Author Interview: Suzanne Stauffer
Q:What made you decide to write this book? What’s its backstory?
A:This is the second volume in the Couriers Series. I saw an exhibit on the Couriers at the Bright Angel Lodge museum at the Grand Canyon and immediately thought what a great historical mystery series they would make. The Couriers were the women guides of the Fred Harvey Indian Detours, which ran from 1926 to the late 1930s or early 40s. The Detours were car/van tours through the Four Corners region, running from Las Vegas, New Mexico, to the Grand Canyon, and also visiting the Petrified Forest and other areas. In the first volume, Fried Chicken Castañeda, Prudence Bates leaves her job as a librarian in Cleveland, Ohio to go West to train as a Courier. She spends a week at the Castañeda Hotel in Las Vegas, getting acclimated, then in this book, French Toast à la Santa Fe, she takes the 3-day Detour from Las Vegas through Santa Fe to Albuquerque, in the company of ten others.
Q:How long did it take to write this book and get it published?
A: It probably took about a year to write it, but in that same time period I retired, we sold our house, moved to Albuquerque, bought a house, and etc. It takes about 18 months from the time I submit it to my publisher to when it is finally released.
Q: What particular challenges do you face in your writing? What is difficult for you? Do you have any tips for other writers who face similar challenges?
A:Sticking to my schedule! There are so many other demands on my time, and nearly all of them are legitimate. My husband had a knee replacement last year and he’ll be having another one this year. That means I’ll be on “nurse duty” for several weeks and ferrying him to and from physical therapy for about six weeks.
I know people who can write for half an hour or an hour, but I’m just getting up to speed at that point. I need at least two solid hours clear to do anything more than revise.
The one thing that really helps me is belonging to a critique group that meets twice a month. That gives me a deadline.
Q: Can you talk a little about your editing experience for new writers? What made you choose your editors?
A: I don’t have an editor, per se. As I said, I belong to a critique group, so they are essentially my editors and they pick up on all kinds of stuff! And my publisher hires an editor for the manuscript I submit to him. However, I was a professor for close to 20 years, and I got all kinds of feedback from peer reviewers on my academic articles. I really had to learn to separate myself from my writing and not take any comments personally. Sometimes the best thing to do is just walk away for a couple of days, calm down, and look at it again. I find that trying to explain why I don’t want to make a requested change helps me to see whether the change is necessary. If I can’t defend the original, maybe it needs to change.
Q: Are you a traditional or self-published author? Why did you decide this was the path for you?
A: I’m published by a small independent publisher, so traditional, but not by one of the Big Five. I tried self-publishing, but I felt overwhelmed by all of the technical aspects – finding a cover designer, finding an editor, formatting the manuscript, handling the distribution. I wanted to focus on writing. Of course, I still have to do most of the marketing, but that’s pretty much par for the course regardless. My publisher submits the book for review by magazines and for awards, and arranged for a podcast interview. He’s also known in this area, so that got me entre into some venues. And he has to handle all of the technical headaches.
Q: Can you describe your publishing experience for writers who hope to publish one day?
A: This is my experience with the first book. My publisher does not require an agent. There are actually quite a few small independents who do not. I sent him a submission letter, as described on his website. he responded within a couple of weeks, asking for the complete manuscript, and a few weeks later, accepted it. I signed the contract – I suppose I should have had a lawyer look at it, but … well, it turned out that he is the stepson of a woman in my writing group. I can’t remember if he gave me the release date then or later, but in any case, I didn’t hear anything again for months, then I got the cover for approval. We went back and forth a couple of times before it was finalized. Then, I got the edited manuscript with the requested changes. I either made the changes or explained why I wasn’t going to make them – and I was careful to pick my battles. About two months before release, I started setting up book signings. About a month before the release, I got my 25 free author copies.
For this second one, I am one of his authors, so I submitted the manuscript, got the contract, and got a release date. We just finalized the cover! I’ll be getting the edits soon. I’ve already set up the book launch at one of the venues where I was most successful the last time and have requested dates for a virtual book tour and a couple of author takeovers of Facebook pages.
Q: What is one piece of advice that someone gave you that you'd like to pass on to other authors?
A: Don’t think about marketing as selling books in the short-term. Think about marketing as creating a market for your books in the long-term. It’s about exposure, not sales.
Q: Why is email marketing important for authors today?
A: I think because there are so many new books coming out so rapidly and there are so many venues for marketing. Email marketing allows authors to target their specific audience and is immediate.
Q: What’s a good way for an author to start an email list?
A: I’m using Substack. I got a good start by scheduling a virtual book tour with giveaways. Those who entered the giveaway could sign up for the mailing list. I got about 50 or so addresses, then invited them to subscribe. I’ll be doing that again with this second volume. Asking for email addresses at book signings/readings will bring in some, as well. I post links on Facebook and Bluesky and on my blog.
Q: What are the benefits of an email list, especially compared to social media?
A: It’s more immediate, more targeted and you know that they got it. People often don’t see posts on social media.
Q: What tricks (if any) are there that get people to engage with your newsletter once they sign up? (link clicks, polls, etc)
A: I think you’ve listed all of them. My newsletter is a Substack, so subscribers can comment, restack, and share. I can also start a chat with subscribers. I send out a recipe once a month, so they can engage with it by making the recipe.
Q: When should you start building your email list? Should you wait until your book is published?
A: I did and I wish I hadn’t! Start today!
Q: What tips do you recommend to build an email list?
A:Decide what type of email you want to send and select the appropriate venue. My Substack consists of one short story a month, one recipe a month, and one book review a month, so it’s not quite weekly. You might want to use Mailchimp or some other service and send out a monthly traditional newsletter. Whatever you choose, be consistent. I pick up a few scribers every time I post an article. I also post the links to Bluesky and Facebook and on my blog. The link is in my sigfile for my email. It’s on my bookmarks and my business cards.
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