Little Century by Anna Keesey
We are starting a new segment on BOOKFINDS where we will be interviewing debut authors about their journey to publication; what they expected, didn’t expect and what advice they received along the way. These authors will also be sharing advice for aspiring authors. Here is my interview with the delightful Anna Keesey, author of LITTLE CENTURY.
What is the story behind the story? As a debut novelist, can you tell us about the journey to publication?
It took a long time to finish this book, so my memories of the road to publication consist largely of sitting at a desk in various rooms, with coffee and a yellow legal pad covered with notes in my own insane handwriting; sitting there, by the way, when more fun things were going on elsewhere. The hard part is writing something that holds together, that has a style and a form and meaning and integrity. I was very fortunate in my literary agent, Julie Barer, who is a superb, intelligent reader, and in my wonderful editor at FSG, Courtney Hodell. They got me to close the loop on aspects of the book I’d been dithering about, which took a bit of time and some tough love from them. After that, for me, it’s all been gravy.
What is the best advice you have been given to prepare for the road to publication?
The most helpful advice I was given, I think, is that you should choose an agent you can talk with frankly, someone you can be yourself with and not be intimidated by, and someone who is personally energized and delighted by your work. Someone who likes you and will call you back. Your agent is your guide, your shepherd, your champion, in a world you don’t know, usually. Get someone who can look after the machinery of publication for you, so that you get to be just a writer. I was very lucky in that I had a couple of fantastic, talented people interested in representing the book, so it was less of a slog for me than it has been for some folks.
What are you working on now?
Sadly, what I’m working on now is TWITTER. I find it a challenging form. I’m like, “What do I tweet?” I don’t think in an aphoristic, tight way, except about some right-wing politicians, and those thoughts are a bit indelicate for the literary twittersphere. Yet apparently the ripples of Twitter do help us become aware of one another’s work, and constitute a significant conversation, so I gamely log on. I do have a series of notes, characters and intentions about the next book, but at this point I can’t even say if it is a short thing or a long thing. It has water in it. And perhaps a mermaid, or perhaps not. And maybe a confused evangelical guy. And maybe some Persian poetry.
What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
Spend your time on craft. Apprentice yourself to good teachers, read good books, and write a lot. Tell the truth as you see and feel it. The other stuff—the many rings of the literary and publishing circus–are navigable if you’ve done good work. Maybe that’s too optimistic, because the literary world is in a precarious state nowadays, but I think the work is the only thing the writer can control. And support your local independent bookstore!
Is there something you didn’t expect during this entire process?
I didn’t anticipate that anyone would give a damn that some middle-aged lady had written a novel. But look, here’s writer from the Huffington Post asking me questions—it’s gratifying! On some level, I didn’t fully grasp that people would actually read it, and care about the characters. I had my head down, working, thinking, “I have to finish this book and sell it so I can get tenure.” So the attention the book has received, from people close to me and further way, has been astonishing. A bower of roses.”
