By the Sweat of Her Brow

Inkspot, the Midnight Ink author’s blog, today offers up a great interview with Donna Andrews (The Penguin Who Knew Too Much, No Nest for the Wicket). Though Andrews is not a Midnight Ink author, interviewer G.M. Malliet is, or rather will be: Death of a Cozy Writer--winner of a Malice Domestic grant--will be published July 2008. Look for Death and the Lit Chick in April 2009.

Among other things in the interview, Andrews talks about the role of hard work and perseverance required on the path to becoming a published mystery author:

I suspect many people groan when I talk about writing in terms of professionalism and discipline--I think they expect to hear novelists talk about inspiration and creativity. Well, yes, those are important--but they’re a lot easier to come by. All too often, the difference between an aspiring writer and a successful, published one isn’t a matter of inspiration and creativity--a lot of people are creative and get great ideas for books. I’ve read a statistic that only ten percent of people who begin a novel actually persevere to complete it, so anyone who has a finished manuscript is already in the minority. And an even smaller number of people, after finishing their draft, do the revising needed to turn it into a really good book, and then do the research required to learn about the publishing industry and persevere through what can be a long and grueling quest to land a good agent and a contract with an established publisher.

Part one of the interview is here. The date for part two hasn’t been announced.