Meet Lynn Price Author of Donovan´s Paradigm and Editorial Director of Behler Publications
Norm Goldman
September 03, 2008
Good day Lynn and thanks for participating in our interview.
Thanks so much for inviting me. You´re a true gentleman and scholar.
Norm:
What is an Editorial Director and how long have you been with Behler Publications?
Lynn:
As Editorial Director, it´s my job to process all queries and submissions that come into our office. I decide which projects we want to pursue and which will be rejected. I then go about reading the full manuscripts and taking it to my submissions committee for final approval. Since I was brought in kicking and screaming as a principal owner of Behler, I´ve been here since its inception in late 2002.
Norm:
Can you tell us something about Behler Publications? I notice they have several award winning books.
Lynn:
It´s hard to be a small publisher and make a big impact in a fairly large ocean. To combat this, we are a niche publisher, meaning that we specialize. We look for socially relevant personal journeys.
Our books maintai2n a fine balance of entertaining through plot and rich character development because we feel strong characters are what keep readers turning the pages. The backdrop of our stories touch on relevant issues such as medical care, aging, family issues, disabilities, abandonment, education, etc. These issues keep our books popular now and will continue do so twenty years from now. I think the quality of writing and the emotional ties between the characters and the stories are what propel our books to winning awards.
Norm:
What do you believe constitutes a "good review" from an author or publisher´s perspective? As a follow up, what would you like to see in a review?
Lynn:
An honest review; one where it´s obvious the reviewer read the book. I´ve been amazed at how many reviewers simply take the tip sheet we provide and belch it back almost word for word. My thinking is, why bother? Sure, it´s nice to see a review up that we can parse and use in our marketing campaigns. But, as a writer, I like to see the reviewer fully engaged in the work. Of course, I´d be crazy not to want a good review, but I also take the honest, thoughtful reviews to heart as well because that´s feedback we might not receive. It´s how we get better.
I like reviews that don´t regurgitate the synopsis and leave a couple lines for actual opinion. I appreciate the reviewer who addresses character development and whether the character got under the reader´s skin. I enjoy plot discussions and how the story affected the reviewer. You just can´t bottle that kind of review.
Norm:
How important is online media promotion?
Lynn:
All promotion is important, and I consider online promotion a vital cog in the overall promotional wheel. It creates a united front with physical promotion where the author is out doing events and interviews.
Online promotion is vital because we have the entire world at our fingertips. Books that may have had a smaller, local audience can now experience fabulous sales because more people know the book exists. With the world moving ever-closer to the internet, online promotion is a huge wave of the future.
Norm:
I believe you often deal with query letters from prospective authors. What are the essential elements of a query letter?
Lynn:
There are three basic elements that should be included in a query letter:
Tagline / genre/ word count
Pitch: A condensed (roughly one paragraph) version of the synopsis
Intro the characters - most importantly what makes us empathize with him/her/them?
Intro dilemma - what does protagonist stand to lose (this should be something very personal and close to protag's heart)
Present teasers or resolutions
Bio: A smattering about you
Why you wrote the book
Book´s unique qualities
Connects with a specific audience
Future books, plans for career
Norm:
According to your blog, you spent 17 bug-filled days traipsing in the Peruvian Jungle. What is this all about?
Lynn:
This falls under the category of ´good authors gone insane.´ My second book in my Donovan series has my characters working in a jungle hospital in the Peruvian Amazon. I´m of the opinion that my best writing comes from tactile experience. If I can touch it, smell it, and live it, I can write about it like none other probably a good thing I don´t write slasher books. Interviews and reading books are great, but they can´t help you feel the heaviness of the air as it soaks your clothing five minutes after getting out of a cold shower or the desperation of itching away three layers of your skin that´s covered with chigger bites. It can´t convey how the river, when perfectly calm, reflects the sky in unbroken perfection, and the only break in the water is from the shy peek of a pink dolphin. Amazing stuff, and, hopefully, an amazing story.
Norm:
Could you briefly tell our readers something about Donovan´s Paradigm?
Lynn:
Brief? You ask an author to be brief? How could you?? Ok, here goes. Senior surgeon, Erik Behler, had no idea that the nut job he heard speak at an alternative medicine seminar is the same woman who charmed her way into his heart by spilling her dinner on his leg at the hospital´s annual fundraiser and is now the hospital´s newest surgeon. At least not until the young surgeon, Kim Donovan, promotes an alternative medical program for the surgical floor
Norm:
What motivated you to write your book?
Lynn:
I´m a "let´s look for the chinks in the armor" kind of writer. As patients, all we see from doctors are their white coats, the air of authority, their confidence that they can cure what ails us in a word, infallibility. But docs are presumably human, and I look for the elements that expose their soft underbellies; how do they handle controversial issues or, worse, personal devastation? How do they reconcile their preconceived beliefs when they no longer fit inside a neat little package? Controversy gets tongues wagging, and I brought in the alternative medical element because this issue is making a huge impact, and shaking up, the medical paradigm.
Norm:
Do you have a favourite story to tell about being interviewed about your book? What question are you never asked in interviews but wish you were?
Lynn:
I was being interviewed by a medical magazine, and we´d gone on for quite a while when the interviewer, a doctor, asked, "I read and loved your book. The medical scenes were unimpeachable, so I have to ask what type of medicine you practice." I nearly laughed up a lung. I fooled a doctor? I told him I wasn´t a doctor and hadn´t even slept in a Holiday Inn. Poor guy deflated right before my eyes. He was all set to promote my medical practice, bless his heart.
Norm:
Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
Lynn:
The feedback I most often get is that readers love the relationship and dialog between my two main characters, Kim Donovan and Erik Behler. Because they and the rest of the cast are so real, the story is also very real. A woman whose husband was dying of cancer told me she used my novel as a textbook and highlighted certain passages that she found comforting and inspirational. To know that I´ve touched people´s hearts with my words is quite humbling. I´m nowhere near inspirational in real life. Just ask my dogs.
Norm:
Do you feel that writers, regardless of genre owe something to readers, if not, why not, if so, why and what would that be?
Lynn:
Sure! I think writers owe their readers a darn good story. They do that by staying fresh and remaining loyal to their characters and their stories. If their stories require research say the Peruvian Amazon they take the steps to ensure they get their facts right. It gets harder to do when you´re working under a five book deal and have to crank out a new book every year whether you´re feeling´ the love for your story or not. I´ve watched some of my favourite writers become stale over the years, and I think it´s because of the huge demands to meet a deadline. Deadlines or not, a writer is going to lose their readership if they don´t give them what they´re owed a great story.
Norm:
Are you working on any books/projects that you would like to share with us? (We would love to hear all about them!)
Lynn:
I´m in the throes of writing the second in my Donovan series Donovan´s Impasse which has my main characters working with the indigenous people of the Amazon jungle. It´s also the place where Kim ultimately faces career-ending injuries, and she has to face the prospect of giving up a career she spent a lifetime dreaming of, and it falls to Erik to see if he can bring her back to life.
I´m also in the middle of writing The Writer´s Essential Tackle Box, which is a four-part handbook geared to authors who haven´t yet written "The End" to the author who just signed with Random House. I´m very excited about this project because there isn´t anything like this on the market, and the genre buyers are getting very itchy for me to finish it.
Norm:
Where can our readers find out more about you and your book? Do you wish to add anything that we have not covered?
Lynn:
Our business website is http://behlerpublications.com/index.shtml, and readers can see our full lineup along with a link to our blog - http://behlerblog.blogspot.com/ .
My personal site is http://lynnprice.net/ , where I talk about the Donovan series and a little bit about why my synapses fire the way they do. For more confirmation that my sanity should be called into question more often, readers may view my blog - http://lynnprice1.blogspot.com/. I try very hard to talk about issues that concern doctors in today´s medicine, but I veer off course quite a bit as well.
Thanks once again and good luck with all of your future endeavors.