The other day I unsubscribed from several writers and noticed that the only writer I’ve followed from the early days of indie-publishing, and the one whose name I always look for in my inbox, is Elizabeth Spann Craig. No wonder Writer’s Digest has listed her for FOUR years as one of the top sites for writers.
Not only has she been a guiding light for wandering indies like me, she’s also accumulated a significant following for both her traditionally published and indie-published books. She writes three different series–the Myrtle Clover mysteries, the Memphis Barbeque mysteries, and the Southern Quilting mysteries. Personally, I love the titles: Quilt Trip, Knot What it Seams, A Body in the Backyard, and Hickory Smoked Homicide.
Seeley James: You publish both through Penguin and independently; how do you edit the independent books? Does Penguin contribute story editing?
Elizabeth Spann Craig: I work closely with Penguin’s editors when developing and revising the books–Penguin also employs copy editors that proofread after we’re done with the global revisions. For my self-published books, I have beta readers and paid editors who work with me to make the books as perfect as we can make them.
The amount of developmental or content editing I get depends completely on the editor. I’ve worked with four different editors with both Midnight Ink and Penguin and they’ve had a variety of different approaches and levels of experience. A couple have influenced my writing tremendously and improved my stories to a huge degree. A couple offered me very little feedback or direction at all. It really depends on who you work with. 
SJ: You have three different series in publication now, how do you organize your writing between these series?
ESC: The books for Penguin always come first, if I’ve got deadlines for them…because I’m paid in advance. It can be tricky if the two Penguin series have similar due dates. I usually try to have my agent negotiate the schedule so they’re not due at the same time (different editors and imprints). Once they were about a month apart and it was a tremendous amount of pressure–I don’t want to have to do that again!
Most of the time I’m editing one series and writing a draft on another. I use a style sheet to help me remember key facts and smaller facts in each series (the protagonist’s age/eye color. Does he have siblings and what are their names? etc.) I also have a cheat sheet for each book I’ve written–really, a synopsis of the story. This has saved me numerous times and helps me not to repeat story lines or character names.
SJ: How do you organize your books before you start? Where/How do you start?
ESC: I’m a natural ‘pantster’ writer who isn’t crazy about outlines. But after a couple of real disasters in the last twelve books that resulted in a big time-suck…I’m now outlining all my series. But I give myself permission to veer off the outline if the story demands it. I use a narrative-style outline where I write out what happens, scene by scene, from the book’s beginning to the end. It’s basically a brain dump on the Word document. Sometimes I’ll even throw bits of dialogue in there, if I get carried away.
SJ: How do you balance the mystery portion, not giving too much away and not surprising the reader?
ESC: The most important thing about mysteries is that they’ve got to be fair. Modern mystery readers want to solve the cases alongside the sleuth. It’s almost an interactive experience. This means that I have to use a sleight of hand to distract reader attention from clues as they’re laid. Sometimes I’ll immediately introduce a distracting scene–an argument between suspects, maybe. Or maybe I’ll immediately place a red herring clue that seems much more significant than the genuine clue I’ve planted. This way, the readers can be surprised (most readers do like a surprise reveal) but they will know they were dealt with fairly.
SJ: When you write a new scene in a fresh location, how do you set the stage for the reader?
ESC: My transitions are usually very brief and open right up with the action. As I reader, I tend to skim set-up passages, so I try to ensure that my readers aren’t confused by scene changes, but aren’t bored with them, either. Consequently, I don’t really have any passages where the protagonist is driving somewhere…I pick up with her arrival at the new location.
SJ: How do you convey a character’s interior thoughts/feelings about a situation and how do you keep those passages under control?
ESC: I used to really struggle with scenes where the character is deep in thought. Then I discovered Deep PoV and decided to give it a go. It was effective enough that one of my reviews erroneously stated that the reader enjoyed my “first person book.” But it wasn’t in first person at all–it was in third (I never write in first). With this technique, I stay in my protagonist’s head and see and experience the world as she does. As a small example, instead of saying Beatrice wondered whether Tom was telling her the truth, I’d say: Was Tom telling her the truth?
Even better, I try not to have my characters spend too much time alone, thinking. If they’re thinking, then they’re not being active and interesting. If they need to think through the case, I’ve found it more effective for them to bounce ideas off a sidekick–particularly a sidekick who also brings some conflict or tension along with him.
SJ: How do you write dialogue? Does it flow onto the page or do you script it?
ESC: Dialogue is the easiest part of writing for me. If I could get away with it, I’d write my whole book in dialogue. It does flow pretty easily…and, if I realize later that parts of it are boring or aren’t accomplishing anything, I cut them quickly out.
SJ: Do you use a professional story and content editor? If so, what do you expect of him/her?
ESC: I don’t use a developmental editor for my self-published books, only a copyeditor/proofer. What I’ve done, instead, is to allow readers to function as my developmental editors. I track their feedback for my self-published series (it has five books in the series so far, so the readers are fairly engaged) and use many of the most viable suggestions they make.
SJ: Do you use beta readers? If so, what do you expect of them?
ESC: I do use betas and I expect them to be brutally honest. The last thing I want is a ‘job well done’ that doesn’t really help me improve my story. I wish I had time for the pleasantries, but I don’t–I only have time to fix problems.
SJ: What are your pet peeves or clichés in mystery/thrillers?
ESC: I think I’ve got some very standard pet peeves. I don’t like stupidity from main characters–people who go into the dark basement after hearing a strange noise when a killer is loose. Plot contrivances drive me batty. I don’t like discovering that the murderer in a mystery isn’t one of the main characters, either. If I’m wondering who the killer is after he’s been revealed, that’s a problem.
SJ: What part of writing a story do you find the most difficult task?
ESC: I think that both outlining and writing a story’s ending are the most difficult parts.
SJ: What book have you read recently that blew you away?
ESC: I recently read Liane Moriarty’s “The Husband’s Secret” and thought it was really well done. It’s not the kind of book I usually read, but very enjoyable and suspenseful. And I recently enjoyed Neil Gaiman’s “The Ocean at the End of the Lane,” too….terrifying.
Thank you Ms. Craig!
Peace, Seeley
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