Writers Like Us - Jenny Kaczorowski

I am so excited to help Jenny Kaczorowski kick off her blog tour for her book, THE ART OF FALLING. Not only is Jenny one of the nicest writers I know, but her premise sounds fantastic. Militant vegan girl with purple hair falls for the football captain? I love these types of contemps! It comes out December 19th from Bloomsbury Spark so be sure to pick this one up.

So without further adieu,...

Jenny on Writing

• I've written 5 books, and 2 have seen the light of day. The first two are such a mess they have no hope. None. The third I queried before setting aside until such a time as paranormal is desirable again. The fourth has been in edits for two years and the fifth is THE ART OF FALLING.

• My favorite type of scene to write is almost kissing. I love romantic tension!

• No matter how long I've been writing, I still have issues with brevity. My degree is in journalism, so I spent my entire college career learning to be as concise as possible. It’s a hard habit to break and I almost never hit my word count goals until well into edits.

• A typical comment from my critique partner is MOAR KISSING! That brevity thing again – my CPs always want more details and more kissing.

• The book I wished I wrote is A Wind in the Door. The romance – in all it’s quiet, understated glory - still makes my heart still.

Jenny on Getting Published

• If my editor really knew how crazy I was, she would find out just how much we’re alike ;) The fabulous thing about Meredith is that she gets my particular brand of crazy and fully supports it.

• When I was querying, I felt vulnerable. I queried my first serious book for a long time – longer than I should have. Every time I posted for crit, entered a contest or sent a query, I felt like I was sending out bits of my soul. When I finished FALLING, I went much slower and never really queried beyond pitch contests. I was very lucky that Meredith, my editor, saw my pitch and fell for FALLING so fast. Querying is terrifying!

• The biggest mistake I ever made querying was including the wrong personalization. I got the agent’s name right, but mentioned an article about another agent. I was so embarrassed I didn’t even email again to explain it was a copy/paste error. I got a form rejection half an hour after sending.

• The craziest thought I've ever had while querying is waking up at 6 am for a query feedback contest - on my birthday. I just couldn’t miss the opportunity!

• When I got "The Email," my first thought was it was another rejection! Meredith sent me an email and I opened it without reading the heading. I was halfway through the first paragraph before I realized what it was!

Jenny on Life Outside Writing

• If I weren't a writer, I'd probably be a photographer. I majored in photojournalism and planned to work for National Geographic when I grew up, but life is never what we plan, right? I still love photography and dabble in portrait and product work.

• Secretly, I'm terrified of fish. Seriously terrified. I have nightmares about them and can’t fall back asleep. If I’m in a room with a fish tank, I keep one eye on it the whole time. Guppies, goldfish, minnows. They freak. Me. Out. But I’m totally okay with sharks.

• Sometimes, when no one is around, I sing. I have no natural rhythm (I throw large groups of people off beat if I clap) and no musical ability whatsoever.

Want more Writers Like Us? Check out the entire series, including interviews with A.S. King, Sara Zarr, Jennifer E. Smith, Kristin Halbrook, Tara Lynn Childs, Robin Benway, Katie McGarry, Trish Doller, and many, many more.