Wendy Wax: The Accidental Bestseller
Book Club Discussion
August 19, 2010. Wendy Wax gives Queenie D the inside scoop on her novel,
The Accidental Bestseller.
The Accidental Bestseller interview with Wendy Wax
I'm
sure you are going to get this question plenty, but we want to know - how much of this story is based on actual events? Did something like this
really happen in your life as an author? If not, where did the inspiration from this story originate?
You know
I've joked that 'the names have been changed to protect the innocent,' but The Accidental Bestseller is about as true a look at what it is
to be a writer today as I was able to write without having to label it non-fiction.
A writer named Tapani Bagge said, "Everything that doesn't kill you makes you stronger. And later you can use it in some story." I love that quote--I
even have it on my website--and that's pretty much what I did in The Accidental Bestseller. Of course, I put Kendall Aims in a much worse
position than I faced and it IS fiction, but the story and the characters were inspired by things that 'didn't kill' me and other writers I know.
Book Club Discussion: Wendy Wax
The Accidental Bestseller interview with Wendy Wax
Many
of us who are aspiring writers would like to know - is it really as hard as you describe to get your manuscripts published? And then to actually
make a career of being a "writer?" Tell us a little bit about your personal experience.
Each
chapter in The Accidental Bestseller begins with a quote about writing and one of my favorites is from John Steinbeck who said, "The profession
of book writing makes horse racing seem like a solid, stable business." Unfortunately, John was right!
It's a really tough business and the obstacles Kendall, Faye, Mallory and Tanya face are very real. When we're starting out we like to think that
once we sell that first book everything will get easier, but in fact the first sale is just the first step on what can be a very long and rocky road.
I don't know a single writer who hasn't had both giddy ups and appalling 'downs.' It can be a real roller coaster. Sometimes it just comes down to
how much you want it and how hard you're willing to work.
There's another quote that really resonates with me. It's from James Baldwin who said, "Beyond talent lie all the usual words: discipline, love,
luck-but most of all, endurance."
OK--that looks awfully grim. Obviously there are rewards (also compulsion as you bring up below!) or I wouldn't still be writing. But as we say in
my family about baseball, it's not a sprint it's a marathon!
The Accidental Bestseller interview with Wendy Wax
I
thought Faye's secret was much more damaging to her life than Mallory's, yet, Mallory acted as though exposing her past would be absolutely horrific.
Why was she so sure that she needed to keep her personal tragedy from her husband and closest friends?
Mallory
was a really interesting character to write. I saw her as an example of the sort of person who looks like she has it all-she's a perennial NYT
bestseller, has a great husband and leads a lavish lifestyle. But so often the only reason other people's lives look easier or more attractive
than ours is because we don't know their real stories.
I felt Mallory had worked so hard to succeed and become the person she presented to the world, that she feared letting even those she loved most
see what she'd been through and where she'd come from. She didn't want to be pitied or seen as anything 'less' than what she'd made herself into.
The Accidental Bestseller interview with Wendy Wax
For
each of the women you describe the need to write as almost a compulsion. Do you think it's true of most writers, published or not, that getting
their stories out on paper is a need rather than a want? Can a writer be successful without this ability to pour words on paper?
Well,
I don't pour out words like I wish I did, but yes, I think most writers are compelled to write. We all have different reasons and things that drive
us, but the need is there.
It's so odd because I can be so ready to be done with a manuscript-I've been working on it for so long and I can't wait to type 'the end!' But then
as soon as it's done and off my desk, I feel a huge sense of loss. I may complain at times while I'm writing (OK, that may be a slight understatement),
but I'm happiest when I'm working-as long as the writing is going well! : )
The Accidental Bestseller interview with Wendy Wax
Can
an editor like Jane really ruin an author's career? How often does something like the Sticks and Stones coup happen in the publishing world?
Your
relationship with your editor is hugely important. In a publishing house your editor is your 'champion;' the person who buys your work and who
then interfaces on your behalf with the powers-that-be and the other departments like art and marketing and sales. Editors change houses all the
time and authors are often 'orphaned.' Sometimes the editor who takes over is a good fit, but many times they're not and an author's career can
suffer as a result. Ideally, editor and author are on the same page striving toward the same goals, but there can be a lack of enthusiasm for the
author once the original editor is gone that's hard to overcome. Jane Jensen was an exaggeration, but a bad editor/author relationship is not good
for anyone.
Truthfully, the coup that Lacy Samuels, the young assistant editor, pulls off is a bit of fantasy on my part. When I first started writing her,
she was nothing more than an insult to Kendall-assigning such a young inexperienced person to an established author was a sign of her editor's contempt
and disinterest. But as I wrote her, Lacy became the fairy godmother of the story; the person who still believed wholeheartedly in the power of
books and the act of publishing. I love it when a character becomes so much more than you expected!
The Accidental Bestseller interview with Wendy Wax
Kendall
is writing the sequel to Sticks and Stones at the end of the novel. Can we expect to see Names will Never Hurt Me on your to-do list?
I've
been playing around with a sequel in my mind, but haven't yet come up with something that feels right. I'll keep you posted!
BCQ: Can you tell us anything about your current writing projects?
Wendy Wax: I just turned in the manuscript for Ten Beach Road, which is due out in May. It's the story of Madeline Singer, Avery
Lawson and Nikki Grant--three strangers who wake up one morning to discover that their life savings have vanished along with their trusted financial
manager...leaving them with nothing but co-ownership of a ramshackle beachfront house.
It's set on the tip of Pass-a-Grille, a barrier island on the west coast of Florida where I grew up and was great fun to write.
Book Club Discussion: Wendy Wax
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