book blogger and now guest blogger for BTC!