Ask the Author: Matt Manochio
Answered Questions (3)
Matt Manochio
Glenn, thanks for asking, and congrats again on your flurry of activity with Samhain Publishing (for those unfamiliar with Glenn, he's a horror author worth checking out). To answer your questions:
1. Salem's Lot. I read it in a 24-hour period during a break from college and it totally absorbed me.
2. As for which AC/DC album gets the most play in my car: whatever the most current album is at the time. So, currently it's Live at River Plate, and in a few weeks it will be Rock or Bust.
1. Salem's Lot. I read it in a 24-hour period during a break from college and it totally absorbed me.
2. As for which AC/DC album gets the most play in my car: whatever the most current album is at the time. So, currently it's Live at River Plate, and in a few weeks it will be Rock or Bust.
Matt Manochio
Hi Shana, thanks for asking. I remember the date: 12/23/12. That's when I began writing The Dark Servant. I got the idea a few weeks beforehand and was able to really dive in when my Christmas break from work began. As for how long: around 4.5 months. Keep in mind. I have my day job and a toddler and other responsibilities, so it wasn't like I was in front of my computer 24/7 for almost 5 months. I usually could count on a solid three hours of writing a day after work. And I wrote when I could on the weekends. I submitted and got acceptance in May 2013, and was able to comb through and perfect the manuscript before officially delivering it on July 1, 2013. I got the edited and copy-edited manuscript back in August 2014 (that's right--a whole year later and then some) and went through it again to make changes (minor ones, copy/style mostly) and returned it to my editor a few weeks later. One thing I've learned: You're never done writing until the book is actually off to the presses. I'm sure I could go back to it now and find something I'd like to change.
Matt Manochio
Hi Jason, thanks for asking! This is actually a difficult question to answer. Prior to writing The Dark Servant, I wrote a straight crime thriller and sold it in 2010 to a now-defunct publisher. The publisher went under and I pulled my manuscript. My editor was let go, but I stayed in touch with him, and that was key. (It's a long story, which can be read here: http://goo.gl/LcaKWb.) I got that original deal after realizing I didn't know what I was doing. And that is why I recommend Don't Sabotage Your Submission, by Chris Roerden. Here's a link: http://goo.gl/LcaKWb. I don't get a cut or have a deal with the author to plug her book. I bring it up a lot because it helped me learn how to structure a story, use effective dialogue, and avoid common mistakes that all authors invariably make when starting out. So, through trial and error, getting rejected, understanding why I was getting rejected, revising my work, and then selling it, I figured I knew how to write a novel that could sell. When I got the idea for The Dark Servant, I immediately went to work and already knew what not to do. That, and I truly enjoyed the subject matter, which hasn't been explored by many authors (compared to vampires, werewolves and zombies). I believed in the story, and knew my editor (who had moved from the aforementioned defunct publisher to my current house) had faith in my ability. So, when I first started writing The Dark Servant in 2012, I was comfortable enough to know I could craft a story that my editor would like.
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Nov 16, 2014 08:49PM