Ron & Janet Benrey Interview

Welcome Ron and Janet! You’ve written several books together. Did you start out separately or have you always been a writing team?

Ron: I’ve been a writer “forever.” I wrote my way through engineering school (writing for Popular Science Monthly and other magazines) and later became a business writer and speechwriter. Along the way, I wrote seven non-fiction books.

Janet: I’m a late-blooming writer. I began writing with Ron in 1989, soon after we launched Benrey+Benrey, a marketing communications firm.

Ron and Janet: We started writing mystery novels during the ’90s. We both liked cosy mysteries, so we decided to write one together. Our first published novel was Little White Lies.

Tell us how you handle the writing duties. Who does what?

Ron: Many people assume that we sit side-by-side and write together; we don’t. We often describe our writing process as analogous to creating a clay sculpture. I typically build the “wooden armature” (or skeleton) that supports the “sculpture” – in other words, the detailed scene outline). Janet then takes the armature and piles on the first layer of “clay” (the first draft). I then take the developing “statue” and refine the layer of “clay” (by re-writing as necessary). This approach ensures that the finished manuscript has a consistent voice.

Janet: Our approach takes advantage of our specific strengths. Ron has a knack for “engineering” compelling stories. On the other hand, I find it much easier than he does to face a blank sheet of paper and begin a new scene.

What are the challenges you face as a married couple writing together? Is everything smooth sailing, or do the seas get a little choppy sometimes?

Janet: We often disagree about characters, plot details, even fundamental aspects of a story. That’s all part of the book development process. But, we can’t waste too much time arguing – we’re generally working on a tight deadline. Some of our biggest annoyances involve decisions we make to get books finished on time. We’ve often not gone sailing, we’ve cancelled a weekend trip or two, and we said no to many dinner invitations.

Ron: In fact, writing together removes one of the single biggest challenges of writing fiction. Because we work together, we both understand the crazy drive that propels otherwise sane people to spend thousands of hours sitting in front of a computer working on a novel. Janet doesn’t complain that I’m wasting time we could use for more pleasant activities – and vice versa.

What advice do you give other authors who want to write a book with someone else?

Janet: If the someone else isn’t a spouse, make sure that you establish collaboration ground rules that both parties can live with. We’ve heard of writing partnerships stressed by the illness of a partner’s spouse – and even by the need to attend a child’s soccer match during a time set aside for joint writing.

Ron: And, don’t assume that working together will save time. We find that two heads work as slowly as one. The advantage of our collaboration isn’t speed, but more good ideas brought to the project.

Janet, you’re also a literary agent. How do you balance this part of your life you’re your writing life?

Janet: These days, Ron is also part of Benrey Literary. Agenting requires an enormous amount of reading, which, on many day, leaves little time for writing. This lengthens the time it takes us to write a new mystery.

Ron: I try to set aside a fixed time each day for writing – not an easy thing to do – especially on the days when I work with clients to improve their manuscripts. It’s tricky to switch gears and focus on our books after working on other novels.

As an agent, what do you look for in a prospective client? What things turn you off?

Janet: Great writing is the Number One requirement. In today’s highly competitive fiction market, it’s futile to represent a manuscript that’s not as good as the best out there.

Ron: We also look for clients who are flexible, willing to do what editors require, and who understand that selling a manuscript can take more time than they (or we) like.

Janet: We also want our clients to have lots of “product.” An unpublished writer with a finished novel should be working on one or two more.

For both of you: Has your road to publication been bumpy or smooth? Why?

Ron: It took us a long time to sell our first book, mostly because it took several years to learn how to write publishable fiction. Once we figured out the craft, things moved more quickly. We discarded our old manuscripts, began again, and had a contract about a year after we finished the publishable version of Little White Lies.

What do you see as the major challenges in the publishing industry today?

Janet: There seem to be fewer readers of mystery novels at the same time we’re seeing an explosion of new writers – which means more writers are chasing fewer available publishing “slots.”

Where do you want to be in ten years?

Ron and Janet: It would be nice if all of Benrey Literary’s authors were best-selling novelists and non-fiction writers. : And we’d like our own mysteries to have garnered a broader audience.

Tell us about your latest books.

Janet: Our eighth romantic suspense – Grits and Glory – was published by Steeple Hill in July. Our ninth – Season of Glory – will be published at Christmas. It’s the fourth novel in our mystery series set in the fictional town of Glory, North Carolina.

Ron: Two of my non-fiction books recently hit the shelves. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Writing Christian Fiction – published in December, 2007. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Christian Mysteries (about the tough teachings of Christianity) – published in August, 2008. I heartedly recommend both to Christian novelists. :

What are you working on now?

Ron and Janet: A new romantic suspense novel that’s more of a thriller than a cozy.

Ron: Two mysteries and a non-fiction book on everyday law.

Anything else you’d like to say?

Ron and Janet: Yes … most unpublished writers complain about the time it takes to write a novel, find an agent, and be published. In fact, the process doesn’t get much easier – or quicker – once you’re published. Experience has taught us to write more quickly, but producing a complete novel takes the same amount of time – and level of work – it always has, because we’re continuously finding new aspects of writing to master and incorporate in our work. And, we get even more rejection letters these days because we propose more projects. However, another thing that hasn’t changed is the enormous feeling of satisfaction we get when we finish a manuscript and then see it in print.