The First Book and Last Will of Therese Walsh, Writer Extraordinaire

Therese Walsh is just your average writer/mom/website founder/wife/blogger/freelancer/chocolate enthusiast. But wearing that many hats takes someone a bit more than average. It takes someone extraordinary, just like Therese.

After years of freelance and research journalism, Therese has struck it big with her debut novel, The Last Will of Moira Leahy, which the Boston Globe called “a strange, fascinating novel of psychological suspense…suffused with the supernatural. (It’s) an imaginative exploration of the bond between twins.”

WordHustler sat down with Therese to explore the evolution of book titles, the challenges of running a writing site (Therese runs Writer Unboxed with some other fantastic ladies), and how sometimes you have to scrap the whole book and start fresh to make it work.

So read on to learn how Therese landed her dream agent, her dream publisher, and is rocking her way through her dream career! And you can, too!

WordHustler: You have a journalism and research background, and have spent time freelancing and working at Prevention magazine…what do you consider your first big break, writing-wise?

Therese Walsh: If I think about my writing career as a whole, then being hired to work as a researcher for Prevention Magazine was my big break. I was able to move from researcher to editorial assistant/writer relatively quickly, and learned that I had a true hunger for writing.

When I look at fiction alone, my big break came when I connected with my agent, Elisabeth Weed. She fell in love with The Last Will of Moira Leahy, and was able to sell the book to Random House in a pre-emptive two-book deal within about a month of our connecting.

WH: After so much journalism, what made you decide you HAD to write this upmarket women’s fiction novel? Had you published any fiction previously?

TW: No, I hadn’t published any fiction. Once my daughter was born, I began working as a freelance health writer but I was reading so much to her that I began writing stories for her, too. My word choices weren’t always very childlike, though, and I felt somewhat restricted by the children’s picture book genre, so I decided to try my hand at adult fiction.

Why I had to write this novel in particular isn’t as easy to answer. I became very attached to the characters; you could say that they haunted me a little and that’s why I had to write their story.

WH: How long did it take you to write this book? I know you’ve said there are actually 2 different versions of this book in existence, both 400 pages- how did that happen?

TW: I started writing Last Will in 2002 as a love story between the main character, Maeve Leahy, and her friend, Noel. When Maeve’s sister, Moira, appeared, the vibe of the book changed but I continued trying to write the manuscript like a love story between a man and a woman—the woman just had a complicated life. When I sent the story to agents in 2003-2004, it failed, because the most significant emotional elements of the book were between the sisters. I threw everything away in 2005 and started over. I threw everything away again in 2006 when I took yet another major wrong turn. I finished the draft in 2007, polished through early 2008, and then found an agent.

WH: You’ve chronicled your journey to publication, and found a fantastic agent. Can you talk to our writers about how you narrowed down the agents you went after and what the representation hunt was like? (Query letter tips greatly appreciated!)

TW: I wanted to find someone who not only said they represented women’s fiction but who’d sold women’s fiction. I also wanted to find someone who’s sold women’s fiction with a touch of magical realism—not an easy thing to hone in on. I used both traditional lists of agents and recent sales announcements found on Publishers Marketplace.

As for query letter tips, here are three:

* Mention any personal knowledge you have of the agent. Did you meet her at a conference? Have a writer friend who recommended him? Know that she represents a book that is similar to yours in vibe? Heard that he’s looking for a fantasy-sci-fi novel with series potential and that’s exactly what you’re offering? Put any of that up front.

* Compare your story to a well-known work, but only if the shoe fits. This can be particularly important if your work is difficult to describe. “Literary, sci-fi romance” might not get you noticed, but “literary, sci-fi romance in the vein of Audrey Niffenegger’s Time Traveler’s Wife” very well may.

* Reveal the primal aspects of your protagonist’s journey in your query, so that the agent knows that this is a compelling story full of conflict. Frodo must destroy the ring in order to save all humanity. That’s pretty primal. What makes your story important and worth reading?

WH: Only a month passed between signing with Elisabeth Weed and selling the book- congrats! How much time passed between selling it to publication? Was it hard revising with an agent and editor’s input? I know the title of your book changed from Unbounded to The Last Will of Moira Leahy in the process.

TW: Thank you! The book sold in July of 2008 and the book was published in October of 2009—so just over a year. My revision process with Elisabeth was short and sweet. She had some suggestions, we discussed them, and I made changes over the course of a long weekend, I think.

Revisions for my editor, Sarah, were more extensive. She asked some open-ended questions about how we might increase tension in the story, and I brainstormed a solution that she liked. Implementing that solution took a good deal of time, and because any revisions can cause a domino effect throughout other parts of the story, the changes became more comprehensive than either of us had envisioned. But in the end, we were both very happy with the story.

WH: Many aspiring writers may think the work is over once the book is sold. Can you illuminate the post-selling, publishing and marketing process for us (the abridged version, of course. The full version could fill a whole book!)?

TW: Maybe this depends a bit on the circumstances, including the publisher and the author’s nature, but I was very busy once the book sold. There were edits and more edits, then copy edits, first-pass pages and second-pass pages. There was copy to approve and sometimes write—for the catalog, the galley and the jacket of the book, and for discussion groups. There were suggestions to gather for the cover artist, and more.

On the publicity and marketing side of things, there was a web designer to hire and a site to plan and web content to write and pictures for the site to gather. Later, there was a blog tour to consider—and interviews and essays to write on a wide range of topics.

It’s ironic, because you may sit and wait and hope over your story for such a long time, and then it sells and suddenly you’re busier than you could have imagined.

WH: What are a few of your favorite books out there today (besides your own, of course)?

TW: I love Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler’s Wife and Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime.

WH: What is your preferred writing method? Do you have a certain writing technique?

TW: I like to write scene by scene. I focus on how the scene should begin, what the “switch” is in the scene (what changes from the beginning of the scene to the end), and the tone.

WH: How do you best balance your fiction writing with your family life/Writer Unboxed responsibilities?

TW: Family responsibilities trump all, and if there’s a family emergency—like, one of my children is sick—then everything else has to wait. My family and I do a lot of our fun stuff in the evening, so my writing is usually isolated to the morning and afternoon, and sometimes the wee hours.

Kath and I are constantly evolving Writer Unboxed by bringing in new guests, new contributors, and tackling new subjects. When we first began the blog, it was just the two of us, and we were responsible for providing fresh content five days a week. Now, we share the burden, so balancing writing with blog responsibilities has become somewhat easier.

WH: What are three things you’d advise aspiring writers to do?

TW: 1. Find a critique group you trust and show them your work.

2. Listen to your critics with an open mind, and weigh their words without pride; make changes to your manuscript if your gut tells you they’re right.

3. If you believe with every fiber of your being that your work is finished and polished and ready for publication, keep submitting until you find the right person to represent your work.

WH: What are three things you’d advise aspiring writers to NEVER do?

TW: 1. Don’t submit your work until it’s truly finished—not just edited, but re-edited and polished to a high sheen. I think many eager writers send their work to agents and editors before it’s polished, and they’re rejected because of that.

2. Don’t let your critics’ words make you change your work if you don’t believe in your gut that they’re correct.

3. Never, never quit.

Good advice from a great author. Do you have a novel you’ve polished to a high sheen? Are you participating in National Novel Writing Month to get that novel finished? When you’ve crossed the victory threshold and are ready to finally start sending it out, why not submit it to a great agent like Elisabeth Weed?

You could also enter it into WordHustler’s Literary Storm Novel Contest to get it in front of Danielle Chiotti from Upstart Crow Literary and a chance to have your book published by Flatmancrooked! Agents, publication, and more are out there waiting for you…all you have to do is write your own happy ending. Good luck, Hustlers!