Newsletter# November/December

Getting to know Joanne Mcgregor

We chatted to Joanne about life, books and her love of writing!

CB: You’re a prolific writer! And you have a day job as a psychologist, and you’re mum to two … how do you manage to produce so much while juggling the rest of your responsibilities? 

JM: I should point out that while I published 4 books this year, only one of those was written from scratch this year. My trad-published one (Fault Lines) was already edited and ready to go, and I had already written – to a relatively clean first draft stage – the first two books of the Recoil Trilogy. They needed edits and rewrites, but the first draft is always the hardest part for me. So I’m not as fast as I appear to be, but yes I guess I publish more than the average writer usually does. I do work really, really hard because I really, really want to get to a point where I can earn a living as a writer.

CB: What’s the best bit of writing and publishing books? 

JM: The moment when I type “the end” on the last page of my first draft is an unbelievable high for me – I get almost giddy with relief and overwhelmed with emotion. The other best part is when a reader “gets it” and reaches out to me in an email, via social media, or in a review to explain what one of my books meant to them. Oh, and also (there are many good parts) when a parent tells me their kid isn’t a reader but has picked up the habit after reading one of my books!

CB: What are you going to be writing next?

JM: I’ve already got the first drafts of two YA romances which I’ll bring out next year. One is a contemporary and realistic retelling of my favourite childhood fairy story, and the other deals with the universal experience (not limited to adolescence) of feeling like a misfit and a freak in some way. I’m also planning a non-fiction book in the psychology / self-help field, and I have an idea for experimenting with a book in a completely different genre, written under a nom de plume. As you can see, I’m planning a nice, restful, easy-going 2017 😉

Joanne Macgregor’s top 3 writing tips:

Get your stories out there!

1. Write first! Give your first time, your freshest attention and most creative energy to your writing. If you wait until you’ve attended to all the other demands on your time and attention, you’ll never get to your writing.
2. Write what you love, create stories around the issues you’re passionate about because you’re going to be investing so much time, energy and emotion into writing, editing, reading, rewriting, publishing and marketing that sucker. Pick a topic or story that will never bore you, no matter how many times you come back to it.
3. Finish your stories. Put them out into the world. Persist! Talent is common, persistence is what gets you published (whatever route you choose), and read.

Joanne says, “Can I include one bonus writing tip? – it’s one I feel strongly about! Take care of your back!”