About Kew Stapleton:
You could say I’m a typical New Yorker–I eat half fast food and half fancy food, I root for all the local teams when it counts, I don’t drive and if I could, I wouldn’t. Writing has been part of my identity as far back as I can remember: I was one of those kids scribbling all the time. In school, I used to liven up my English exams by tossing in improbable quotes from made-up sources. (Lucky for me I had teachers who found this stuff witty.) People couldn’t see how I’d ever make a living as a lit major, but I have, writing, teaching writing, guiding people with their writing.
What inspires you to write?
Basically, I’m very character-driven–I have the image of the central character before anything. No matter what themes, events, or historical currents I’m working with, there’s a character that it’s attached to, with a set of relationships, both allies and enemies. At the same time, my interests inspire me to write. Sports, politics, celebrity culture. The twentieth-century saw popular art forms grow and disappear–for instance, how many early film stars are unknown today because their films literally don’t exist? There’s a whole missing postwar era in black music, and its loss is upsetting and intriguing to me, upsetting that people don’t know the songs and performers, intriguing to research how it happened.
Tell us about your writing process.
I started as a pot-luck writer–I tossed all my ideas into the pot, and if I was lucky, the story was good. Eventually I learned structure, the hard way. My original manuscript of New York Brain was something like 700 pages long, and I learned how to take Stansfield Kaplan’s first year and a half in office and cram it into six months–instant structure!
I’ve recently finished a historical R&B novel that follows a number of characters over a number of years. I started with a very basic structure, year by year, but my research into the music business had me mapping out trends, tours, sales by the month.
Character sketches? I usually have the big names well thought out before I start writing, but sometimes minor characters emerge as major players as the story takes shape.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
Generally I listen to them. And I’m pretty amazed at what they tell me. When I was first working on New York Brain, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with some of the supporting cast, but once I heard their voices, all became clear. I have stories that I stopped working on that I’d gladly pick up again when I have more time to listen. I expect quite a few surprises.
What advice would you give other writers?
Learn from writers you like, and from writers you don’t. I’m a firm believer in the contemplative stage of writing: gathering ideas, making notes, experimenting with concepts. There’s no rule requiring you to write X number of words a day. Be open and write things down. In your planner, in texts, on index cards, whatever works for you as long as you don’t lose it when you need it.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
Agents didn’t quite get New York Brain–they said it was neither fish nor fowl, didn’t see how the elements came together. One actually said “I like the story, but not the way you tell it,” and another complained that nothing happens in the first forty pages. Then I met someone who wanted to break into the agent biz, loved the story, loved every idea I was working on, and said he wanted me for his first client. He died later in the year, and it hit me very hard. And I really couldn’t see going to another agent after him.
But new authors shouldn’t rule out going the traditional route. You’ve got to have patience like J.K. Rowling, whose story is very instructive. And while you’re going to agents and publishers, you should look into self-publishing: how much would it cost to get your work out there? How much time can you put into promotion? There are so many publicity sites out there–which ones can benefit you the most? You may need this info at some point, even if you snag a deal with a big-name press.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I’m still deciding whether the glass is half-empty or half-full. It seems as if everyone’s got a book out, so does that level the playing field or create too much competition? One thing’s for certain–people are still reading and buying books, and nothing’s replacing them. Print or digital, books is books.
What do you use?: Dictated and got transcribed
What genres do you write?: humor, political satire, show-biz/celeb fiction, “YA for boomers”
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Kew Stapleton Home Page Link
Link To Kew Stapleton Page On Amazon
