Guest Feature: Carrie Jones
The best way to get writing advice is to broaden your reach and look in other places! For a while, I’ve been wanting to share a handful of interviews I completed with published authors back in 2015. One of those authors is the talented Carrie Jones, a personally favorite of mine, who graciously allowed me to republish this piece. Every writer has a different experience and a way to go about their work. By learning from others, we can further expand our own writing toolbox, when reading about different ways to navigate the world of writing, editing, and publishing.
In this weekly, we have Carrie’s bio, interview, and publications. Be sure to check those out!
Without further ado, let’s “meet” Carrie and learn from her experiences!
Carrie Jones: Bio
Carrie Jones is a New York Times best selling author with well know titles such as the Need series, Timestoppers, and her newest book, The Fear That Returns (The Bar Harbor Rose Mystery Series Book 5). Carrie is located in Maine and is a graduate from Vermont College’s MFA program in writing. She has received the Maine Literary Award, the Martin Dibner Fellowship, and an award from the Maine Press Association.
On top of her many books, Carrie creates weekly podcasts such as “Dogs are Smarter than People: Writing Life, Marriage and Motivation,” “Loving the Strange,” and “Write Better Now.”
Interview!
Here is a selection of questions and answers from Carrie about her work and process as a writer. Asking these kinds of questions are great ways to gain insight on the writing process and to see how it works for others.
Question:
How did you find an agent/publisher for your book and how do you find one you can trust?
Answer:
I personally sent my first book out to a publisher who I had never met, but I enjoyed his blog and his thoughts. I emailed my book to the submission address. When he called and I spoke to him, I could tell that we had the same vision for the book, that he was smart, that he was kind. So, I trusted him. Now though, there are incredible places and communities to help debut writers figure out who might be not-so-ethical an agent or publisher and which ones to beware of. Those communities help to make us writers not quite so powerless.
Question:
Are you satisfied/happy with your book(s)?
Answer:
I’m not sure which book you are talking about, but I am usually both happy and unhappy, satisfied and dissatisfied. I am a bit of a perfectionist. Okay. I’m totally lying. I’m never happy/satisfied. And it’s also really hard to let go of them and say, “Yes, that’s done.” I like the journey of creating and delving into character and building the worlds a lot more than the product. I want the journey to last forever.
Question:
How would you describe the moment when you first held a published copy of your book?
Answer:
Mind blowing. I think my hands shook, honestly, because I couldn’t believe that it was real, that it had my name on the cover, that people might read it. I was a bit worried that I was on an episode of Punk’d.
Question:
What is your motivation? How do you keep working on something that takes so long?
Answer:
I feel incredibly lucky that I currently make enough money to make a living as a writer. That motivates me to write every day. I don’t want to blow it by being lazy. But also, I just feel compelled to write every day. I like stories. I think it’s amazing fun to be able to make up stories. Even if I was never paid again and even if people never read any more of them, I don’t think I could stop. And that’s a bit related to what I was saying before. I get quite addicted to that flow state that happens for me when I write or paint or create anything. All the horrible things that happen fade away while I’m in that zone and all my anxiety puffs out. If I could be constantly creating all day and every day? I would do that. I’m the sort of person who has to be reminded to do other things and live life and have fun outside of the creating.
Question:
Did you have a contract with your publisher? Was there a set time that your book(s) needed to be finished?
Answer:
Yes. There is always a contract. In every contract there are dates that stipulate exactly when your first draft and finished manuscript must be received. For me, I’ve always had that first draft done on submission.
Question:
What is your process in writing a book? Ex. Writing from beginning to end or at random until you piece the whole work together?
Answer:
My process changes for each book. Usually I start at the beginning, but not always. Sometimes I start at the end. Sometimes I make outlines of the major points of the story (plot twists, scenes that lead into act one and act two) and sometimes I just sit away and write. I’m a mess, aren’t I? I just really like to change things up and different products seem to have different processes for me.
Question:
What is your view on the beginning of a book? The first page is what the reader depends on to judge it all. How do you overcome that first part?
Answer:
I think it’s all about voice and forward motion. I don’t stress about the first page too much, but I do stress about the voice, which needs to be honest and genuine and real from that first sentence. And I do stress about the first scene. Does it set up the problems of the book? Is the main character someone you want to spend at least 50,000 words with? Is she likable? Are the stakes high enough? All that kind of thing. It’s like the first moments of a blind date, but instead of a blind date between two people, it’s a blind date between the book and the reader.
Will they like each other?
Will they want to spend time together?
Are they meant for each other?
Only … it’s really will the reader like the book. Nobody cares if the book likes the reader. The reader has all the power.
According to Les Edgerton, who wrote the craft book, HOOKED, that opener has ten important components to grab that reader’s attention and make them want to chill on the couch with your book. So, I try to make sure those elements are there (when I revise) and that there are initial shallow problems, yearnings, story-worthy problems, setting, set-up, a bit of foreshadowing.
Whew. There are just so many things.
Question:
When did you start writing, why and how?
Answer:
I first started writing fiction in grade school. We had an Author of the Month contest where we would stand in front of class and read our stories. Our classmates would vote. The winner got to be Author of the Month. I was pretty competitive about this. I wasn’t used to winning things. It turned out I really liked winning. And it ended up with me making weirder and weirder stories and acting them out because that’s what worked for my fifth grade class. The weirder I was, the more votes I would get. Wow. That’s so wild to think about now. It was like The Voice but for little kids’ stories. My teachers were probably sadists, weren’t they?
Question:
Did you ever feel lost while writing your book? If so, how did you get your focus back?
Answer:
This is a completely unhelpful answer, but not really. I think my work ethic doesn’t allow me to feel super lost. Also, I usually write through it. Also, I usually am working on more than one thing at a time, so if I feel lost on one (or slightly blocked), I just skip over to another manuscript and work on that. This way, I don’t feel like I’m slacking. If I feel like I’m slacking, then I feel guilty, and then I sort of downward spiral. That’s not terribly helpful, I don’t think, but an easier answer would be I usually reread a bit, revise from the beginning or write through it.
And sometimes I just get a megaphone and call out for help like an old school Muppet on Sesame Street. Or you know, I re-read what I’ve written and it turns out that I’ve sprinkled bread crumbs in the narrative that help me to move forward and unstick myself.
Question:
Why did you become a writer?
Answer:
I am not sure. I just always wrote after that whole glory of Author of the Month contests in fifth grade. I’m still chasing that high. Just kidding!
Actually, I think it’s because I had some bad things happen to me in my life and often felt like I had no voice. My actual speaking voice is kind of goofy and I was bullied a lot, too, for sounding like a Muppet. My s-sounds are a bit sloshy. Writing was the only place where nobody could torment me about how my s-sounds, nobody could interrupt me or yell over me. There was a quiet in there—in putting words on the page—and I used that quiet to say and think and figure out things, to build stories about the worlds I wanted to visit and characters I wanted to know. It was so much safer than real life. So, I think I retreated there. I probably still do, actually.
Question:
If there was one, what was the biggest obstacle or problem that you had to overcome in the writing? – Anything within the entire process.
Answer:
I have a really hard time reading reviews. I am also really bad at marketing. I’m not one of those writers who can take a quote from their own book, paste it onto a picture and then Instagram it as an inspiring quote or something like that. I suck at self-promotion. My TikTok is a horrifying place.
Question:
Did you have a lot of say with how the cover was made?
Answer:
Nope. I usually have hardly any say at all for my books when they are traditionally published, and I’m okay with that because that’s not my skillset. The people who create covers are amazing.
Publications
Here is one of my favorite books by Carrie Jones:
Need, Bloomsbury, USA, 2008
Amazon Blurb:
“Zara White suspects there's a freaky guy semi-stalking her. She's also obsessed with phobias. And it's true, she hasn't exactly been herself since her stepfather died. But exiling her to shivery Maine to live with her grandmother? That seems a bit extreme. The move is supposed to help her stay sane . . . but Zara's pretty sure her mom just can't deal with her right now.
She couldn't be more wrong. Turns out the semi-stalker is not a figment of Zara's overactive imagination. In fact, he's still following her, leaving behind an eerie trail of gold dust. There's something not right - not human - in this sleepy Maine town, and all signs point to Zara.
In this creepy, compelling breakout novel, Carrie Jones delivers romance, suspense, and a creature you never thought you'd have to fear.”
Other books and publications!
Tips on Having a Gay (Ex) Boyfriend (Belle, #1), 2007
Love (and Other Uses for Duct Tape) (Belle, #2), 2008
Girl, Hero, 2008
Captivate (Need Series, #2), 2010
Entice (Need Series, #3), 2010
Endure (Need Series, #4), 2012
After Obsession, 2011
Flying (Flying, #1), 2016
Time Stoppers (Time Stoppers, #1), 2016
Quest for the Golden Arrow (Time Stoppers, #2), 2017
Enhanced (Flying #2), 2017
Moe Berg: The Spy Who Played Baseball, 2018
Escape from the Badlands (Time Stoppers #3), 2018
In the Woods, 2019
Faith, 2020
The People Who Kill (Bar Harbor Rose #2), 2021
Almost Dead (Alisa Thea, #1), 2021
Those Who Survived (Dude, #1), 2021
The Things We Seek (Bar Harbor Rose, #3), 2021
Inchworms (Dude, #2), 2021
When You Bring Them Back, 2021
Saint, 2021
The Greed That Kills (Bar Harbor Rose, #4), 2022
The People Who Leave (Dude, #2), 2022
The Fear That Returns (Bar Harbor Rose, #5), 2022
Conclusion
First off, thank you so much to Carrie Jones for sharing her insights with us. Since we last connected in 2015, many things have changed in the writing and publishing world. This advice has been wonderful to read yet again, and do you know what the best part is? I haven’t read any of Carrie’s works since the Need series, so I am eager to catch up on her latest works!
I hope these Q&A’s provide you all with lots of inspiration and thought provoking ideas. As you continue working on your own stories, books, and comics, I hope you have some new ideas to apply to your own work. Best of luck and before you go, be sure to check out Carrie Jones’ various social media platforms, blogs, podcasts, and more to see what she has been up to!
Social links:
Twitter: @carriejonesbook
Facebook: @carriejonesbooks
Check out Carrie’s linktree page to find more ways to connect!
Let me know in the comments below if you all would like to see more writer/author interviews in the future!
Best,
Danni Lynn, Evangeline40003