Tell
me about your writing process: schedule, environment, strategies,
inspirations, etc.
Calling
what I do a process makes it sound far more organized than it
actually is. What I really do that creates success for me is a two
step process: I meditate, and I write a small amount every day.
Reality means I’m usually writing a lot most days, but the trick is
I promise myself I can quit any time after the first, say, five
hundred words. I never want to quit after five hundred words.
As
for environment, I used to be finicky and say it had to be a certain
level of quiet or comfort, or there had to be this and that to write.
Now I write wherever I am, so long as there’s no one talking to me.
I can edit with a room full of children cavorting around me and
begging for bananas on toast, but for the writing itself, I still
need to be left alone.
Walk
me through your publishing process, from final draft to final
product, including who does what when and what marketing you do.
I
don’t have a final draft. I have the best I can do in the time I
have, and that is what goes to the publisher, and that is what they
copyedit and proof and eventually print. But I am still editing in my
mind for all eternity. When I read aloud from my work at events, I
edit it as I go. So readers are hearing the best version of the book
for that day in that moment. I guess I could never be my own audio
narrator!
As
for marketing, I try to be very flexible about this. My real job is
writing and that’s how I prioritize, but I am proud of my work and
want to share it. As such, I spend most of my “marketing” time
chatting with excellent and active readers. I try to be open about
my successes and my foibles in the world with anyone who asks, and I
talk about my favorite books in the moment so that the readers who
follow me never run out of good books.
Describe
your support system—online and IRL; who are your biggest
cheerleaders—and how did you become a Tall Poppy?
When
I talk about authorial support (outside my immediate family and dear
friends who support me because they love me, books or no,) I am
talking almost exclusively about the Tall Poppies. This is a
marketing collective in the main, but the side effect is a network of
professional colleagues who believe in the same principles as I do.
Namely, we all believe, with grace and gratitude, that there is room
at the top, and we mean to get everyone there together. We only see
each other in real life once a year, so the rest of the time, we are
connecting virtually, and I think that is probably one of the only
reasons I don’t throw my phone off a cliff.
How
does your life influence your writing and vice versa?
They
are inextricable. This is the difference between my job and most
other professions. I cannot leave my writing behind when I “come
home” from work, and I do not pretend that what is happening in my
life doesn’t shape my writing. When I have a problem to work out,
or a question about life, or a hearts desire, I write it into a book.
That said, I don’t write about people I know. Even if I tried, my
characters wouldn’t stand for it. They are utterly themselves.
What
do you love
most about your creativity?
While
I’m very very grateful to be able to write books for a living, I do
not quite understand how it came to pass that the creative life won
out over my pragmatism. I did well in my physics and calc classes in
college and probably would have been just as happy in any creative
problem solving profession. The thought of a vested retirement plan
makes my heart sing. Also, I always thought it would be great to be a
mail carrier.
But
here I am writing away, and my favorite thing about it is that even
though I am a comic writer, according to my reviews, I have no
concept of what it is that I write that is so funny. I just write the
most emotionally honest stories I can manage, and then my editors
come back to me with all these LOL comments and I think, oh, ok,
great. In real life this is very weird because when I say something
that comes out funny, I get really excited and say stuff like, “Oh!
That was
funny!” or laugh at my own jokes.
That
anyone hangs out with me at all is the real comedy.
Connect
with Kelly:
Website:
http://kellyharms.com/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/authorkellyharms
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6539545.Kelly_Harms
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/kelly.harms/
