FROM IDEA TO AWARDS: Some Thoughts for an Upcoming Keynote Address

 By Lisa Malice, Ph.D.

I’m honored to be giving the keynote address next Friday to writers attending the Venice Book and Writers’ Festival with a presentation entitled, “From Idea to Awards.” The title wasn’t my doing. My initial proposal, “A Writer’s Journey from Idea to Publication and Beyond,” didn’t capture what intrigued the organizers most about my author story. What compelled them to offer me this amazing opportunity was that my debut novel, Lest She Forget, hit the Amazon bestseller list for new psychological thrillers on its launch day, moved up and down the list over the next 30 days (the eBook topped out at #33), then went on to receive award nominations, and a particularly humbling win for Best New Voice in Fiction from the Independent Book Publishers Association.

(Right: I was all smiles the night I won the Benjamin Franklin Award for BEST NEW VOICE in fiction from IBPA. Just being nominated was a thrill. I never expected to win. It was a bittersweet night, as my acceptance speech focused on singing the praises of Sue Arroyo, the brilliant businesswoman, author, and founder of CamCat, who had passed away two months earlier after a fall in her home. She was only 56.) 

I was blown away by this initial success, too. Never expected it. Never really planned my path. It just happened, much like the lack of a definite process for writing my book, taking it one page at a time, seeing where my efforts took me and my novel.

But the award is part of my story, a happy result of a lot of work, so I’m happy have a title that hopefully will draw in authors to hear about my journey and learn from my experience (and buy some books, too!). My main point will be that it takes a village to write, publish, and most of all, sell the best book possible, one that could end up with an award or two.

Sure, at the beginning all writers are alone when that first idea pops into their heads, a kernel of a tale involving a protagonist, a nemesis, and the conflict that must be resolved between them. Spurred to put the story into words, it doesn’t matter how the plot unfolds, whether through meticulous outlining, following nothing more than the words flowing from the brain to the fingertips to the keyboard, or a combination of both storytelling styles. The only goal is to get that first draft done and type “THE END.”

But it is at that point, I posit, that being part of a dedicated writers’ community is the best chance for aspiring authors to see their publishing dreams come true. I can attest that my first draft was nothing anyone would want to read. There was so much I didn’t know about the craft of storytelling, from the very basics, such as using descriptive adjectives and verbs rather than adverbs to convey what is happening, to more complex aspects of fiction writing, such as techniques for building suspense.

The online writing classes I found helped with the basics, but I really didn’t start to learn the craft of crime fiction writing until I met other crime writers, whether our connection emerged from a monthly chapter meeting of Sisters in Crime (SinC) or Mystery Writers of America (MWA) or developed from connecting at conferences. The feedback I received from my author friends on draft after draft of my manuscript was truly invaluable to honing Lest She Forget into a novel worth reading. In fact, my first readers panned the denouement—hated it—so I changed the ending.

I took my involvement in my writers’ groups a step further than most by taking on leadership roles in Sisters in Crime, including chapter president, and at the national level, webinar producer/moderator for the Education Committee. I currently serve my Florida Gulf Coast SinC chapter as Events Co-chair.

(Right: Cedar Key Seafood Festival is one of the many events I've organized over the years to provide my SinC siblings with opportunities to meet readers and sell books. Last year's Hurricane Helene blew away my opportunity to finally sell my own books at the 2-day event.)

Similarly, my offer to volunteer with International Thriller Writers (ITW) led to a sweet gig, writing for their magazine, The Big Thrill. It is my job to read the latest books by crime writers, interview them, and write promotional pieces for the virtual publication that reaches more than 30,000 readers monthly. Great exposure? Of course. But the friendships I make are even more invaluable--and fun!

(Right: Having fun on a murder mystery bus tour with my Sisters from the Florida Gulf Coast chapter of SinC.) 

My SinC and ITW work does consume precious writing time, but it supports the work and dreams of authors all across the country who are happy to champion me and my publishing dreams in return. Imagine having a USA Today bestselling author help you craft a compelling query letter to attract agents and publishers--that was me in 2017, when I first started shopping my very first novel to agents and editors.

When Lest She Forget was finally picked up by CamCat Books, I was told that my advance was higher than what CamCat normally offered for a debut author. Why? Because I had an amazing network of authors to draw on for promotional help in launching my book. Because when it comes right down to it, all publishers—even the big five—DO rely on their authors to market and sell their books over their own corporate efforts. Ask any author, big name or small, and they will attest to the truth of this statement.

Once Lest She Forget survived a rigorous pre-publication editing process, CamCat started promoting it amongst the industry. But it was my job to get Advance Reader Copies (ARCs) out for blurbs. With only six weeks to get this done, I was nervous. Make no mistake, asking people who are already on tight publication schedules to read and blurb a book is a BIG ask. But I had developed relationships with many authors through meetups at conferences and my work with SinC and ITW, so I gave a lot of thought to who I would ask and sent out the first batch of requests. I was relieved when two internationally-bestselling authors and an award-winning writing professor agreed to help me out, but I was stunned—and filled with gratitude—when they came back with glowing words of praise for my debut thriller.  

Similarly, a good friend and author plugged my book with an award-winning crime fiction reviewer. When I met up with him at Bouchercon, I gave him my book, but he wouldn’t guarantee a review of Lest She Forget unless he loved it. After three months of hearing nothing, I assumed he was less than thrilled with my thriller. I was flabbergasted with the glowing review he published days before the launch of Lest She Forget.

My network of crime authors came through with opportunities for guest blogs, podcast interviews, virtual panel discussions, an article in The Big Thrill, and even a launch day in-studio interview on a Tampa-area TV station. Every author I sent promotional materials to post on social media on my launch day came through for me. All these promotional opportunities would not have been offered unless I had already built personal relationships with these authors.

(Right: My ITW "Big Thrill" assignment to cover local FOX TV anchor Linda Hurtado Bond's first book in her Maria Alvarez crime reporter series led to  a launch day appearance on Tampa Bay Reads.)

My personal connections with family and friends,  their families and friends, helped promote Lest She Forget, too, especially in connecting with book  clubs. My alumni groups connected me with readers across the country. Georgia Tech gave me a quarter page write-up. I got a big, beautiful two-page write-up about Lest She Forget and my journey as an author in the quarterly magazine for my college women’s fraternity (Chi Omega) (see below).

I can’t guarantee anyone award nominations, much less wins, by following my lead. But I attribute the quality of my book to great two developmental editors whose feedback and suggestions made all the difference in turning a mediocre thriller into one worthy of praise enough to win an award. I was referred to the first editor by a publisher I met at Thrillerfest whom I recruited to do a webinar on editing for my SinC chapter. Her guidance helped me rework Lest She Forget into a book worthy of landing an agent. I worked three months with CamCat’s editor-in-chief to further refine Lest She Forget to its praise-worthy and award-winning level of storytelling. So, here again, my connections made all the difference in the quality of Lest She Forget.

All these friendships and their interconnectivity contributed to my sales. In its first six months, Lest She Forget sold close to 1,300 copies, including 532 hardcovers, 430 eBooks, 192 audiobooks, and 80 large print books. Not bad for a debut author for a small independent publisher.

So, there you have it. The gist of what I will convey to the eager writers sitting in the audience next week as I share what I’ve learned about my writer’s journey. At this point, it behooves me to say “Thank You!!” to all my friends, both authors and readers, for their support on this journey of a lifetime.

What advice do you have for aspiring authors to make their publishing dreams come true?