Diana Holquist loves to write. That’s pretty much all she does. Ask her family about the undone laundry, the un-bought groceries, and the fact that she rarely finds time to get dressed in the morning. Holquist believes that if you train your family right, they won’t notice any of these things. “Popcorn for dinner again, mom! Cool!” is often heard shouted around the Holquist household by her filthy children.
Holquist’s first book, Make Me a Match, came out in September, 2006 from Warner Books. Her second book, Sexiest Man Alive, was released October 2007. You can visit her website at www.dianaholquist.com.
Welcome to Beyond the Books, Diana. Can you tell us whether you are published for the first time or multi-published? Can you give us the title(s) of your book(s)?
I have written two romantic comedies. My debut romantic comedy is Make Me a Match, published in 2006 by Warner
Books. My second, Sexiest Man Alive, is out in 2007 also from Warner, which has changed its name now to Grand Central Publishing. I just sold them two more romantic comedies. The first, Hungry for More, will be out in 2008 and the next, still nameless, will be out in 2009. The first three books are romantic comedies written in a series. I’m still not sure what the fourth will be. Any ideas?
What was the name of your very first book regardless of whether it was published or not and, if not published, why?
The very first romantic comedy I wrote I called My Kind of Crazy. I stole that title from a country music song I heard on the radio. I’m still in love with that title, but my editors shoot it down every time. That manuscript is now under my bed, waiting for really bad, too long, unpolished romantic comedies with awesome titles to come back in style. Might be a long wait…
For your first published book, how many rejections did you go through before you either found a mainstream publisher, self-published it, or paid a vanity press to publish it?
Make Me a Match, the first romantic comedy written in the one true love series, was rejected by 37 agents before I found an agent. Then, it was rejected by about six editors, before two mainstream New York publishers wanted it. That was fun. I went with Warner Books (now Grand Central Publishing) because the editor there really seemed to get the book and she had some wonderful ideas about how to fix it. Plus, they had a huge gap for a romantic comedy writer in their stable, so I thought I’d make a nice fit there.
How did the rejections make you feel and what did you do to overcome the blows?
Lousy. Awful. Fetal-position-terrible. But I had a lot of experience in rejection because before I got into writing romantic comedy novels, I was an advertising copywriter in New York City. It was terrifically competitive, and the rejections there were much harsher than what any agent or editor ever handed down. When your creative director at an ad agency tells you for the tenth time, “It’s not funny. Do it again and don’t come back here till it’s funny,” well, you develop a tough skin. You learn to just trudge back and do it again. And again. And again….and make it funny, darn it! After ten years of that, publishing novels was a walk in the roses.
When your first book was published, who published it and why did you choose them?
Make Me a Match was published by Warner Books (now Grand Central Publishing). I had two offers on the table, and both publishers promised a two-book deal, which was terrific. But the editor at the other house, who was very senior, wanted to publish Make Me a Match as is. She loved it. The editor at Warner was very junior, and she wanted MAJOR changes. She wanted me to pull out the entire motivation for the hero—about 150 pages of subplot. But her ideas were so smart and right-on, I just knew that if I re-wrote those 150 pages, the book would be so much better. I think that my background in advertising, where every ad is a collaboration between at least five or six people, made me very open to her point of view. I love collaborating—it’s much more exciting than actually writing. So it was an easy choice for me. So far, I’m delighted. Warner (Grand Central Publishing) has done a great job with the books, from editing to distribution to publicity. It’s been a pleasure.
How did it make you feel to become published for the first time and how did you celebrate?
Oh, it was great. I was at a PTA meeting for my kids’ elementary school when I got the call that the deal was done, so there wasn’t much celebrating right away. But once I got out of there, I called everyone I knew. I had little kids, so my husband and I opened a bottle of champagne at home. I’m still celebrating. Every day, I can’t believe my books are published and out there.
What was the first thing you did as for as promotion when you were published for the first time?
Well, my instincts for promotion were all about advertising, since that was my background. I bought an ad in Romantic Times for Make Me a Match that was edgy and different. It totally flopped. It took me a long, long time before I understood that advertising wasn’t the way to go for books. I had to learn publicity, which wasn’t easy. I’m still struggling with figuring out how to promote my books. It’s not easy, but it’s essential.
If you had to do it over again, would you have chosen another route to be published?
Um…that’s hard to answer in a public forum. I was so anxious to get published—and I think that this happens to a lot of people—I spent more time on working toward that then I did writing. I can see now that I’m falling into the same trap with publicity. I probably spend half my time promoting my books. That takes a toll. But I don’t know if there’s any way around that. Live and learn.
Have you been published since then and how have you grown as an author?
I’ve gotten two two-book contracts in a row from Warner (Grand Central Publishing) to write four romantic comedies in all. I’m getting faster (important!). Also, I’m learning to edit as I go, which takes a lot of practice. I’m also getting better at layering. What I mean by that is that I write the first draft for plot. The second for character. The third for humor….and so on. It still takes writing a lot of drafts to get it right, but now at least I have a system for writing romantic comedy that I know I can count on.
Looking back since the early days when you were trying to get published, what do you think you could have done differently to speed things up? What kind of mistakes could you have avoided?
The hardest part for me in getting published was to see the forest, not the trees. I think that beginning authors think, “this is a great sentence!” Or, “ooh, look at that beautiful turn-of-phrase.” But readers don’t care about that kind of stuff—and neither do most editors or agents. If you want to get published, you have to look at the big picture: the plot and the characters. Does it make sense? Do you like the characters? This is really what matters when it comes to getting published. I spent way too long perfecting first chapters and penning beautiful but superfluous sentences.
What has been the biggest accomplishment you have achieved since becoming published?
Since becoming published, I think my biggest accomplishment was staying published. I still don’t know if I’ll make it past these four books. I just have to keep writing and keep working. It’s never easy to get published and it’s even harder to stay published. Once those first numbers come in, you’re competing against yourself with every book. It’s terrifying.
If you could have chosen another profession, what would that profession be?
Oh, I’d love to paint. But I’m terrible at it. Geez, I really ought to wish for a profession that actually made a little money, huh?
Would you give up being an author for that profession or have you combined the best of both worlds?
I wouldn’t give up being an author for anything. I love my job. When I get old and can’t type anymore, I’ll paint.
How do you see yourself in ten years?
I hope I’m still writing romantic comedies that people love to read. I get e-mails from folks who say, “your books are so fun!” To me, that’s the greatest compliment. I hope that in ten years, folks are still saying that. I hope I’m showing readers a bit of fun.
Any final words for writers who dream of being published one day?
Keep at it. Never give up. Ugh, those are terrible, unhelpful clichés, aren’t they? Here’s some real advice: never ever use clichés! (Just kidding.) Okay, here’s my advice: As a writer, you can either spend ten years crafting a beautiful novel of substance and wisdom, every sentence carefully crafted and sweated over. Or, you can sit down, give yourself a deadline, and just have fun. You know what? When you’re done your funny, fast, fun novel, you’ll find that it’s actually full of substance and wisdom. Plus, someone will want to publish it. Don’t sweat the small stuff—go for the story and characters! Good luck!
Tags: Beyond the Books, virtual book tour, online book promotion, Diana Holquist, Sexiest Man Alive, romantic comedy
