When I first saw this week’s TTT topic, I was planning on choosing one author and asking questions that were catered to their books, but I couldn’t decide on which author I would choose. Maybe it will be a series I attempt in the future where I take one of my favourite authors and ask them some hypothetical questions. So today I came up with a few questions that I would love to hear the answer to from any author!
What is the book you would write if you could write anything?
Publishing being what it is, I know that there are book ideas in the minds of authors that will be never come to fruition because they would never be published. As self-publishing becomes more and more popular, this is starting to change, but I am curious to know if there is a book that an author would write if they knew it would be successful and well-received.
How do you come up with the titles for your books?
I am always fascinated to see where book titles come from. There are some titles that I think perfectly fit the story, and others that leave me scratching my head wondering why it was chosen. I would love to know the inspiration and thought process that goes into choosing a book title. It must be so difficult!
Who is a fellow writer that you would want to co-author a novel with?
Co-authorship is something that is intriguing to me. I find it so amazing that two authors can come together with their different writing processes and ideas and write something that readers will love. Christina Lauren are a great example of this, as well as Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows. It would be interesting to know who an author would want to write a book with and what that book might look like!
Who would be your dream narrator for one of your books?
I would love to know who an author’s dream narrator would be, as they can make or break an audiobook. I would also ask how they would feel about narrating their book themselves, as I often love when authors do that because they are able to bring their story to life in the way they see it in their minds.
How do you feel about authors reading their own reviews?
This seems to be a hot button issue lately, and I would love to hear an author’s perspective on it. I completely understand the temptation to read both negative and positive reviews, but doing so cannot be good for an author’s mental health.
What is your favourite underrated novel?
I am always looking for underrated novel, so this is a question that I would ask anyone!
What is the worst writing advice you have ever received?
I think authors are often asked what the best writing advice they ever received, but I am more curious about the worst advice and if they actually took it to heart at the time!
What is another genre that you would most like to write in?
Authors often stick to one or two genres, but it would be interesting to hear other genres that they would love to branch into. It is always interesting for me when an author writes outside their usual genre!
What project are you currently working on?
If I were having a conversation with an author I love, I would be incredibly nosy and I would have to know what they were currently writing! I am constantly checking Goodreads to see if there are any updates on my favourite authors’ next books.
What is a book that you wish you wrote?
I just think that this is an interesting question that can tell you a lot about an author’s writing style and reading preferences and what their ideal book would look like.
What is one question you would love to ask authors in general or a specific author?
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The titles question is a very good one!
My post .
Interesting questions! I might ask someone of these when I invite author for interview next time. I always ask how they come with idea and title.
That’d be awesome! I’m always curious about titles. I’m sure the publisher has an influence on the title as well!
I guess and editors as well
Oooh I’d be so curious to hear an author talk about the book review question because it’s such a touchy subject right now! Also, “what is a book you wish you wrote” is a good one, I’ve never actually thought about that before (I mean not an author so it doesn’t really matter but!), I bet that would get some interesting results! (:
Right!? There are so many different ways an author could answer that question.
I really like your mix of questions. The co-authoring one especially. It’s always so interesting to read collaborative efforts ☺️☺️💛❤️💚🧡💙
Me too! It’s amazing how authors can come together like that and come up with something amazing.
Writing is really hard. Especially when I received advice at a workshop about how my writing is too intense / emotional, which does make me feel drained out. 😱 I don’t know how to navigate around it. These are interesting questions, loved reading this piece! 😍
I’m a freelance editor and I’m always in awe of writers. I cannot imagine navigating all that advice and finding what works best for you.
Some fantastic questions there – love the one about titles and the co-author and dream narrator questions are brilliant ones.
This is this week’s TTT if you want to check out my questions!
Great questions – particularly love the ones about the titles (that is so hard to do!) and the co-authoring and dream narrator questions are fantastic.
This is this week’s TTT if you want to check out my questions!
Great questions!
I love the one about titles. It’s especially interesting when they don’t come from a phrase or something in the book.
My TTT
Right?! It’s fascinating to me!
What’s the worst writing advice is such a clever question! Book titles are hard enough but coming up with chapter title!? That’s a whole another level of hellish.
Here’s mine 🙂 https://jawahirthebookworm.com/2020/08/25/ttt-10-questions-i-would-ask-my-fav-authors-living-and-dead/
I love titles too, and the co- author question is a great one too. Same with what book they would write if they could write anything. 🙂
Oh so any good questions here! You did a great job on this list. I would love to hear authors talk about how they come up with titles and give us their underrated book recs. 🙂
Thank you!!
Say… sorry to tell you this but… your headings are kind of hard to read – very uneven darkness and thickness. I can read them, but it isn’t very easy. Just thought you’d like to know.
Thanks for letting me know! I’ll play around with different fonts until I find one that works better.
I believe the worst advice an author can get is to wait to be inspired. Inspiration comes faster with experience but it will never randomly fall on you if you aren’t teasing it and looking for it everyday. To be a good writer, one needs to sit at their desk and write, however bad it may appear to them when they are doing it. They may have to polish what they wrote in the morrow but that’s the only true way I know to be a consistent writer. Otherwise inspiration has the potential to either be your greatest friend just as well as it could become your greatest enemy.
I believe an author needs to pay attention to what others say about their books in order to improve their story-making skills. It is not about knowing whether the book was “awesome” or “really sucked”, it is about discovering if the story was structured well-enough, if character arcs went into depths enough… An author will have to be biased when criticizing their own book, so reading others’ reviews can be of great help!
I’d be honored to co-author a book with Brandon Sanderson. His Mistborn trilogies literally blew my mind…
Have a great day !
Thank you for your thoughtful answers! Was very interesting to read.
Always a pleasure ! 🙂
These are great questions, Kristin💜