The real teacher in writing & publishing 🧑‍🏫

Today's guest is author Lina Chern.

Writing is often a process of discovery.

I’ve worked with hundreds of authors in my career, and nearly all of them incorporate discovery in their process. Even the strictest of plotters will allow their plot and characters to take them in new directions when it serves the story.

For many authors, this is where the magic happens. Some of the best and most authentic writing comes from forgetting the writing “rules” and embracing that sense of exploration, learning from the characters, and allowing for unexpected twists and creative revelations along the way.

The publishing process can be the same way.

You can research and learn as much as you want about the publishing process and industry, but even for the most prepared authors, there are bound to be surprises along the way. The path to publication can be unpredictable, filled with lucky career breakthroughs and lessons you simply can’t learn until you live them.

Remember that it’s okay to learn as you go. Trust the process and try to enjoy the journey, even if it feels random at times and is impossible to map out in the beginning. Let the experience teach you as you go.

In today’s interview, author Lina Chern shares the unexpected lesson she learned in her publishing journey, her approach to writing “rules,” and why she always crafts a meticulously plotted outline — even if it goes out the window while drafting.

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OUR SPECIAL GUEST TODAY IS…

Lina Chern

Author

Lina’s latest novel, PLAY THE FOOL, is available now, and the sequel, TRICKS OF FORTUNE, will be available in 2025.

What was the biggest obstacle you faced in your publishing journey?

My book is a mystery, but it’s kind of a garbage pile of elements from multiple crime fiction genres, as well as other genres entirely. Many of the agents I approached simply did not know how to sell it, even when they liked it. I always figured if you wrote a good story well, it would find its way to readers eventually, but I was surprised to learn how risk-averse the industry can be with stories that don’t fit neatly onto a shelf. Publishing is a business, and market considerations, real or imagined, tend to have the final say on whether a book gets published. Someone has to really believe in your story to take a chance on it, and I was lucky to find an agent — and then an editor — willing to do just that.

All of this seems, in retrospect, like Querying 101, but I didn’t really feel it until I went through the process myself… which is a great segue to the next question!

What is one thing you wish you had known about the publishing process before going through it yourself?

The phrase “before going through it yourself” is the key here. All the instructions for querying are out there, but breaking into publishing has so many cryptic, sometimes counter-intuitive rules and conventions, that even armed to the teeth with information, you won’t know what you’re doing until you wade in, start screwing up and (hopefully) learning from your mistakes.

I was more prepared than the average querying bear (because I am a rule-following nerd), but I still cringe at some of the things I did wrong. As with most things, and especially with publishing, preparation is a must but experience is the real teacher.

How do you balance finding time to write and managing other obligations and responsibilities?

Not very well.

What's one writing "rule" or commonly followed piece of advice that you decidedly break?

It might be easier to find a rule or piece of advice I don’t break. For example, I don’t write every day. I would love to, because it keeps me engaged with my story and motivates me to keep going (something I still struggle with), but my life is just not set up for it. I’m all about rules in theory (because, nerd) but in writing they can be dangerous because being too tied to them can impede the development / discovery of your own process. I like to think of writing “rules” more as “suggestions from a bunch of other writers’ experiences, which may or may not work for you,” which doesn't read nearly as well in an article title.

How do you personally get over writer's block?

I switch to handwriting. The trick for me is to sneak past my upper brain into my lower brain where the good stuff is hiding and where I can’t hear my upper brain shouting at me about how badly my writing sucks. Handwriting, because of its slower speed and sensory input, allows me to do that.

Are you a plotter or a pantser? What's your personal drafting process like?

I am a compulsive plotter at first. My outlines are mighty and detailed and will eat your city if not contained. Once I start writing, of course the outline goes out the window, but for me it's a necessary first step, even if it’s more of a motivational tool than an actual blueprint.

My drafting process is not a straight line, but a weird loopy coily backtracking thing. Once I have the outline, I draft chapter by chapter, writing first by hand, then typing it up and getting it as finished as possible before I go to the next one. I’ve tried drafting all the way through, but I have a compulsive need to understand where I am in the story before I move on, and that takes time. I need to let a chapter sit on the screen for a few days while my mind works on it in the background. As I’m drafting the next chapter, I’ll loop back and add to the previous one any new tidbits my mind has come up with. All of this is a much wordier way to say “I revise as I go.” I don’t necessarily recommend this – it just happens to work best for me.