A Goodreads user asked Matt Manochio:

When did you know you had a good story - a publishable story - with Dark Servant?

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.

flag