Our special series profiling members of the Romantic Novelists' Association continues.

Today it's the turn of Sue Moorcroft (aka Susie Matthews if you're a reader of The People's Friend) another work-from-home, full-time writer, balancing the demands of the family with those of the page. Sue's thankful that no-one suggests she get a real job, which is just as well really, as otherwise she wouldn't have knocked out the 100-odd short stories she's sold over the years, or tutored creative writing classes (including the Writers' News Home Study course). Or won the 2002 Kate Fforde Bursary Award.

And to cap it all, Sue's novel Uphill All the Way has been recently published by Transita, itself a new label for 'grown' women's fiction, attempting to jostle into the gap between chick-lit and Barbara Taylor Bradford.

Steering clear of her nerdism for Formula 1 racing, we chatted to Sue about her approach to writing. Predictable I know, but it's what we do.


Great Writing: What inspires you to write?

Sue Moorcroft: I feel compelled to. It's part of me, I have the constant urge to formulate stories in my mind and put them on paper, or the computer. Having written them, I then feel compelled to try and sell them! I've always told myself stories. I've always wanted other people to tell stories to me.
 
I find inspiration for my writing in loads of things. Half a conversation, an anecdote, an emotional moment, something that makes me laugh. Things I overhear. One of these experiences suddenly makes a kind of 'clunk' in my mind as if a tumbler turns and alerts me, 'Story!' There's a particular sensation in my mind when I make it receptive to characters who will populate the story.
 
It's rather God-like to create somebody and then discover their fate, how they act and who their actions affect, so maybe I'm a closet meglomaniac.

GW: What is it about the romance genre that appeals?

SM: The sensation of falling in love, I think. It's a wonderful sensation. I'm always rather in love with my central male character.
 
Romantic fiction is sometimes perceived to be the province of people who wish to escape from their relationship, or to develop a relationship if they haven't got one. But I think that those who are in settled, happy relationships enjoy the opportunity to join characters in falling in love, too, because it's a chance to savour the sensations safely without damaging an existing relationship.

GW: How do you manage to stay fresh in a genre that is to some extent formulaic?

SM: The romantic genre is no more formulaic than any other genre. In a murder mystery you always have a murder, a murderer and somebody to solve the mystery; in a romantic novel you always have two people to fall in love and a load of obstacles to prevent them doing that.
 
There must be as many ways to fall in love, mess up falling in love, lose your love, get your love back, have good love, have bad love, be changed by love, as there are people on the planet. It's not difficult to stay fresh. In my current novel, Uphill All the Way, the protagonists are in their early fifties. They've lived a little. What has happened to them already greatly influences what happens to them next. They told me their own stories.

GW: What is your writing routine? Are you disciplined in your work? How do
you prevent 'real life' from intruding?

SM: I am very disciplined. I work a minimum of four days per week at my writing, I'm at my machine from 8am to 6pm. In this time I not only write, I join in writers' e-mail discussions, do my promotion and marketing, correspondence, accounts and research. I also tutor distance learning courses so I sometimes fit my students in to these four days, but more often write their reviews at the weekend.
 
I don't think you can prevent real life from intruding. I have two teenagers so blanking their chat, loud music or loud friends is impossible. And the phone! Sometimes it just won't shut up. I do try and set boundaries - pleasantly - by pointing out that I'm working and shutting doors etc. It has limited effect.

GW: Tell us the story of how you got your first novel published.

SM: We'll count Uphill All the Way as my first novel, shall we? Rather than the six or so I wrote before it that didn't quite make it or the publisher folded before contracts were signed.
 
I had an idea that was clamouring for me to write it while I was trying to get other writing projects completed. Then I heard about Transita, the new fiction arm of How To Books, who were intending to publish mainstream fiction for 'grown women'. This made me think about making my protagonists 50 rather than 30, and the book just came alive. I discussed the project with my agent, and, in time, sent her the part one of the book, which she was enthusiastic about. Part one duly went to Transita, and I continued with part two, went on a family holiday, wrote short stories and tried not to think too much about it. After about six weeks I had a computer crisis. I dealt with this in the normal manner - swearing and hauling the computer into the car to take it to the local computer repair workshop - and accidentally left my mobile phone at home. When I realised this and rang my son from my husband's office, he said, 'Oh, someone called Laura phoned. She says phone her back.' Laura is my agent. I phoned her back. She began, 'This is the call I've been wanting to make to you.' And I thought, 'What an odd thing to say!' Then she began talking about an offer, an editor, a contract, being a launch author... I'd heard of all these things before, but not exactly in connection with me. I think my side of the conversation mainly consisted of, 'You're joking. You're joking! You're joking! You're... JOKING!'
 
That evening I was telephoned by my editor to congratulate me and talk about delivering the rest of the book. But I still rang my agent back in the morning to check that this was really happening!
 
I had to focus hard after that because I had about ten working weeks to write what was missing - about 40,000 words, I think. I had a week in Malta booked, and about 40% of Uphill All the Way happens in Malta, my childhood home. It was terribly useful for research, but as I was leaving I discovered that some fool had made a big alteration to Malta International Airport, which meant my final scene would no longer work! I had a meeting with my agent the next morning to discuss final edits, but now I had to rewrite the ending as well. I had twelve days left. But I did it. And if you had a publishing contract depending upon it, you would, too!

GW: There's a certain preconception that certain kinds of romance novels are 'easy' to write. What would you say to that?

SM: I don't think anything is easy to write. I can't see why anyone would think that romantic fiction is easy. The writer has all the same qualities to satisfy as any other kind of fiction - good writing, believable characters, compelling stories, ptq, plus a lot of emotion to engender. Anything a writer wants to write is easier to write than something s/he doesn't want to write, but I'm certain writers of romantic fiction seep blood through their pores just as much as a writer working in any other field.

GW: Are there any story themes or styles that appear more commercial or
easier to sell to a publisher?

SM: There must be, mustn't there? And if I knew what they were I would probably keep the information to myself.
 
Knowing what will sell to a publisher is a case of broad guesses and stabs in the dark, and reading exhaustively in the correct field in order to educate yourself. And reading trade publications. And keeping an ear to the ground. And reading writers' forums. And networking. And collecting cobwebs at midnight to present to the seventh son of a seventh son...
 
I don't think publishers know exactly what they're looking for until they see it. How can they? They can't fall in love before they meet the book!

GW: Does writing romance novels pay the bills? What would you say to someone who intends to quit their job and write full-time?

SM: It pays the bills for some people, but it doesn't provide me with a living. I hope it will, one day. One day soon.
 
It can only be sensible to quit the day job to write if a) you've got somebody else to finance you or b) you're already making/have a contract to make enough money to live on, even if it means selling your house and going back to live with your mum. I don't think most writers would need me to tell them this.

GW: How important is getting an agent?

SM: It was a huge step for me, and my agent sold Uphill All the Way to the first publisher she showed it to. She's hands-on and has a huge knowledge of market and industry, as well as the contracts side of things. I would be heartbroken if she was no longer able to represent me. It's important to me, but I know writers who work better alone.

GW: How important is self-publicity?

SM: Ooh, very!
 
I sent out press releases to the local papers and radio stations when Uphill All the Way came out and got a very satisfactory response. It helps that I'm a reasonably confident person and a communicator, and although I face booksignings with a certain amount of apprehension, I'm okay once I get going. I sold 33 copies of the book in 3.5 hours a couple of weeks ago, so it was worth a little stress-out beforehand. I've also done on-line interviews just like this one, and I run my own website. It's a bit time consuming when I need new pages - I've spent almost all day on it today, for instance, and ended up with just one extra page - but it's been handy. It's not sophisticated, because it's free and my son taught me how to build it when he was twelve! But when I sent out my press releases the journalists all had a look at the website between receiving the press release and making contact, and people who offer me work look at it, too. One magazine couldn't get hold of me when I was having (yet another) computer crisis and found my website via a search engine. From my links page they were able to find someone who knew who my agent was, and then contact her.
 
I also take the opportunity to get on other people's websites, either just on the links page, or to have a presence such as with Writer's News who use me as a tutor, and on the website of my publisher, www.transita.co.uk.

GW: What are your do's and don'ts in writing a romance?

SM: Gosh, how long have you got?
 
There are differing constraints depending on whether you're talking about category romance or romantic fiction. In category romance you must remember that the story is all about the romance. It's not his and her story - it's their story. You must get them together very early in the book - page one is a good place - and keep them together as much as possible. In romantic fiction you can be far more flexible and the story can concentrate on other things for long periods. In Uphill All the Way, for instance, we don't see Judith meet Adam until page 49, although we learn that she once talked to him at school. In the early part of the book Judith is preoccupied with the losing Giorgio, her younger Maltese lover. Even then she has quite a lot of life to live before she feels receptive towards Adam, and issues concerning Giorgio that she needs to resolve. Both Judith and Adam have suffered gigantic wobbles in the life department and their relationship becomes part of their recoveries - but it's not the main thrust of the book. I think it's important to understand what you're writing and for whom, before you begin.
 
Also, write characters your readers can like. Otherwise nobody gives a hoot whether they like/love/want chandelier-swinging sex with each other.

GW: What's the most important thing you've learned about writing for publication?

SM: It's a tough job. You have to be realistic. Very, very realistic. It's also the best job in the world.


Sue Moorcroft's novel, Uphill All the Way is available from wherever they sell Transita books. Bookshops would seem a safe bet, or even from Transita's website where you can also find out about your chance to get a free copy.

For more information about the Romantic Novelists' Association, and for details of upcoming events (including the Commercial Women's Fiction workshop in October) visit the RNA website.