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With author Jean Tennant
DOWNLOAD AND LISTEN TO GETTING PUBLISHED WITH JEAN TENNANT, EPISODE 1 HERE
READ JEAN’S PROLOGUE HERE
Welcome to our very first reality show!
In “Getting Published” we’ll follow the efforts of various writers as they work on their books, look for agents and publishers, go through the publishing process, and embark on their marketing. We’ll look at their proposals, query letters, and marketing plans and share in their reactions as they hear, or don’t hear, from agents and editors.
During the journey, we’ll ask for your comments and make them available on the show and our blog. In that way, even though each series is one writer’s story, their work will become a kind of collaboration between them and you, our listeners. We hope that the show will provide insight into the publishing process and help guide you in your own efforts.
Shows will be posted on a semi-regular schedule—whenever our writers have something to report or listeners have offered feedback—but not less often than once a month.
Our first writer is Jean Tennant, who says “I feel like I’m being given a special gift to take part in the beginning of something that might–you never know– become a trend in podcasting. I’m nervous about it, nervous about the possibility of failing so publicly, but have decided it’s all about taking risks, and putting yourself out there.“
Jean is a native Californian transplanted to the Midwest. She was first published twenty-five years ago when she started writing for “The Trues”–True Romance, True Confessions, True Story, etc. From there she moved on to short stories, essays, and finally, novels. Her first, a Silhouette YA titled Playing House, was published in 1986. Six horror novels then appeared in quick succession between 1987 and 1992. She has adapted one of them, Wild Card, into a screenplay. Though out of print, her books are still available through Amazon.com under the name Jean Simon.
After more than a decade of devoting herself to freelance work, and as a news correspondent for the Sioux City Journal, Jean has returned to the tough, time-consuming, frustrating, and ultimately rewarding world of novels. Her soon-to-be completed work is Karaoke Nights at the Twilight Lounge, which takes place in the fictional town of Hudson Valley, Minnesota, and explores the friendships and loyalties of women, with a sprinkling of infidelity and murder thrown in for good measure. She’s also at work on a thriller, tentatively titled Mount Hope, which she hopes to have completed by early 2007.
Jean is a member of the Arts on Grand Writers’ Group, which meets twice a month in Spencer, Iowa. She also enjoys word games and puzzles, and is a member of the American Cryptogram Association. She lives in Iowa with her husband, and a terrier named Kirby Puckett.
In episode 1 of “Getting Published, with Jean Tennant,” we introduce Jean, her book, and her goals, including:
- What Jean’s book is about
- Why she has returned to novel-writing after years in journalism
- How her current novels are different from the ones she wrote in the eighties
- Where she is in the process
- How she approaches writing and editing
- Why she has chosen to tell this particular story
- How she came up with her characters and plot and made sure they were fresh and original
- How she came up with her title
- What her writing and publishing goals are (you’ve got to hear her elevator pitch!)
- How she feels about the possibility of failure
- Why she doesn’t want to self-publish.
We invite you to offer your feedback on Jean’s prologue by commenting on our blog and/or writing to Paula B. at paula at writingshow dot com.
Next time, Jean explains how she’s approaching looking for an agent. We’ll also be posting a sample of her query letters and chapter one of Karaoke Nights at the Twilight Lounge.
Interviewee: Jean Tennant
Host: Paula B
Date: September 11, 2006
Running time: 48:04
File size: 35 megabytes
Rating: G
Jean Tennant’s Web site: www.jeantennant.com