Stacy Juba Shares Her Experience in Publishing

We welcome Stacy Juba to Six Great Books to share her experience about publishing her first book. Stacy is the author of the mystery novels Twenty-Five Years Ago Today and the soon-to-be-released Sink or Swim, as well as the patriotic children's picture book The Flag Keeper. Her young adult paranormal thriller Dark Before Dawn will be released by Mainly Murder Press in 2012.  She is also the author of the young adult hockey novel Face-Off, published under Stacy Drumtra.

On a personal note our husbands were college roommates at Florida State University. We’ve come a long way. Who would’ve thought that when we attended each other’s weddings, that we’d both be blogging about writing and publishing someday. Hopefully down the line, the FSU roommates will both be married to bestselling authors. Thanks for letting us interview you Stacy!

Check out Stacy’s website and blog and purchase her books at www.stacyjuba.com

When did you start writing and seriously consider publishing a book?

I’ve been writing since childhood and started sending out stories to magazines when I was a high school sophomore. When I was 16, I wrote a young adult hockey novel called Face-Off about teenage twin brothers who don’t get along and are forced to play for the same hockey team. When I was writing the book, I saw an ad for a contest in the back of an Avon Flare novel at the local bookstore. I bought the book for the entry form. I entered my manuscript in the competition shortly before graduating from high school, went off to college, and a few months later, found out that I’d won. The book was published in 1992 under my maiden name Stacy Drumtra. The book did very well, however it took me many years of rejection before I sold a second book. This was partly because of employee turnover at Avon, and my next few manuscripts weren’t as strong because I didn’t have the benefit of professional editing like Face-Off received.  I was also so young and needed to focus on college and preparing for some sort of day job. 

Tell us about your inspiration for your first adult book Twenty-Five Years Ago Today. It’s such an interesting concept since so many writers reflect on the past to drive content for their books.

I graduated from college and became a reporter at a small daily newspaper. When I started out, I was an obit writer and editorial assistant. One of my tasks was compiling the 25 and 50 Years Ago Today column from the microfilm.  I never forgot that experience and when I was trying to think of a premise for a mystery novel, I got this idea: What if a newspaper editorial assistant stumbled across a 25-year-old cold case on the microfilm? What if a tragedy in her own past made her fixate on this murder and become driven to solve it?  This idea became my mystery/romantic suspense novel Twenty-Five Years Ago Today (watch the trailer) about a rookie obit writer and newsroom editorial assistant Kris Langley who investigates the cold case of  the murder of a artistic young cocktail waitress Diana Ferguson.

How long did it take you to write Twenty-Five Years Ago Today? Can you describe your writing process?

It took me about a year and a half to write the first draft. I’d plot out four or five chapters ahead, write the chapters, and then edit them. I knew who the killer was, but I didn’t know all the events that would lead up to the climax. With my current work-in-progress, Sign of the Messenger, I prepared an extensive 20 page outline which I hope will save me lots of rewriting. I winged it a bit more with Twenty-Five Years Ago Today and needed to go back and do some revisions to make the earlier chapters mesh with the later chapters. I’m also a member of the writing organization Sisters in Crime and shared the manuscript with critique partners who provided valuable feedback. It took me 9 years to sell the book, which brings us to your next question!

How did you find your agent and publisher?

It took a couple of years to get an agent for Twenty-Five Years Ago Today. During that time, a few agents were nice enough to give me suggestions on how to make the book stronger, so when I agreed with the suggestions, I’d make revisions before sending it out again. Finally, I found an agent who loved the book. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough and after nearly three years, the agent wasn’t able to sell it, nor two of my other manuscripts. I was frustrated to be back on my own again after getting my hopes raised and worried that I’d lost my chance. For a long while, I felt as if I had run out of publishers, but I always kept my eyes open. One year, I entered it in the St. Martin's Press/Malice Domestic Contest for the Best First Traditional Mystery Novel, and to my shock, it finaled.  I got my hopes up again as that contest had launched the careers of many well-known mystery authors, only to have my hopes come crashing down when I didn’t win the contest. The next year, my manuscript Sink or Swim finaled in the same contest – but again, I didn’t win.

So, the novels went back in my drawer while I continued keeping my eyes open for opportunities. One day, a message came across one of my Sisters in Crime loops that a new mystery publisher, Mainly Murder Press, was seeking mystery novels based in New England.  I submitted the book and a couple of months later, they offered me a contract. That totally transformed my writing career. Even though it wasn’t my debut novel, it had been 17 years between published books, so it sure felt like a debut novel. I even served on a Debut Novel panel at a mystery writers conference.  I guess it was my comeback novel. I launched a web site and blog in 2009 and just signed my third contract with Mainly Murder Press.  They have been a pleasure to work with, and I’ve learned so much about the publishing business that I independently published a patriotic children’s book called The Flag Keeper. Even though it had been rejected by traditional publishers, I knew there was a market for it and that I could sell it. 

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Comments

[Stacy Juba]

Thanks for coming by, Kaye! Looking forward to reading CHOKE!

[Kaye George]

It's so good to see real success after such a long journey. Good for you for persisting! P.I., your book beckons in my TBR pile, but I'm not quite down to it yet. Love the cover!

[Stacy Juba]

Thanks for stopping by, P.I. Button Hollow Chronicles #1: The Leaf Peeper Murders is on my to-read list. I wrote my first mystery story in third grade and was an avid reader. I still love to read and have books all over the place. Journalism was a big help with learning how to write tighter and on deadline. Nice to see one of my fellow Bestseller Bound buddies here, Maria! Thanks for reading.

[P.I. Barrington]

I am always amazed and encouraged by authors who have the temerity and persistence to continue writing despite rejections and long delay! I am also amazed by the fact that many many successful authors exhibit the same three behaviors: writing and winning contests young, reading prolifically, and being involved in journalism in some way! What a great interview Stacy & Six Great Books!