Meet and Greet Monday: Tiffany Colter

Tiffany Colter's publishing credits include Charisma Magazine, Suspense Magazine, Today's Christian, Encounter, On Mission and The Toledo Business Journal. She is a past winner of the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense. Tiffany coordinates for The Master Seminars and runs Command Performance Speakers Bureau, as well as a blog for writers called The Writing Career Coach. On that site she mentors writers in matters of business, marketing, and time management. Tiffany also travels and speaks on these topics to writers and small business owners at conferences and via online webinars.

What inspired you to become a writer?

I decided when I was six years old that I wanted to be a writer. By the time I was 10 years old I was reading magazines about writing from cover to cover. When I was 15 my English Literature teacher, Jim Meister, told me I had talent and gave me a book on writing. In it he wrote, “Become famous some day.”

By the time I was 16, I had moved to a new city and, with the advice of my new English teacher, decided I had no talent and put writing aside to pursue my degree and start a family.  The urge to write continued to eat at me, however, and when I was 27 I decided to give it a shot. A year later I was published in two national magazines and writing a monthly piece for a local publication. I figured I was well on my way. As any writer knows, however, this business is full of starts, stops and redirections. Each one has helped me toughen my skin, deepen my plot and develop my technique. I’ve also met amazing people along the way.

Tell us about your writing process.

I start with an idea. “What if?” I will play with an idea for days, months or even years. The manuscript that I wrote that won the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense came to me as I was listening to “Past the Point of No Return”. That is a song from Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Phantom of the Opera. I started thinking about the tragically likable character, Phantom, who was trapped by his own evil and disfigurement.  What if a person felt compelled to do evil? What if in their pursuit of love and acceptance they felt their only option was destroying the lives of other people and controlling the object of their affection?

Other people must have enjoyed my answer because it won the Daphne in the Unpubbed Inspirational division. I actually offer it free online now and am in the process of publishing an ebook version for Kindles for free or as close as Amazon will let me get.

With all of my books I like to have an idea of the major high points and then build a bridge between each. I reread Writing the Breakout Novel during writing and rewriting and I always have a freelance editor go through my work once or twice before I send it off.

What are you working on now?

I personally write a monthly column for Suspense Magazine in addition to writing for a few E-zines, maintaining my Writing Career Coach blog and working on my novels. That is in addition to the various things I do with The Master Seminars and Command Performance Speakers’ Bureau’s speakers.

What books do you enjoy reading? 

That is the funny thing about me, I will read almost anything! I love sci-fi/fantasy/speculative fiction and have been a judge for 4 years in that category for ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers). I also like suspense and psychological thrillers, because it intrigues me the way the human mind works under duress. However, I will just as readily pick up a business book (I’m currently reading The Long Tail) or a child’s book (I’m listening to the American Girl series on tape with my girls now. We listen to it when I’m being their taxi driver.) The only thing I won’t read is something that is gory for the sake of gore or erotic books.

Tell us a bit about the Master Seminars.

The Master Seminars are a series of events to help writers master the skills that are crucial to becoming successful: marketing and craft. I am privileged to work with literary agent, Chip MacGregor, who was named top agent for 2009 by Publisher’s Marketplace. I also work with bestselling author, Susan May Warren; award-winning authors, Susan Meissner and Lisa Samson; and marketing professional and fiction author, Jim Rubart.

These seminars differ from a writing conference in that a group of 16 authors learns from two or three speakers. Chip is always there to share his insight on the industry, and the other speakers share in their areas of expertise. Participants get to ask about their specific projects, brainstorm with other authors and really dig deep into their writing over the course of two days.

 What is the goal of each event?

That varies based on the topic. For the marketing events, the writers leave with customized plans to market their novels. Each person works with Chip and Jim to figure out the best way to do marketing that is in line with his or her temperament. These are not carbon copies. Writers who attend spend time talking about their readership, book themes, and other factors in order to decide what will work for them. They also talk about using their websites effectively.

When the writers work with Susan May Warren, Lisa Samson, and Susan Meissner, they look at issues of craft that may prevent them from going up the next step in their writing career. Maybe they need to deepen conflict or work on character arc. During this two-day seminar they are able to talk such things through with some of the top authors in the industry.

Who will benefit most from these events?

Most of these events are specifically for contracted or published authors, but the events with Susan May Warren are also great for pre-published authors who cannot figure out why they’re not “there” yet. In February, we will have an event with Susan May Warren in Atlanta that is open to authors of all levels. For specifics on that event, click the link here: http://eepurl.com/gnhx.

How did The Master Seminar come about?

These are the culmination of a few different events at once. Chip and Jim were talking a little over a year ago at the annual ACFW Writers' Conference about the need for strong marketing for writers. Jim has a book coming out this April and really understands that need. After they spoke, Chip and I discussed the Speakers’ Bureau I manage and our conversation led to the idea of small group seminars for some of our speakers. Over time the idea of the Master Seminars came together. As a writer I’m thrilled they exist. As a professional I’m honored to be a part of them.

Do you have to come to a seminar or do you offer the lessons online?

We originally planned to only offer these classes in person. The primary benefit, we thought, would be the interaction. What we learned from participant surveys and email inquiries is that participants wanted to go back over the information and some people simply couldn’t get to the seminars. Therefore, we currently have some teachings in the works that we will make available online. We are planning to make an audio teaching and ebook first and possibly do a video later, if there is enough interest. If someone wants to be notified when we release these teachings they can sign up for the update list by going to this sign up page: http://eepurl.com/eBYX

Where can readers find you online?

The Writing Career Coach

 The Master Seminars

Those who want updates on events, speakers, discounts and venues can sign up for our free updates at: http://eepurl.com/eBYX They will get one or two updates a month from this, but they’ll be the first to find out about events. They are also welcome to call me at Command Performance Speakers’ Bureau (734)474-5489.