interviews
Do you edit and proofread your own work at all or
do you just write it and hand it off to an editor?
AN INTERVIEW WITH
BESTSELLING AUTHOR
MINDY MEJIA
Mindy Mejia is a fiction writer, finance
manager, weekend jogger, wife, and mother
of two. She writes what she likes to read––
contemporary, plot-driven novels that
deliver both entertainment and substance.
Mindy Mejia was born and raised in a
small-town-turned-suburb in the Twin Cities
area. She received a BA from the University
of Minnesota and an MFA from Hamline
University. Other than brief interludes in
Iowa City and Galway, she’s lived and
worked in Minnesota her entire life.
Mindy focuses her fiction writing on
novels, though she also writes short stories,
which have appeared in rock, paper, scissors;
Things Japanese: An Anthology of Short Stories;
and THIS Literary Magazine.
Everything You Want Me to Be is her latest
novel from ATRIA Books, an Imprint of
Simon & Schuster. Be sure also to check out
her debut novel, The Dragon Keeper. Learn
more about Mindy at MindyMejia.com.
Do you write an outline before you start a
novel? If yes, how detailed is your outline?
I don’t outline. My first draft process is
more like exploring a new world. I can see
the horizon and I follow the story where it
leads, which might be somewhere
different than I expected to go. Once the
first draft is finished and I understand the
www.TopShelfMagazine.net
How do you work with an editor without
pride making a guest appearance like Jack
Nicholson in The Shining ?
The most important thing is to have an
editor who wants to tell the same story as
you. As long as my editor and I agree on the
general narrative structure, POV, and
themes, I’m willing to change up just about
anything else as long as it serves the story.
That being said, there’s always about a
dozen sentences in each book that I
jealously guard and will defend to the point
of a Kung Fu death match. Luckily, no such
death match has yet occurred.
What is the most difficult part by far about your
craft? What's the one thing about being an
author you wish you did not have to do?
The most difficult part is finding the time
to do it. No one in my life has ever said to
me, “Why don’t you go write now? I’ll
take care of this (insert task) you were
doing for me.” Because so much of
writing happens internally and it doesn’t
take the form of a standard office job, it
becomes challenging to carve out and
defend from the rest of my life.
On the flip side, what is the best part about what
you do––that one thing that makes the answer to
that last question worth every minute?
The best part is when I’ve slipped away
into the world I’m dreaming and
everything starts to come together. I finally
understand where the narrative is going,
the characters arcs are illuminated, and the
themes begin teasing their way to the
Why do you think your books are so
successful?
I’m a plot junkie, so for me suspense is
key. I always do at least one revision of
every book purely for suspense. To
break that down, I’ll read the entire
manuscript in terms of questions.
What questions are raised in this
chapter? What questions are
answered? Ideally the answers
themselves create bigger, more
compelling questions. The “suspense
revision” is all about rate of revelation
and how the stakes increase. It’s one of
the best ways I know to embed that
page-turning quality into the narrative.
Must, must, must edit and proofread.
Ultimately my name is on the cover and I
take responsibility for the story inside. I
don’t want to hand anything off to an
editor until I’ve revised to the point where
I need a fresh set of eyes.
forefront. It’s a transformative feeling,
and highly addictive.
story I’m trying to tell, I approach revision
with more attention to architecture. I’ve
created the map at that point.
INTERVIEWS
Please explain to aspiring authors and
booksellers just how much work is required, even
as a traditionally published bestselling author, to
maintain your level of success?
This is a job like any other, and the actual
writing is only a piece of it. Every author,
no matter how they’re published, must find
their audience. This is no small task
considering the wealth of books being
released both traditionally and through
other channels. A few of my non-writing
writerly jobs: I maintain an online presence
through vario us social media formats and
my website so readers can connect with me
on the internet. I network with other
authors and bookstores through various in
person and virtual events. I monitor new
releases and reading trends to stay current
on the market and literary environment,
and I try to support fellow writers and
promote their work whenever I can. These
are all periphery items to the actual
writing, but they can make a huge
difference when it comes to marketing and
selling your books. Of course it doesn’t
hurt to have a phenomenal publicist in
your corner, too.
Read more of our interview with Mindy Mejia:
www.TopShelfMagazine.net
TOPShelf magazine
APRIL2017 15