Friday Feature: Interview with Author Marie Wells Coutu

It’s the third Friday of the month, time for our Friday Feature author interview.

This month’s debut author landed a publisher via a contest. Today I visit with Marie Wells Coutu, author of For Such a Moment, released earlier this year from Write Integrity Press.

Welcome, Marie. Thank you for joining us today. How exciting to win a contest that includes publication of your book. How long did it take to write your book?

Marie: I worked on this book for five or six years, off and on. Once I felt it was as polished as I could make it, and I still had not had any interest from publishers, I put it aside and began to work on a historical novel. But after I heard about the Books of Hope Contest, sponsored by Write Integrity Publishers, I dusted off the manuscript and polished it some more before submitting to the contest.

Debra: Obviously your hard work paid off. You won the contest and now book one of your Mended Vessels series, For Such a Moment, has been published. Congratulations.

Initially, at what point in writing your book did you begin to look for publishers?

Marie: Too soon, probably! I developed a proposal very early in the process and had some good feedback on the idea and on my writing. So even though the novel wasn’t finished, I began meeting with editors and agents at ACFW [American Christian Fiction Writers] in 2008. I kept revising the proposal instead of completing the rest of the novel. I signed with an agent in 2009, and he sent the proposal to a number of editors. But if someone had wanted to publish the book, I would have been in trouble! If I could “rewrite” that part of my publishing journey, I would wait until I had finished the manuscript before submitting.

Debra: Since you didn’t have a finished manuscript, what did you do to attract and sign an agent?

Marie: I met with agents at ACFW–not just during appointments but at other times during the conference when I had an opportunity to talk to them. On the way home, I saw an agent at the airport baggage claim whom I recognized from the agent panel, and I actually got bold and talked to him! Several agents said I could send my proposal, and that led to one agent offering me a contract.

Debra: Did you meet with acquisition editors via writer’s conferences? If so, how did that go?

Marie: During the first ACFW Conference I attended, I met with two agents and an editor. All three meetings were disasters! Instead of being asked to submit the complete manuscript as I expected, they all told me I needed more work on my craft. Imagine that! I cried a lot and spent a lot of time in the prayer room during that conference. But after soaking in as much as I could during the workshops, I knew the agents and editors were right—I still had a lot to learn. Now, more than five years later, I realize that I’ll never learn all there is to know about crafting a novel. But that’s one reason I love writing fiction. There are so many elements that go into a good (or great) novel, and each book is a learning experience for me as an author.

Debra: When the publisher asked for a book proposal, what did they want the proposal to include? Was it difficult to write?

Initially, the book proposal I used was based on what my agent wanted included—synopsis, first three chapters, tagline, back-cover blurb, market comparables, author bio, marketing plan, and one-paragraph descriptions of two related books. The most difficult part of writing the proposal was the market comparables.

However, for the Books of Hope Contest, the publisher wanted proposals for a three-book series. The proposal required a blurb for each of the three books, a one-page synopsis for each book, and the first three chapters of the first book. After the finalists were selected (and there were 15 of us!), we were given a few months to make any additional revisions to Book One.

Debra: Let me stop here for a moment. You mentioned that your agent wanted one-paragraph descriptions of two related books, and that the contest required a three-book series. When I met with an agent several years ago, he asked me what else I had planned. The question caught me off guard and I fumbled through an answer. What I learned is that both agents and publishers want to know you have more than one book in you. They’re investing money in you and want to know the relationship will last, not fizzle out after one book.

Moving on, how did you learn your book won the Books of Hope contest?

Marie: I received an e-mail telling me, which meant I would receive a small cash prize and a three-book contract. The publisher called me that evening and we talked through the terms of the contract and when each book would be released. After we signed the contract, I completed a questionnaire for the cover art, including descriptions of the major characters and settings, ideas that I had for the cover, my likes and dislikes, etc. The publisher sent several cover ideas. They had possibilities but we both knew they weren’t quite right. A few more weeks went by, and she sent a new cover idea that I loved. It really captured the setting and tone of the book. After only a few more tweaks, we had a final cover.

Meanwhile, the book was going through editing.

Debra: I’m not at all familiar with the book cover process. I imagine like everything else that each publishing house has its own procedures. Were you surprised when you received the questionnaire and how much they worked with you in creating the cover art?

Marie: I had heard that many publishers use a questionnaire to get a sense of the author’s ideas for the book cover. I was surprised how detailed the questionnaire was and how open my publisher was to my ideas. The process was rewarding because I felt that my ideas were taken seriously and the final result definitely reflected my vision–even though I didn’t know what that vision was when we started!

Debra: Can you expound on the editing process?

Marie: The editor sent me excellent comments. One of the major points was to make sure my timeline worked. Although I had initially plotted out the timeline on a calendar, I had made substantial revisions and switched chapters around without re-checking the timeline. The book begins before Thanksgiving and has a number of key events that happen before Christmas. I had to go back to the Internet and plot out on a calendar everything that happens between Thanksgiving and Christmas to make sure everything fit. (Fortunately, although the novel is contemporary, there’s no indication of which year it is!) Then I had to make sure that the days of the week were correct for each scene.

Debra: I can see how important a timeline was for you. Do you think plotting out a timeline would be beneficial to other fiction writers, and how?

Marie: Yes, I think plotting the timeline for your novel is helpful for any fiction writer. As a reader, one thing that really annoys me is when things happen in a book and the timeline doesn’t make sense. Whether it’s a thriller that takes place over a few days or an epic that covers several years, the action and events need to fit logically in the time frame of the book. Hours of the day, weekends, holidays, and seasons all must be considered so that the reader isn’t thrown out of the story by timing that doesn’t make sense.

Debra: Marketing is a major component for most authors nowadays. How much marketing of your book does your publisher expect you to handle?

Marie: My publisher has an online presence and publishes e-books and print-on-demand, with a very small marketing budget. Write Integrity does a lot of innovative marketing, primarily through social media, and all the authors help promote each others’ books. But that means we have to do a lot ourselves, too. I’ve arranged book signings, sent out news releases, and arranged guest blog spots like this one and others, as well as a social media campaign following the launch. The publisher did organize a book signing for five authors at the International Christian Retail Show in St. Louis in June, which was a lot of fun and helped us make some contacts with retailers.

Debra: ICRS is the Christian booksellers event of the year. What was it like attending? Did you learn things you plan to use for your next book release?

Marie: ICRS is a lot of fun, and I especially enjoyed meeting and talking with booksellers who came to get a signed copy of my book. It’s a great time to meet other authors and find out what new releases are creating buzz. I also did a few interviews, and would like to focus on doing more interviews for the next release if I can.

Debra: What was the worst thing to deal with in the publishing process? What was the best?

Marie: The worst thing was the wait to hold the actual book in my hands! It went live on Amazon before I actually had a copy, so a co-worker ordered a copy for delivery the next day and let me hold it.

And the best thing was…actually holding the book in my hands!

Debra: [big smile] It is exciting seeing and feeling the fruition of your hard work. What advice do you have for writers concerning finding and gaining a publisher?

Marie: Be patient, and trust in God’s timing. Keep learning the craft of fiction writing and strive to improve. Take advantage of as many opportunities as you can manage to learn more, whether through on-line websites and groups, critique groups, local and national organizations (like ACFW), and workshops and conferences. If you are able to attend a conference, you’ll have chances to meet and talk with editors and agents. Be prepared to make a good first impression, but realize that great writing and telling a compelling story trumps everything else.

Debra: What advice do you have for them for during the process between acceptance and release?

Marie: Build your tribe and reach out to them for help in promoting your book. If you don’t already have a website, get at least a basic one that tells something about you and your books. Contact as many influencers as possible, sending review copies if that is something your publisher offers. Plan your social media for the weeks leading up to and following the launch. But don’t try to do everything! Pick two or three areas to focus on (Facebook and Twitter were my primary outlets, and I plan to add Pinterest next time around). And don’t forget to take time to breathe, to spend time with family, and most especially, to pray!

Debra: We want our book to be a big success so we can easily get so wound up in all the work to accomplish that. Thank you for reminding us to take time out! Is book two in the series slated for release?

Marie: Book two will release in 2014 but the exact date is not yet set.

Debra: Congratulations on For Such a Moment, Marie, and the series. Thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge with us today.

Marie: Thank you for having me!

ABOUT Marie Wells Coutu

Marie Wells Coutu has written for business, government, and nonprofit organizations, including the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association for the past fourteen years. The author or editor of five published nonfiction books and hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles, she has edited devotionals and other books published by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. She manages an inspirational website, mended-vessels.com, where she and others blog, review books, and offer inspiration and encouragement. She has been a finalist in the 2009 ACFW Genesis Contest, 2010 Women of Faith Writing Contest, and placed as a Bronze Medalist in the 2011 and 2012 Frasier Awards sponsored by My Book Therapy.

Connect with Marie at MarieWellsCoutu.com or MarieWellsCoutu.com/books; http://www.mended-vessels.com/; on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MarieWellsCoutu; or follow her on Twitter @MWCoutu.

ABOUT For Such a Moment, Write Integrity Press, June 2013

“If I don’t do this … I might as well perish.”

Revealing her secret could save lives…or change hers forever. In this book that re-imagines the story of Queen Esther in a contemporary setting, Ellen Neilson enjoys her comfortable life as the wife of an American CEO. Having lived in America since the age of ten, she has forsaken her mixed heritage and kept aspects of her childhood secret. Her husband has become engrossed in his job, and she believes having a child will salvage their troubled marriage.

When her cousin Manuel, whom she hasn’t seen for twenty years, shows up as one of her husband’s managers, Ellen fears that her past will be revealed. The company buys a banana plantation in her home country of Guatemala, and Manuel informs her that illegal pesticides have poisoned the water. People are dying, but she doesn’t know who’s to blame for the cover-up.

Are you an author whose first book has released this year or due to release next year? Would you like to be featured here? Contact me at Deb@DebraLButterfield.com with the title of your book, the publisher, release date, and a brief bio of yourself.

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