Author Q&A: Susan Gable
Author: Trish Milburn
Original Publication Date in Love Notes: December 2002

Q. Tell us a little about your journey to publication.

A. I started writing fan fiction in June of 1999. I had some well skilled people who helped me with craft issues, and I explored my voice while doing fanfic. Romance kept cropping up. By December of 1999, having written tons of stuff — once I got started, I couldn’t seem to stop — I faced my 35th birthday, and the turn of the century, and decided that I was going to try to “do this for real.” I set a goal of selling a novel before I turned 40, but I reserved the right to revisit this goal at 40 if I hadn’t made it. 

In January of 2000, I took an online class with Painted Rock called Writing and Marketing the Category Romance. I didn’t even know what a category romance was at that point. But the remarkable teacher of that class, Carolyn Green, gave me a very thorough education, as did the fact that I read bunches of category romances, across several of the lines that interested me. 

I started writing my first category romance during that time and finished it several months later. I queried and received the rite of passage, a form rejection letter. That first novel had fatal flaws and will reside in the depths of my harddrive for eternity. The book that I sold was rejected by Silhouette before I’d realized that Superromance was the best fit for my voice and stories. 

I revised the manuscript specifically for Super, sent off the partial, and prepared to wait while working on other stories. I met with the senior editor of Super in July of 2001. She went back to the office and stirred up the partial. By the end of August 2001, I received a request for the full. 

Wait time was estimated at 6 - 8 months on the full, so I went back to work on the next book. In January of 2002, I went to my mailbox and found an envelope with the Harlequin return addy. I assumed it was a rejection, but was pleasantly surprised to discover it was an update letter, letting me know my manuscript had received a favorable first read from a reader and was then going to an editor. In mid-February, I got THE CALL. Happily, I managed to achieve my five year goal.

Q. Did you ever have an aha moment where you learned some technique or tidbit that really affected your writing?

A. I think mastering POV was a turning point. Once I got that down, that made a big difference. I try to remember POV is like opening the character’s head and jumping down inside. Everything seen/heard/felt, etc., has to be filtered through that character’s perception. I’ll also freely admit that I am not a POV purist. I was set free once I realized there is more than one way to do this thing we call writing. The other big issue was grasping the concept of GMC. I highly recommend Deb Dixon’s book, GMC: Goal, Motivation & Conflict. It really gave me a handle on the basic building blocks of strong fiction. I think I would have struggled a lot longer were it not for Deb’s book.

Q. What attracted you to the category market rather than the single title one?

A. Opportunity, for one thing. Sheer law of numbers shows that there is more opportunity in category. (RWA’s 2001 stats, when I added up Avon/Harper, Bertlesmann, Dorchester, Kensington, Pearson, Pocket, St. Martin’s and Warner, combined sold 795 titles compared to Torstar’s 1,067. Now, I know there’s some overlap in each of those counts, because Torstar has Mira, which is single title, and Kensington had PGs, which were category.) 

Also, once I started reading it, I fell in love with category. I like that there are different lines for different tastes. I didn’t need an agent to get into category, either. Also, I happen to write for the category line that’s closest to single title, so I’m kind of straddling the fence. I have the best of both worlds. I have a longer word count to work with and a lot of freedom as far as types of stories I can tell, language I can use, etc.

Q. What area do you think new writers focus on too much? What should they focus on more?

A. The nitty gritty “rules.” There’s too much obsessing on manuscript formatting and the zillion tiny craft rules that people seem ready to shove down your throat. I’m not saying that craft isn’t important, because it is. You need to know POV, and show vs. tell, and author intrusion, etc. You need to know how to format a manuscript properly and figure out word count. But those are not the MOST important things. The most important things are story and character, character and story. 

After working with editors, I’m even more convinced this is the case. An editor is looking for fabulous characters that she can connect with, a story that draws her in and won’t let go. If she finds that, she’s willing to work with you to fix the other stuff. (Provided, of course, that it’s in “reasonable” shape to begin with — i.e. no headhopping mid-paragraph, more showing than telling, etc.)

Q. What is your writing process like? Time doing research, plotting and characterization, time devoted to writing each day, etc.?

A. Time spent doing research depends on what I’m writing about. Often the research is done while I’m working on something else. I’ve found the Internet can answer most of my questions, or connect me with people who can. Same for plotting, etc. It depends on how long this particular story has been rattling around in my head. GMCs are a total MUST for me to have before I begin writing or even planning the story. I need to know enough backstory that I know what’s motivating these people. 

I try to spend at least four hours a day writing. I’m lucky to have a very supportive husband who has a job that pays all the bills. He’s been extremely generous in letting me stay at home and get my writing on track. Sometimes I write more, sometimes less. But I also try to track my actual pages so I can see the progress. (Although sometimes the page count goes backwards when I end up tossing whole chunks of the work.)

Q. What frustrates you the most about the writing life?

A. When the story doesn’t want to cooperate. I know that usually means I’m doing something wrong storywise, but I hate it when I can’t move forward until I get it worked out. The doubt demons are also a plague.

Q. What are your current and upcoming releases?

A. My first book, The Baby Plan, is a December 2002 release from Harlequin Superromance. My second book, The Mommy Plan, which was a Golden Heart finalist under the title Firefly Wishes, will be released in August 2003.

For more information and to read excerpts, readers can visit my Web site at www.susangable.com. 

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