We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kathleen Marple Kalb a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kathleen Marple , thanks for joining us today. What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your career and how did you resolve those issues?
The first few years of my writing career were one challenge after another — and not the expected ones! Every writer who chooses the traditional path knows it’s going to be tough to get an agent and for that agent to find a publisher for their book. What I didn’t expect was a long-running family health crisis while I was querying…and later, a pandemic debut. Soon after my first agent took my first book proposal to submission, my husband was diagnosed with lymphoma. After several months of focusing on his treatment, I started querying again, with a new project. He was in remission when my second agent signed me…and by the time the book was picked up, it looked like everything was back on track. I had visions of an exciting career as a well-known and acclaimed mystery author — I even had a debut day book signing at a store near my home. But that day was April 29, 2020. So my book signing ended up as a Facebook live from the basement. Since then, I’ve learned how to recalibrate my promotion strategy, building a significant social media presence and adding a thriving short-story career to my longer work. While I’m probably never going to have the career I would have had without the lockdown, I’m still writing and selling work — and I’m still here!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I like to call myself an Author/Anchor/Mom…not in that order. With more than thirty years in newsrooms, I’m a Regional Edward R. Murrow award-winning radio journalist, currently anchoring weekend mornings at 1010 WINS, New York’s top all-news station. From overnight DJ shifts at a tiny station in my Western Pennsylvania hometown, through a behind-the-scenes job at KDKA Pittsburgh, the nation’s first radio station…through on-air work in Vermont and Connecticut, I’ve polished my craft as a news writer and radio anchor. Even though I wrote my first novel at sixteen (thankfully, it didn’t sell!) I did not take up fiction as a profession until my son started kindergarten. Eventually, after a couple of years of querying in the midst of a family health crisis, my first book came out — right in the pandemic lockdown. But I’m really, really bad at giving up. So I built a significant social media presence in support of my books, joined a bunch of writers’ groups, and added a thriving short-story career to my portfolio. With all that in mind, though, the “mom” part always comes first…I’ve worked part-time and fill-in since my son was born, taking a weekend job so I can be a stay-at-home mom during the week. It’s never easy — sometimes I find myself writing scenes for the next book on the train to work in the wee hours of the morning…but it works, and it’s worth it!
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
Yes! There are so many wonderful writers’ groups and conferences, and I wish I’d joined and been attending them before I was trying to sell a book. Sisters in Crime in particular — full disclosure, I’m a Vice President of the New York Tri-State Chapter — is amazing for women writers involved in anything crime-adjacent. Other genres have similar groups, and they offer a slew of resources. Writing tends to be a solitary pursuit, but it doesn’t have to be a lonely one. It’s absolutely vital to join and grow a good support network. You can survive without writer friends, but you can’t thrive.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I’ve had to learn a whole new approach to rejection. Working writers just can’t take it personally or put too much weight on any given turndown. After roughly three hundred rejections (between three querying cycles and my short-story career), I’ve learned a few things. First, if you’re not getting rejected, you’re not trying. Rejections only come when you put your work and yourself out there for consideration, and it’s important to celebrate the courage involved. The vast majority of people who think they can write don’t finish a project….and most of the ones who do never submit it. Second, a rejection means nothing more than “No, today” on one piece of work. It’s not a judgment on your career or life or anything else. And finally, when you’re thinking of submitting, remember, all they can do is say no. They can’t come to your house and attack you. With all that in mind, rejection is a lot easier to take. It’s never fun, but it doesn’t have to be devastating.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kathleenmarplekalb.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathleenmarplekalb/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KathleenMarpleKalb/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/?msgControlName=view_message_button&msgConversationId=2-ZGNjNGJkN2UtMjhmNS00ODE1LTg2MjQtNDZiMzVhMDZhYTZhXzEwMA%3D%3D&msgOverlay=true&trk=false
- Other: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mysterymarple.bsky.social
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19637929.Kathleen_Marple_Kalb
Image Credits
Author photo: Steven Kalb