Mike Lynch's first book, Dublin, came out in 2007, followed by When the Sky Fell, American Midnight, The Crystal Portal, and After the Cross. He has also published numerous short stories in various magazines. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and two children. Learn more about Mike and his novels on his website, www.mikelynchbooks.com
Here is an account of Mike's journey to publication:
How many complete novels have you written so far? 5
How many of those have been published? 4
Years you've been writing: 8
First thing you ever had published: A short story entitled, "No Revolution is Too Big"
In a paragraph or two, describe what the road to novel/book publication was like for you. I was just lying on my bed when I thought it would be fun to write about a fleet of ships 1000 strong attack the Earth. This was back in 1981, and as I recall, it took me about 3 months to finish the novel. Mind you, this was before the personal computer age, and every page was typed out on a manual typewriter. When I was done, the thought of revising the entire story, cleaning up clunky dialogue, correcting misspelled words, and making plot changes just felt so overwhelming to me that I put the story away for a number of years, but I would take it out from time to time and do a bit of revising.
It wasn’t until 2004 when I finally decided to get serious about writing that I tried to get the novel published. After facing one rejection after another, I realized I needed help, and so in 2006 I turned to a fellow writer, Brandon Barr, and asked him to help me rewrite the entire novel. For that, I made him a co-author. His contributions really made the difference. When we sent out the updated story to a new batch of publishers, Silver Leaf Books said yes, and our first novel was born.
Do you have an agent? How did you acquire him/her? Yes. Her name is Joyce Hart of the Hartline Literary Agency. When Silver Leaf agreed to publish our novel, they sent Brandon and me the writing contract. Filled will literary legaleze from top to bottom we both soon realized we needed the eyes of a professional to help us navigate this part of the publishing process. We contacted several agents with the contract, until Joyce said she'd represent us. We've been with her ever since.
Describe the first time you got "The Call." I actually shared that story when I described writing my first story. It was like I had an epiphany about being a writer. I somehow knew I could do it even though I had zero experience.
Are you a fan of writing contests? Why or why not? I've entered several contests, and actually won one. That was nice. Most authors I know enjoy receiving positive affirmations like that.
What do you know now that you wish you knew when you were first starting out? If I had to do it all over again, I think I would have started out writing short stories first before launching into novels. I thought I knew how to write back in the beginning, and could not have been more wrong. Writing a short story forces an author to establish a story from page one, develop their characters just as quickly, and be economical with their words. It's a discipline that has proved invaluable for me when I focus on full-length stories.
Three books on writing/publishing you'd recommend: I've only read one, and can't remember the name of it. Most of what I've learned as a writer has been through trial and error, with an emphasis on the error.
How is being published different than you thought it would be? I have fulfilled a dream that began many years ago, that of walking into a bookstore and finding my book on the shelf. It's a moment I still cherish. With that said, being an author has been much more difficult than I ever imagined. Writing a well-crafted story is hard enough, but it is nothing compared to promoting your book to the world. There are a lot of novels out there, all vying for people's attention. You have to constantly beat the bushes to make every sale. It can take over your life if you let it.
What are two pieces of advice you would give to writers who are desperately seeking publication? Push through all the rejection letters and keep writing. And two, love what you do. If you don't have a passion for writing, it can take all the fun out of your life.
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