♥.•*¨ Author Interview: Introducing . . . Elana Johnson! ¨*•.♥

Bio: Elana Johnson’s debut novel, Possession, will be published by Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster) on June 7, 2011. Her popular ebook, From the Query to the Call, is also available for download. School teacher by day, Query Ninja by night, you can find her online at her personal blog or Twitter. She also co-founded the Query Tracker blog and contributes to the League of Extraordinary Writers. Elana is represented by Michelle Andelman of Regal Literary.

 

Elana is one of the most cool, motivated people I've met. I decided I wanted to find out more about her and braved asking her for an interview. And she said yes! How cool is that?

Thanks, Elana, for humoring me!


Without further ado, Elana Johnson!

What is an average day like for you?

In two words: Pure insanity.

In more than two words: It’s a lot like everyone else’s, I imagine. I sleep too late, rush to get ready, pack a lame lunch of canned soup (because I MUST eat something hot for lunch), drive too fast to work, work a lot, constantly check email, and return home.

Then I sometimes cook, sometimes clean, sometimes read with kids, sometimes run them to their activities, sometimes watch TV, sometimes laugh, and sometimes write, and sometimes sleep.

It’s exhausting. The only thing that saves me most days is my Google calendar.

What is your day off like?

I clean my house on Mondays. Do all the laundry. Go to lunch, and take my daughter to school. Then I have approximately 1.3 hours before my son gets home from junior high (dang you, short days!), and I commence with the “average day” up above.

How did you develop your keen sense of query-writing?

I studied and printed and evaluated what worked in successful queries. And we all know if something is interesting to read or not. If we’re confused or not. So it just sort of bloomed from there.

What scene did you enjoy writing most in Possession?

Ahhh, excellent question. I rewrote so many of them, that it would be hard to choose. But there’s this one scene with Zenn and Vi that makes me a little weepy every time I read it. I can’t really tell you about it, because it’s sort of a spoiler, but it really shows the depth of emotion between the two of them. And I love that.

What have you discovered as the most effective marketing tool?

Uh… I don’t know. For me, it’s been my blog. But for someone else, it might be their relationships on twitter or the connections they’ve made on Facebook. I think, in the end, YOU are the most effective marketing tool. So just be yourself.

What is the perfect formula for forming a logline?

Well, “perfect” is hard to come by. And I think of a logline as a hook. So the hook should do two things: 1. Sum up your entire novel and 2. Prompt the reader/listener to know more. This can either mean they read more or your query, ask you a question, or go buy your book to read it!

Words to live by?

“Never give up! Never surrender!” ~Galaxy Quest



I had so much fun learning about Elana, thank you so much for letting me interview you!  If you haven't visited her blog, you're missing out. Stalk her right here!