News & Notes

March 2009

I’m happy to report that here in the Midwest, I’ve seen the first harbingers of spring. I spent the last day of February raking up leaves in my gardens, and I discovered tulips breaking through the mulch and narcissus leaves that are two inches high. Halleluiah! I don’t know about you, but I am SO ready for warmer weather!

Thanks to the cold, I did log LOTS of hours in front of my computer in February. And I’m also gearing up for the release of the final book in my Heroes of Quantico series, IN HARM’S WAY, at the beginning of April. Also in April, the final book in my Nantucket-based Lighthouse Lane series—A FATHER FOR ZACH—will be released. You can find excerpts and covers for both of them in the “Irene’s Books” section of this website.

Publishing works very far in advance, so there is a lot of focus right now on the first book in my next suspense series, which will be released in January 2011. A couple of weeks ago, I had a conference call with the editorial and marketing people at my publisher to talk about cover concepts and finalize some details. I’m happy to announce that the title is now set for both Book 1 and the series. The three-book series will be called Guardians of Justice, and Book 1 is titled FATAL JUDGMENT. Some great cover ideas were tossed around in that meeting, and I’m looking forward to seeing preliminary designs in the next few weeks. At the request of my publisher, I’m also in the process of arranging for some new publicity photos. We writers don’t often have much reason to “get glamorous,” since writing is such a solitary life, so this should be lots of fun. The photographer is even arranging for a stylist, so for an hour or two I’ll get to pretend I’m a star! Then it will be back to real life—sweats and my keyboard!

I received some positive comments about the publishing Q&A I ran in my last letter, so I’ll answer another question this month. Let me know if you find this worthwhile.

What do you think about critique groups?

Let me start by saying I have never been a member of a critique group. In the beginning of my career, I had no idea how to find one. Once I was published, I felt less of a need for one—my editors gave me plenty of feedback! But I’ve heard enough about critique groups from other writers over the years to form a few opinions.

First, I think every writer—from the unpublished to New York Times bestsellers—can benefit from a good critique. Even after 35+ books, I still learn something new with every one. And there are lots of way to learn—from editors and contest score sheets to seminars and craft articles. Simply reading and analyzing the work of successful writers is also helpful. A critique group can be a good tool—but it’s just one of many that are available.

That said, I would urge caution in choosing a critique group. The group should include writers whose work you admire and respect. And it’s best if at least a couple of members have sold to credible publishers. Anyone can self-publish. But when a publisher pays hard cash for a novel—advance and royalties—that’s a third-party validation of writing skill. These are the kinds of people you want to learn from. Do expect some negative feedback—that’s how we improve. But I would suggest paying special attention to the feedback from proven writers. They know what works.

My own preference, if I ever decided to consider this route, would be to find a single critique partner whose work I respect. I think one-on-one interaction can offer more helpful—and focused—feedback than group dynamics allow.

That’s it for this month! Have a great St. Patrick’s Day (my dad is from County Cork, so this is a major holiday in my family!), and drop me a line if you like at irenehannon @ irenehannon.com. I love to hear from readers!