Welcome to the 5 Minutes Series. Each week, I’ll ask five questions of some of my favorite authors, editors, publishers, and other industry professionals. This week, I got to talk to Canadian author Ivanka Fear about her debut novel, The Dead Lie.
I know many of my readers are interested in being traditionally published. Can you talk a little about your path to publishing and offer any advice about that journey for newer writers?
Sure. Hopefully my experience will shed some light on traditional publishing and give your readers some idea of how to proceed if that is what they choose to do. I began to ‘seriously’ write five years ago. At first, I wrote poetry and then short stories, which I submitted to literary journals, following my husband’s advice. After finding some publishing success with that, I was so excited I decided to write a novel, which was my childhood dream. When I completed my first novel, I wrote the next one. During that time, I also researched online to find out about the publishing process and discovered I could either self-publish, submit my work to a small publisher, or try to get an agent to represent me. I began to query agents, starting with my top pick, a well-known Canadian agent, assuming she would find my work brilliant (haha).
Of course, I received no response because it was far from brilliant, but I didn’t realize that at the time. Using Query Tracker and Manuscript Wishlist, I searched for other agents with an interest in the mystery/thriller genre. Meanwhile, I wrote my third novel and researched how to write a great query letter, a pitch, a good synopsis, and how to perfect my first three chapters. I enlisted the aid of beta readers I found in social media groups and on Goodreads, and I was fortunate enough to also meet up with a couple of excellent critique partners online. I wrote my fourth, fifth, and sixth book, worked on revisions/edits for all books, critiqued my partners’ work, kept up my research, participated in Twitter pitch events, continued to query agents (and a few small publishers) and got a ton of rejections. I queried about two hundred agents with my five books and began on the sixth. The querying process took me fifteen months until I got an offer. During that time, I received no responses, form rejections, rejections with what I thought were personal suggestions, and finally, I started to get partial/full requests for my manuscript (s). I did query several books at once, but not to the same agent/agency at the same time. My fifth book attracted the most attention (I only got as far as querying one agent for my sixth book and she requested a full). I received calls from two agents and signed with my agent (she had requested a full on one book through a traditional query and a full on another book during a Twitter pitch event). She edited my fifth book with me, then submitted it to publishers. A few months later, a small U. S. publisher of crime fiction offered a five-book deal (my first five books which fit together as a mystery series) and I signed with them. My agent also submitted my sixth book to them and I signed a three-book contract for a series based on it.
Following edits with my publisher, my first book, The Dead Lie, was published in February 2023, four years after I began to query agents. The first book, Where is My Husband?, in my other series will be out in October. Although The Dead Lie is my debut novel, it is the fourth one I wrote. The first novel I wrote will be the fourth published. My publisher thought it best to publish them in a logical, chronological order rather than in the order I wrote them with a sequel, a prequel, then a prequel to the prequel, then a sequel to the prequel. (My creative mind does not function in a logical way.)
So my advice to aspiring authors is: Perseverance, patience, and a lot of hard work. Read (especially in the genre you want to be published), write, write and write, research, connect with other readers and writers, revise/edit, and repeat. Spend the $25US on Query Tracker, check out Manuscript Wishlist, Agent Query, maybe invest the money in Publishers Marketplace, and look into pitch events and follow agents/publishers on social media. New agents might be more receptive to a new author than established agents, as might a smaller publisher. And honestly, some of it is plain luck (assuming you have a well-written book that people want to read). Being in the right place at the right time, with the right piece of writing for the right agent and the right publisher.
You attended Thrillerfest and it looked like an amazing time. What was that experience like, and will you go again?
It was the experience of a lifetime! When I received my invitation, I declined at first. For two reasons: it is expensive, and I am an introvert, uncomfortable in front of an audience, and I hate flying. I guess that’s three reasons. Plus, being from a rural community, I’m not used to big cities. And I had nothing to wear. Fortunately, my brother kept insisting I shouldn’t miss out on the opportunity to be presented as a debut author at Times Square, and he offered to take me. When he was unable to accompany me, due to health reasons, my daughter took his place. I’m thankful to them both for the chance to participate in this amazing convention.
It was my first time in NYC, so we did a bit of sightseeing and went see MJ The Musical on Broadway. We stayed in the hotel where Thrillerfest took place and attended panels where famous authors discussed writing, and we sat in on an interview with Michael Connelly. Seeing well-known authors like Lisa Gardner, Lisa Unger, R. L. Stine, Heather Graham, Clare Mackintosh, Charlaine Harris, Karin Slaughter, Brad Thor (and so many more!) in personal was an experience in itself. The icing on the cake was the debut authors breakfast where 24 of us were onstage, introduced to the crowd of readers, writers, agents, publishers, etc. by Lisa Gardner. We each had to give a one-minute speech about ourselves and our debut novel. Despite my nervousness, I survived. They were kind enough to allow us to remain seated and pass the microphone around. Phew! Following breakfast and speeches, we (debut authors) joined the more established authors in the book signing room.
I would highly recommend Thrillerfest to anyone who writes in the mystery/thriller/suspense genre. Join ITW (International Thriller Writers) for free and check out their debut authors program to see if your first book is published by one of their approved publishers. A fellow author recommended this organization to me. They publish The Big Thrill, and feature not only best-selling authors, but also do articles on newly published thriller writers. Besides the two-day Thrillerfest convention, they offer Craftfest and Masterclass to help writers hone their skills (under the guidance of well-known authors), as well as Pitchfest and Queryfest for authors who want querying advice and the opportunity to pitch agents. This is amazing for mystery/thriller writers, but I am sure there must be organizations out there for other genres as well, so it’s something I recommend looking into to make connections with authors in your field of writing.
I know every writer hates this question, but where do you get your ideas and inspiration? And how do you discipline yourself to take ideas to paper?
I am very undisciplined. As a retired teacher, I look back on the standardized testing we were required to inflict on students and shudder at the thought of being asked to produce a quality piece of writing within a certain amount of time. I do not believe that great artistry of any kind is produced on demand. One needs to be inspired to create. When my inspiration is sparked, then I sit down and write. That being said, I now have publishing contracts that state I will hand in manuscripts, revisions, edits, blurbs, cover ideas, acknowledgements, etc, all at a specified time. Juggling creative bursts of inspiration with deadlines is a challenge, but I do well under pressure, so it all works out.
As for where the ideas come from – anywhere and everywhere. Life. Experiences. Adventures. Trauma. Ideas come to me, not the other way around. It may be during a walk, or while doing chores, watching a show, listening to music, reading a book, waking from a dream. Something I see or hear around me or something in the news can be the spark for a piece of writing. And sometimes, I sit and stare at the blank page and start to type, hoping something will come of it. The idea for my first poem came from a dream. The idea for my first novel came from a story I wrote and that idea came from a phone call about coloured diamonds. Ideas find me.
You published your debut novel after retiring. What brought you to writing and how do you think it’s different as an older writer?
I regret not starting my writing career sooner. I would advise anyone who has a dream to write or do anything else in life to go ahead and do it. If it doesn’t work out, try again later. I wanted to be a writer ever since I can remember. English was my second language. Once I learned how to read, it became my passion and I hoped to be a writer myself someday. Encouraged by teachers (especially my Grade 9 English teacher), I wrote poetry in my youth. I planned to take journalism in university, but I discovered I was interested in creative writing, not reporting facts. I studied English and French literature and earned my teaching degree in high school English/French. That was when I got busy with living my life and set aside my poetry. I taught elementary students for 34 years, raised my family, and ran a business. I wouldn’t trade any of that, but I do envy those authors who manage to make a career (and enough money) out of writing novels and raise their family at the same time. After retiring from teaching, with my children grown, I now have plenty of time to write. I also have plenty of life experiences behind me to write about. Maybe I just wasn’t ready to be a writer in my 20’s and 30’s. Or 40’s or 50’s. Anyway, better late than never.
I could say that retirement brought the opportunity to pursue a hobby. But that’s not the way it happened for me. Although it would seem like the logical thing to do, I didn’t intentionally decide to take up writing again. A couple of years after retirement, I was having a difficult time personally, dealing with extended grief and the stress of all the changes in my life, growing old, my career gone, my kids grown, my mom passed away. One morning I woke up with the title and idea for a poem in my head. I felt compelled to write it and did so. The next day, the same thing happened with another title and idea. So I wrote that poem. Once I started writing, I couldn’t stop. Then came the short stories, the submissions to journals, publications, the book, the series, the book deal, the next series, and so on.
What are you working on now and what can we expect coming soon?
I am doing final edits for Where is My Husband?, a domestic suspense thriller, which is scheduled for release in October. I have started work on the third book in this series. As well, I am doing one more round of edits before sending book two of my Blue Water Series (the first of which is The Dead Lie) to my publisher for further editing. It should be out in February. The first book in what I hope will be a third series is with my agent awaiting edits. And of course, with my love of poetry, I have couple of poems coming out in journals next month. Much of my time the last few months has been spent on marketing and attending book events. I hope to find a balance between connecting with my readers, editing my completed work, and writing new material.
Bonus question: Have you ever taken a picture of a weird bird?
I have a beautiful red bird that comes to visit and sing for me now and then as well as a hummingbird that loves my hanging baskets, but I haven’t been able to get a decent photo. I did, however, get a good picture of Canada geese along Lake Huron. I found it humourous how they were able to follow posted rules during Covid while many humans couldn’t.
Thank you, Ivanka!
You can learn more about Ivanka Fear, including how to sign up for her mailing list on her website and on Twitter here.
Finnian Burnett 