Cindy Martinusen Coloma is the author of 16 books, numerous articles, short stories and plays. Her novels have been translated into six languages and she is the co-founder of the Quills of Faith writers group. Enjoy: How long have you been writing? Cindy: I wrote stories as a kid, including my first novel at 12. And at 18, I was writing plays for my church and also pursuing fiction and articles. I was submitting a lot of work, and although I had a play published in 1991, there was a lot of rejection. My first book contract was in 1998. Enjoy: How did you bounce back from that rejection to become a successful author? Cindy: Having writer-friends has helped tremendously. I had gone to a (Redding) Writers Forum meeting at age 23. They were talking about conferences, so I would create things that had an annual deadline and take them to conferences, where I met a lot of other writers. I also did online critiques and writers’ groups. Enjoy: What is your genre and why did you choose it? Cindy: It’s hard for me to stay within one genre because my interests are diverse. My first three books are contemporary mystery. I have written three Young Adult novels, non-fiction books, and lately I’ve been doing more collaboration. Currently, I am seeking a publisher for a YA supernatural fiction book I am writing with my daughter and recently I was the ghostwriter of a crime drama with a legal news analyst. Enjoy: What inspires you? Cindy: I get ideas from everywhere—something on the news, TED talks, questions I have or something from one of my children. It’s hard for me not to write all the time. I have way too many ideas!
Enjoy: What is your writing process and how do you balance it with family life? Cindy: It’s constantly changing. I haven’t quite found that balance yet. I work about 15 to 20 hours a week right now, but that will increase to over 50 or more a week when a deadline is pressing. I write late at night often, too. It’s sort of a “what works today” scenario. As my children get older, I’ll get back to a regular schedule. Enjoy: What can you say about traditional publishing vs. selfpublishing? Cindy: Thomas Nelson, an imprint of Harper Collins, has been my publisher for the last eight years. With traditional publishing houses, you get an advance. However, if your sales aren’t good, you may not have a future there. It’s harder to get a traditional publisher today. I think the drawbacks and the perks have kind of equaled out between traditional and self-publishing, which is a viable option if people understand the amount of marketing they need to do. Enjoy: What advice do you have for new writers? Cindy: First, find a group. Writers Forum is excellent; our group, Quills of Faith, is great. Attend conferences—they push you to the next level to decide if you want to make it a career. I’ve had friends go to conferences and decide they didn’t want to be a writer. That’s helpful to know. Most importantly, writers of every level need to study the writing craft. I still read writing books and study other writers’ works. People often work more toward getting a book done, trying to find an agent or getting published (and now self-published), but they don’t work at writing well. • www.cindycoloma.com
Claudia Mosby is fascinated by the power of words to influence, inspire and heal. She became a freelance feature writer so she could tell people’s stories. She lives in the North State and leads workshops, classes and retreats on writing and wellness. Visit her website at www.writinginsideout.org.
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