About Sasha Clinton:
Sasha Clinton discovered romance novels at the age of thirteen and has been addicted to the genre ever since. After getting a degree in Chemical Engineering and realizing that there was no way she could ever be an engineer, she decided to follow her passion and write romance novels. Sasha has lived in New Delhi, Melbourne, Manchester and Boston and continues to move frequently. But wherever she is, she’s hard at work on her next book.
What inspires you to write?
Reading. Reading books always inspires me to write. Words are magic for me. It could be a sentence, an adjective, anything on the page which fires up my imagination and before I know it, I want to write something.
Music also inspires me to write sometimes.
Tell us about your writing process.
It usually takes me 2-3 months to write a first draft and revise it, before it goes to a professional editor for copyediting and developmental editing.
The theme or the basic idea of the book always comes first for me, even before the characters. For example, with my first book, I wanted to write about a divorced couple who get back together. For my second book, I wanted to write a love story that features a conflict between love and personal integrity.
After I know the theme, I note down some key scenes that I want to include in the book, as well as a general direction and tone for the book. Then I start building the characters. Mostly, the characters just come when I write and I have to refine them a lot, because the personality they have in the beginning might not always be what I wanted.
I use Microsoft Word to write and make separate documents for planning, editing, the first draft and subsequent drafts. I outline, but usually veer away from my outline very quickly.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
Sometimes. But generally, I try to put myself in their position and think what I’d do if I was them. And I think about what kind of person they are and what kind of person I want them to be. At times, characters drift away from their personalities as the book progresses and returning to the character’s core values are helps stay true to the character and the story.
What advice would you give other writers?
Be patient with your process. Don’t compare yourself to other writers. You are unique and what you have to say is unique. View writing as a way to develop yourself, to make yourself happy, rather than as a way to get fame or money. Write the stories you want to write, rather than the ones you think will sell (you only have one life.)
Also, I recommend meditation to stabilize your mind. Writing can be challenging at times, and depression and self-doubt is common while writing a book, so having a way to keep your mind in a good place helps.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I decided to self-publish because I wanted to have greater creative control over my work. The way I’d envisioned my brand couldn’t have worked if I’d decided to go with a traditional publisher because most of my books are shorter than an average single-title romance published by major publishers.
Self-publishing has really been great so far. I’ve enjoyed being able to put out books at my own schedule and creating teasers, covers and other materials for my books. I also love interacting with bloggers and readers before a release. It allows me to be creative in multiple ways.
If you’re someone who has a very strong vision for your books, I would recommend self-publishing since you’ll have more control over the final product. That said, it’s incredibly time consuming and you need a lot of administrative skills to keep up with everything that needs to be done before a book release, so if you just want to write, go the traditional route.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think ebooks, publishing of demand and subscription services like Kindle Unlimited have made book publishing incredible. They’ve adapted books for millennials by making delivery instantaneous and giving books the chance to be binge read like TV shows. I think this adaptation has allowed books to survive technological shift much better than say, music.
I can’t comment on the future of the publishing industry, but I’m sure it’ll be interesting.
What do you use?: Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer
What genres do you write?: Contemporary romance
What formats are your books in?: eBook, Print, Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Sasha Clinton Home Page Link
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
