Author Bio:
Karen J. Hicks is retired and lives in Henderson, Nevada. She recently published her second novel, The Coming Woman, based on the life of the infamous feminist Victoria C. Woodhull, who was the first woman to run for U.S. President. Her first book was a self-help book titled The Tao of a Uncluttered Life. Karen served as in-house editor for author Steve Allen and has written several screenplays, as well as poetry, short stories, and essays. To learn more, go to http://www.karenjhicks.com/
What inspires you to write?
It’s not so much about being inspired as it is about being driven. I get very out of sorts, shall we say, when I don’t write for a while. A lot of my ideas come from dreams and daydreams.
Tell us about your writing process.
I guess I’m more of a seat of the pants writer. I get an idea for a story and sit at the computer and dash out a brief synopsis or short story of it. Then I start adding details – various “scenes” that expand on the idea. I think using scenes comes from my days of writing scripts. The Coming Woman was actually written as a script first, as is the novel I am currently working on.
Once I get scenes visualized, I print them out and then arrange them in an order that seems coherent.
Once I start putting them all together on the computer, I visualize myself as the reader and what I want to read next – what questions I need answers too, etc. – so the scenes get moved around even more, as well as some added and some deleted. I copy and paste (I used Word) and then print out a first draft. Then the real process of writing begins: the editing!
THE COMING WOMAN was a bit different, however, because history provided the sequence of events. The biggest problem I had with this book was that there was so much material I really had to pick and choose carefully to keep the book focused. As you can tell by this answer, I tend toward verbosity so editing is undoubtedly the most important stage of all my writing.
What advice would you give other writers?
If you want to be a writer, write and never give up.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I’ll be honest. I love to write but hate the business end of it. I would fail terribly as a salesperson. By going with a publisher, they can take care of the details of getting my stories to the public and leave me free to concentrate on the creative end of things. I have never had an agent and with today’s electronic age I am not sure one is necessary. I generally meditate and then send out queries to publishers I am led to through internet searches research into on which publisher would be the best fit for the genre of my book.
For writers who are not celebrities, I find that working with smaller publishers is better than being lost in the shuffle of the “big guys.” Truly, though, I am a little metaphysical in that I throw things out and count on the Universe to let them land where and when they are supposed to. I would advise new authors to first do their research – actually read the books in a publisher’s catalog before approaching them. And then listen to that voice in your head and pitch from the heart.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
The internet has made much easier for writers to be heard for sure. And e-books are an exploding market. I still prefer the good old paper versions, but I think the electronic publishing revolution has made reading much more accessible to people due to the ease of publishing and purchasing and the decrease in cost. I think brick-and-mortar stores may eventually die out, unfortunately, but hope and pray libraries stay viable.
What genres do you write?
womens, historical, fiction
What formats are your books in?
Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Karen J. Hicks Home Page Link
Your Social Media Links
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22921576-the-coming-woman
https://www.facebook.com/TheComingWoman
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