Finding the Perfect Book Editor: Essential Steps and Key Questions

Let’s journey into the world of storytelling with acclaimed author Larry Benjamin. Known for his unique blend of romance, history, and social commentary, Larry has carved a niche for himself by defying traditional writing norms and merging genres in captivating ways.

Larry shares his literary journey from a communications consultant to a celebrated novelist, offering a behind-the-scenes look at his writing process. He reveals his unconventional method of starting with the ending and working backwards, a technique that allows him to weave intricate narratives that resonate deeply with readers. We also explore how Larry manages the challenges of balancing multiple book releases and his transition to retail management, which helps him maintain a structured routine.

Larry opens up about his creative process, emphasizing the importance of discipline and prioritizing writing in a busy schedule. He shares his skepticism about writer's block, advocating for persistence and adaptability. For Larry, writing is about finding alternative paths when faced with obstacles, a mindset that has helped him overcome creative challenges.

Silence plays a crucial role in Larry's writing routine. Whether he's crafting stories at his dining table surrounded by his dogs or finding moments of peace amidst daily life, silence is his muse. He talks about the act of creation as uncovering, much like a sculptor revealing what's already present in the marble.

Larry’s newest book just published on October 11th, coinciding with Larry's birthday and aligning perfectly with National Coming Out Day. Larry's journey is an inspiration for aspiring authors, encouraging them to find their unique voices and share their stories with the world.

Tune in to this episode for practical advice, inspiration, and a closer look at Larry Benjamin's art of genre-bending storytelling. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and follow us wherever you listen to "Publishing for Professionals." If you're new here, welcome! We're thrilled to have you join our community of writing enthusiasts.

Until next time, keep writing, dreaming, and creating. Your book is waiting to be read!

00:20 - Lynn (Host)

01:09

The Sun, the Earth and the Moon in his eyes, damaged Angels, a collection of short stories, and Vampire Rising, an allegorical novella His next novel he will be published in October of 25. His work has been published by Carina Press, a Harlequin imprint, boltschuk's books and Beat and Track Publishing. He lives in Philadelphia with his husband, stanley, and their two rescue dogs, atticus and Gatsby, which I absolutely love the names. He's working on his next novel, so I would love to introduce Larry. Welcome to the Publishing for Professionals podcast.

01:44 - Gary (Guest)

Hi, thanks for having me.

01:47 - Lynn (Host)

Yeah, I am so excited about having you come on today because one is you're from my old stomping grounds in Philly, which I grew up in Yay, philly, yep, and I miss terribly. And two is you have such an interesting background, larry, and when we had talked before on our pre-interview talk, there were so many interesting aspects about your publishing process that not a lot of other people not everyone, goes through. So I want to definitely hit on that. But let's first talk about how did you get like. What are you doing right now? What is your main genre of book that you are writing?

02:23 - Gary (Guest)

So I started writing gay literary, literary romance, and that's kind of where I've kind of settled. So all of my books have that romantic element. But, as I explained earlier, um, it's kind of a romance. It's not your typical romance in that it blends history along with social commentary and, of course, a romantic element, um, and that's something I felt really strongly that I really wanted to do, and the other, because I read a lot of classics, like I was really inspired by Scott Fitzgerald and James Baldwin. I really kind of want to keep that kind of great literature genre going on. So I kind of combined the two, which I don't think you often see.

03:05 - Lynn (Host)

No, and that's actually a really popular thing to do right now is to combine like two or three different kind of sub genres, especially romance, because romance is really big right now, as you may know. Um, and then just to combine them is just really important. So where are you currently in your current book that you are writing?

03:16 - Gary (Guest)

so I have one coming out on saturday that's he and the new book last dance. I'm at 47 000 words right, so I'm about two-thirds done. I don't really write long books until we're at 60,000 words. So at 47,000 words the book is nearly done.

03:31 - Lynn (Host)

Wow, that's incredible. So you're publishing two books this year.

03:36 - Gary (Guest)

That probably won't come out until next year.

03:38 - Lynn (Host)

We don't want to hit a second book right on top of the first one, so it'll probably be mid-year next year with that right awesome, and so, um, the the the thing I would ask you about is navigating the writing process for busy professionals, because, um, you are obviously a busy professional, right, and you are getting out there writing books that are not only just writing and publishing, but you're winning awards for them. So what is what like? What type of process or practices do you put in place for writing? Just like let's do like a big overview first and then we'll dive into some of the details.

04:14 - Gary (Guest)

So I think you know, once I get the idea for the book, I kind of have the characters in my head. Then I start working on it. I don't use an outline, I don't do character sketches right, I just write. The other part of my process is I don't write sequentially, so I don't write the first chapter, then the second, then the third, like quite often I will write the final chapter because I know how the story ends, and then work backward from there. I also kind of write and jump around. So for me the biggest part of putting a book together is getting all of the chapters in sequential order, because I write out of sequence and I write what's interesting or what comes in my head, and then I have to go back and tie it all together.

04:48 - Lynn (Host)

Awesome, sam. Yeah, and I actually for my non-fiction ghostwriting clients. I tell them that, like you don't, we actually do start with an outline, but I tell them you don't have to start at chapter one and then do chapter two and then do chapter three. Great so okay, go ahead, Larry. Continue on with our talk.

05:25 - Gary (Guest)

So, in terms of not writing sequentially, I was for a long time I was a consultant communications, and I worked with a young person who had just started her career with us and she was working on a project. And she kept coming to me and saying I can't write the first sentence for this brochure for this customer or this client. And I was very confused. I'm like, well, just write the second sentence or the third sentence, and you're kind of sitting down with her and talking through. You don't have to start with the first sentence, right? You want to start with your key point and then work back and forth till that, because you really want to get your message out there, right? So let's start with the message and then write around that.

06:08 - Lynn (Host)

Yeah, that's a good point to bring up, because a lot of people think you have to write sequentially and you have to do it this way when you really don't right. And I always tell people, like you said, write the part that inspires you first. So once, once you start doing the writing, like, do you do it on Scrivener, do you do it on Google Docs? Do you do it on a word, um?

06:20 - Gary (Guest)

I actually have just converted to typing directly into my laptop For years. I have stacks of these.

06:28 - Lynn (Host)

Composition books.

06:29 - Gary (Guest)

Notebooks and I write in those and then I type it into Word and as I type then I can kind of edit. But I often because ideas and I get inspired in different places. So I always have a notebook with me and I do it that way and then it gives me an opportunity to revisit what I've written and make alterations or edit it as I go.

06:48

Gotcha, I'm also a really terrible typist Five books in and I still can't type to save my life. So I can actually think faster than I can write or type. So writing allows me to capture my thoughts before I lose them.

07:01 - Lynn (Host)

Yes, absolutely, I do the same thing. I literally have a note on my phone that says, like nighttime ideas and so, like, I literally woke up last night with three great ideas and typed them in my phone and I know, like, for you know, for sleep hygiene, you're supposed to write it in a notebook. But I've tried that and every time I try it I knocked the inevitably knocked the notebook off my nightstand and or my whole entire pencil holder. So I'm like, forget it, I'm just going to, I'm just going to put it on my phone. Have you tried dictating your like, writing it down in your composition book?

07:33 - Gary (Guest)

and then dictating it and transcribing it. I haven't. That just seems kind of an extra step. Like I said, I'm also editing as I go. Gotcha, I do sometimes dictate. If I'm out with the dogs, I will dictate a passage into my phone, email it to myself and then just drop it into Word and edit it from there. I find that helpful.

07:50 - Lynn (Host)

So question about the editing as you go, because I know you've also written multiple books, so you're a multi-published, experienced author and you've done this multiple times. So you have the process down. Did you do the editing as you go when you first started writing or have the process down? Did you do the editing as you go when you first started writing or did you just do more?

08:09 - Gary (Guest)

of a brain dump and then come back and edit it later. It's a combination of both, right. So I won't edit if I'm in brain dump mode and I need to get the ideas and the sentences out. But what I do do is you know, in my description it talks about being a wordsmith, so every word is really carefully chosen, right. Sometimes words have more than one meaning. A lot of times in my writing you will notice a repetition of a word or phrase. That is deliberate, because I actually hear a rhythm to my words when I am writing. So the words and the way the punctuation goes flows with that rhythm. I have been working with the same editor for about ten years. The the first five years we fought over everything because she wasn't understanding that I hear a rhythm and that's where I write, the way I look, and at this point she totally gets it. So it's kind of a much easier process now. But I would say that having a solid editor who really understands you is priceless.

09:01 - Lynn (Host)

Yeah, absolutely. I agree with that 100%. And also like to your point like you have written multiple books and you're a good writer, but you still hire a professional editor to go over your work. So let's just talk about that super briefly, like, what are the benefits of hiring a professional writer even if you are a good writer to go over your book before you publish it?

09:22 - Gary (Guest)

At the risk of sounding immodest, I'm a really good writer. I know that.

09:26 - Lynn (Host)

Well, you have won awards, so clearly you're a good writer.

09:30 - Gary (Guest)

But I am also kind of check that ego. Right, everything could always be better and there's things you're gonna miss. Right? I'm not the punctuation specialist, right, I'm not. Really that's not the thing that I really worry about. What I worry about is that rhythm and getting that thought and expressing those characters. An editor come back in and say you know, quite often she'll say to me you use this word too much, or can we change this order of this? So just having those eyes and for me it's extremely beneficial because I trust Deb implicitly but the key there is that I don't use beta readers. Nobody reads my book until I send it to my editor and usually when she gets it it's almost print ready.

10:09 - Lynn (Host)

Gotcha. And then so is the reason that you wait till it's print ready to send it to beta readers, just so people can like get the whole big picture of it, because typically a lot of people will send it and it's like their rough draft. It's not their rough rough draft, but it's kind's like their rough draft. It's not their rough rough draft, but it's kind of like their second draft. And so what's the reason why you wait to send it to them?

10:31 - Gary (Guest)

Quite frankly, it's my book, I believe in it and I'm not really interested in somebody trying to change it.

10:37 - Lynn (Host)

Gotcha, that totally makes sense.

10:39 - Gary (Guest)

Yeah, a lot of people do beta readers early in the process and they take their feedback and they adjust the book. That way I just have enough confidence in my talents that I don't feel the need for that. Also, I'm not really good at like listening to other people well, it's good to know your strengths and weaknesses, right?

10:57 - Lynn (Host)

awesome. So for as far as um, writing habits, actually we're going to take a really quick break right here when we come back. I want to talk to you about your writing habits, like your writing space and like how you go about the writing process, especially when you're a busy professional. So let's take a break right here and then we will be back shortly and talk more with Larry about his writing process. Thank you. We are back with Larry Benjamin, who is a multi-author, multi-award winning author in the fiction realm and excited to talk to him about how he navigates the process for writing, especially since he is a busy professional, just like everyone that's listening and watching this podcast.

11:58

So, larry, we talked before about some of the kind of general items, but what is your like when you're getting ready to sit down? I know a lot of people have like the romantic version of like locking yourself in the cabin in the woods for a week, but that's obviously not realistic, right? Because when you're a busy professional, it's very hard to get away for a week, let alone like if you're going to go away for a week, it's probably be with your spouse, your family. It's not going to be to lock yourself in a cabin. So what methods or processes have you developed to be a professional writer?

12:29 - Gary (Guest)

I think for me the hardest part was discipline right For a long time. My first couple of books I was just like sitting waiting for inspiration and I couldn't write right. And then as I looked at my professional career and what it took.

12:40

I couldn't walk in on Monday morning without that report or that project completed because I wasn't feeling it right. So what I learned to do was writing is a job, it's my job, it's as important as my other career, right? And so really kind of becoming disciplined, prioritizing writing, sitting down and writing. If I have two free hours, I'm going to write and sit there and write for two hours. That's where a lot of people kind of there's this romantic vision of like you get inspired and you just write and write and write, and it's like that's not really. Sometimes you really just need to sit down and just do the work.

13:13 - Lynn (Host)

So you're so. When do you have like scheduled blocks of time that you say like, okay, I'm going to write Wednesday morning between eight and 10, like every Wednesday, or do you more? Is it more of like you're going about your day and you're like, okay, I know, I have this free block of time, I'm going to sit down and write.

13:29 - Gary (Guest)

Yep, so that well, it's two different things, right? So, first of all, as a professional, right, you only have so much time. But one of the things you really have to learn how to do is this is important to me, it's as important as my job, job, right. So creating that priority and taking those few minutes Even if it's the 20 minutes it took me to ride the train into the city to get to work I could write during that time. If you get a lunch break, eat a quick sandwich and then there's some writing there, and then at night, when everything's over, dinner's done, the dogs have walked, you've got that little time before bedtime, you can write then as well.

13:59

For me, the difference now is that I kind of stepped back from my career and decided to focus on writing full-time. That's just new within the last year. So this new book is the first book I've written. But again, the same thing getting up in the morning, walking the dogs, having breakfast, sitting down and writing for two or three hours, whatever. Again, just prioritizing the work and understanding this is my job.

14:17 - Lynn (Host)

Do you feel like especially because right now you're retired so you don't have a regular nine to five full-time job Do you feel like keeping that like some type of routine is really important for making progress on your book and or just working on anything?

14:32 - Gary (Guest)

Yeah. So I actually didn't quite retire. I went into retail management, for you know, philadelphia has a liquor control board so we have state run liquor stores. So I'm actually one on the management team of one of those. And the reason for that was because the first few months when I wasn't working I was just writing, I lacked that structure Right. So now, even if I have a job that doesn't take a lot of emotional energy, right, but it does have a set schedule like seven and a half hours, five days a week, so that I can prioritize my writing within those times, so it keeps me going with a routine. I do my nine hours or seven hours and then I come home and I can write and those kinds of things. So for me it was really important, at least for the first couple of years that I'm writing professionally, to slowly transfer that discipline into having total free time, if that makes any sense.

15:21 - Lynn (Host)

That does make sense. And one of the other things that I know a lot of people have an issue with and Hemingway has decided to show up, he pushed through the door say hi, hemingway, anyway is writer's block. So I was going to ask you, larry, do you experience writer's block? And if you do, what do you do to kind of like overcome it or help you to get past the writer's block?

15:44 - Gary (Guest)

Oh, my God, I love this question. So I don't have writer's block and honestly this is going to sound terrible, but I don't know that writer's block is a thing and I'll explain why.

15:55 - Lynn (Host)

Okay.

15:55 - Gary (Guest)

If you're out walking and you come to a gate in a wall, right, you're going to try the gate. The gate doesn't open. Are you just going to stand there forever? Or are you going to walk around, look for another gate? Are just going to stand there forever? Or are you going to walk around, look for another gate? Are you going to climb over that stone wall? Right, that's how you get over writer's block. It's not blocked, there's just another entrance behind it how did he get back in?

16:14 - Lynn (Host)

I closed the door gotcha um, yeah, so that's totally true. Like I can see that, because when it's just basically everything else right, like if you're doing, doing something, you get distracted, you just jump back, you jump back on track. So, like for me I know I rarely get writer's block. I think I might get it three times in an entire year and I actually just got it yesterday, which was really frustrating. But I know for me, like and I'm guessing it's for you like there's certain activities that you do are good for, like helping, like the free flow in your head, like taking a shower or walking the dog or just walking outside in general. Are there any other?

16:52 - Gary (Guest)

activities you like to do to kind of get that, get your head clear so that you can write better. That's exact so I will get. I do get stuck right the three things I do take a shower, take a nap. Take a nap is great, and I think even when I was in college and studying and I wasn't getting something, I found, if I took a nap and woke up like your brain keeps working while you're sleeping, so then you start to understand the problem. And the same thing with writing. Right, if I take a nap, then while I'm sleeping my subconscious is working through that plot point and I usually wake up with the idea Walking to dogs can also be helpful, right?

17:20

So just stepping back and doing something, but not embracing this thing of I'm blocked. I can't write today. No, let's figure out, let's do something else to rewire your brain for a few minutes, give it a chance to relax and then come back to it right.

17:32 - Lynn (Host)

And then was there ever a time where, like you decided you were planning on writing and you sat down to write and then you just really didn't, like you really weren't feeling it and you decided, oh, I'm just gonna do this another day. Do you ever do that? Or is it more of like, when you sit down to write you're pretty good and you just end up writing for like an hour or two?

17:50 - Gary (Guest)

So I think I'm usually pretty good when I sit down to write, and that's just because when I'm actively writing I'm always thinking Like my characters live in my head and they kind of talk to me and sometimes they'll bring up a point that I didn sit down.

18:11 - Lynn (Host)

I've already even if it was the day before I've already had 12 hours of this percolating in my head, so I'm just really excited to have that hour or two to be able to sit down and get this out of my head. I know exactly that feeling. That's awesome. So when you first started writing how long ago was that? And did you have these writing habits then? Or did you have to just really figure out and build them over time, based on, like, what your, what your writing style is?

18:29 - Gary (Guest)

oh, I definitely built them over time and, um, I've gotten better about it. Um, I think at the beginning I had this kind of whole romantic. Well, let me back up the story. I don't know, you probably don't know this story. So my first book was um, called what, what binds us? It's um.

18:43

19:29 - Lynn (Host)

We just bought a brand new house, ah, how am I gonna if I can never write it?

19:33 - Gary (Guest)

if I can never work again, right. So I pulled out the manuscript work, send it out to a couple of people. Arlen harlequin picked it up and I was kind of off and running. So again, that was a thing where if you believe in your work, just keep pushing. You know, I wish I hadn't wasted 17 years taking no, but you know, I think I am where I needed to be. Right, it takes as long as it takes, but that's another thing. As a writer, you really need to kind of believe in your work and not tie yourself to the opinion of other people or what's popular in the marketplace right there's room for a lot of different stories, and if you think your story is really great, that don't give up on.

20:04

And then what's?

20:05 - Lynn (Host)

other advice you would give, like new authors that are starting out, and maybe some things that, like you wish someone had told you or coached you on early on in your writing career.

20:15 - Gary (Guest)

I think just again, valuing your writing time, valuing your writing, you know, not romanticizing it I see so many people kind of sitting around Starbucks with their laptops doing their writing. Right, it's sometimes strikes us performative to be able to write.

20:31

You don't need an audience to write, right. You don't need to kind of find into that stereotype You're going to have a cup of coffee, sit in Starbucks and write your novel, right? So really just kind of figuring out what works for you and not being afraid to kind of step outside of the norm and don't necessarily be driven by just the latest bestseller.

20:47 - Lynn (Host)

So, when you are coming up with ideas for your book, what kind of like inspires you or what is the process that you have of coming up with ideas? Or is it like for me I literally wake up at three o'clock in the morning and I have an idea in my head and I write it in my phone. But what is your process for coming up with like either new book ideas or new ideas for the current book that you're writing?

21:09 - Gary (Guest)

So I think I often talk about my writing being found art in terms of the characters or composition of people I've met and talked to. Sometimes it's snatches of conversations, right, there's all these things that influences me. When I wrote X and Sons, it's about two Asian kids who fall in love, and it was based on this Asian kid that I saw on the subway or on the train to work every morning.

21:31

Something about him just kind of intrigued me and I started building a story for him and so it's those kinds of things. In the book that's coming out on Saturday, one of the secondary characters has a cat named Frankenstein and the cat plays kind of an important role. But there was never. It wasn't originally supposed to be like. The cat character didn't exist. But I was driving to work one day and I heard Sam Cook's I'm Another Saturday Night and he talks about he's lonely and his friend at work tries to set him up with his sister and he said she bore a striking resemblance to a cat named Frankenstein. And just from that line in that song I created this cat named Frankenstein and he really works in the story.

22:12 - Lynn (Host)

And so you said earlier, like you always carry around a notebook with you to write down ideas and or your phone. I know that's a really important part of the process. What would you let me think I'm trying to formulate this into a question If someone is, like, really resistant to doing that and most people aren't but, like if someone's resistant to just like writing it down in a notebook or they don't want to, what would you recommend, like as far as people coming up with creative ideas if they are, if they are seeing stuff but they don't want to write it down, as they see it, maybe they want to write it down at night is there anything you would recommend to people for, like an alternate way to capture your ideas or creative space?

22:51 - Gary (Guest)

Memorize it right. Quite often I will memorize an entire paragraph that I've written in my head, because I'm on air paper right, or I'm driving and I can't pull over anywhere to write it down.

23:02

So I think just really really exercising your mind to kind of retain those thoughts is critical to being able to write all the time. So really like when I think about it, like I write all the time. But one of the there's a great sculptor it might have been Rodin in 20s admiring a sculpture. How did you create the sculpture? And he goes, I didn't. I looked at this block of marble and I chipped away to release what was already in there. Yes, with my books. I feel like the book was just floating around in the air and I just happened to listen and snatch it and put it down.

23:34 - Lynn (Host)

Interesting. I love that, yeah, cause I've been to the Redan because I'm a native of Philadelphia. I've been to the Redan Museum multiple times. I love it. I remember that quote and I've also been to the Redan Museum I'm blanking where it's at, but there's another one in the United States. But anyway, yes, that's super, super interesting. I love it. Okay, so you're writing space, like, do you have specific spaces that you write? Is there a specific atmosphere? Like, do you listen to music? Do you not listen to music? Because I know that's always different depending on the writer.

24:00 - Gary (Guest)

So I don't listen to music, I need silence. You know I was reading an author who writes popular detect stories, something she talks about she writes a tv on. That's how I'm just horrified.

24:13 - Lynn (Host)

I know I can't think straight with the tv on. That's why, if I'm watching tv, that's the only thing I'm doing, right so I don't.

24:21 - Gary (Guest)

I need silence to write, and again because, like I said, when I'm I hear the words have a rhythm and I can't hear the rhythm if there's other music playing or something else going on. So that's why I kind of function right best in silence. I actually I'm in my office now, which was set up for me to write in, but we have dogs and if I'm up here the one dog won't come up to the third floor, or in the summer it's actually warmer up here than the rest of the house. So I just started writing downstairs at the dining table because the dogs can see me, they can look out the windows.

24:55 - Lynn (Host)

They can go outside and hang out in the yard and I kind of know where they are. As long as the house is quiet, I can write anywhere. Nice, yeah, and yeah, quiet definitely helps. I cannot, oh my God, I don't know how anybody writes with the TV on. Yeah, I also I do music, but it has to be non-lyrical music. Like I can't if someone's speaking I'm like no, my head's getting jumbled with all your words. So, yeah, no to your point, that's it's.

25:12

And you have to set it up based on, like, what you like to do. Like I had several writer friends who are the same as you. Like they can't write with any noise, so they like to sit in the quiet and even like writing at a coffee shop's hard for them unless they have earplugs in because of the noise in the coffee shop. And I actually like that background noise. But as far as like direct background noise, I definitely don't do that. Awesome. Well, larry, this has been so amazing. I really appreciate you making the time today to come on and share your, your thoughts, your processes about the writing process, because I know that's one of the biggest things people stumble over. Where can people find out more about you and what you do?

25:46 - Gary (Guest)

The easiest place to find me is at my website. That's authorlarrybenjamincom, and that lists all of my social media channels. My blog is out there, all of that stuff.

25:55 - Lynn (Host)

Awesome, sounds good.

26:01 - Gary (Guest)

And then your new book is going to be released the end of October, correct? It's October 11th, which is next Saturday, which happens to be number one, my birthday, and number two, National Coming Out Day. So we chose to say it very deliberately.

26:12 - Lynn (Host)

Well, happy National Coming Out Day and happy birthday. I'm going to say so. By the time this airs, your book will already be out, so I'm assuming you're going to have it on Amazon.

26:23 - Gary (Guest)

Yep, it's on Amazon. Some libraries, I think, have already ordered it. You can ask any retailer to order it for you.

26:31 - Lynn (Host)

Awesome, and I know the people who are listening to this my listeners. If you go on Amazon and just look up Larry Benjamin as an author, definitely follow his author page on Amazon so you can get all his new books sent and they will notify you when he has his new books out. So, larry, thanks again for coming on today. I really appreciate you taking the time.

26:50 - Gary (Guest)

Yeah, thanks for having me.

26:51 - Lynn (Host)

All right, my friends, remember to like, subscribe and follow Publishing for Professionals on whatever platform you're listening on and I thank you again for coming and listening to another episode of Publishing for Professionals Remember to start writing your book today, because if you don't write your book, the people that the people that were supposed to get your message today will not get it until tomorrow. So I hope you're having a wonderful day and I'll see you next week.