We were lucky to catch up with Maria V. Snyder recently and have shared our conversation below.
Maria V., thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of our favorite things to brainstorm about with friends who’ve built something entrepreneurial is what they would do differently if they were to start over today. Surely, there are things you’ve learned that would allow you to do it over faster, more efficiently. We’d love to hear how you would go about setting things up if you were starting over today, knowing everything that you already know.
My first book was published by Harlequin in 2005 under their new imprint LUNA books. They were publishing fantasy with strong romantic elements, My third book, Fire Study hit the New York Times bestseller list for 2 weeks and my editor and publisher wanted me to write more books in that series with those characters, but I wanted to switch to a different world/series and characters. I should have kept writing in that series – I had the sales momentum and readers hooked. Instead I wanted a new challenge. Big mistake. All momentum was lost. The new series didn’t sell as well.
Maria V., before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’m a fantasy and science fiction writer with 24 published novels and 2 short story collections. My stories have strong female protagonists and romantic sub-plots. I like to say I’m one of the original writers of the current hot trend of Romantasy. My readers are as young as 9 years old to as old as 92. I’ve been on the New York Times bestseller list, won a dozen awards, and have sold 2.5 million copies worldwide. I’m the most famous person you never heard of! :D
As a youth, I always loved reading, dancing, acting, and playing the cello in our high school orchestra. However, I knew I was not exceptional in any of those creative pursues. I wanted to find a job that would allow me to live independently. I graduated with a Meteorology degree from Penn State University and started my career as an environmental meteorologist. My creative side never died and when I was bored at work, I started jotting down short story ideas and found I really enjoyed writing. Of course my first efforts were terrible, but necessary in order for me to improve. I attended writers’ conferences, subscribed to Writer’s Digest, and joined a state-wide writers group.
All that work paid off when I sent my first novel, Poison Study out to publishers. LUNA Books, an imprint of Harlequin bought it and a sequel and my writing career was launched.
What I’m most proud of is NOT being on a best selling list, nor the awards, nor having my books published in 38 countries and translated into 23 languages (although that is all impressive!), but saving three ladies’ lives. Yes, you read that right. Poison Study has inspired 3 teens to not commit suicide. All were depressed and dealing with trauma, and my main character, Yelena proved to them that they can endure and overcome. That life will get better with some work and effort. These three lovely ladies told me their stories in person and I still get goosebumps when I think about it. THAT is what I’m most proud of.
What I had wanted when I started writing, was to provide entertainment to my readers. To tell adventure stories filled with magic and mayhem and some romance. I wanted to see my book on a shelf in the bookstore., What I had no idea was going to happen was that my readers became inspired by my stories. They enrolled in karate classes, wrote poems, painted photos. They named their children and pets after my characters. They tattooed quotes and symbols from my books on their arms and legs. An amazing consequence that is an unexpected joy! I love interacting with my readers and will answer emails and comments. My Facebook group is closing in on 4000 Soulfinders (the name of my group – picked by my readers).
I also teach writing and mentor students for Seton Hill University’s MFA program. It’s a low-residency program focused on writing popular fiction. I enjoy helping other writers and had graduated from Seton Hill University with a Masters of Arts degree before Poison Study was published. I loved the program so much, I stay to teach and mentor others.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Finding a major publisher to publish your book is extremely difficult. When I finished writing and editing my first book, Poison Study, I queried 40 literary agents over 2 years. Most sent a form rejection letter. A few wanted to read the entire manuscript only to reject it in the end. One asked for revisions, which I did, but then passed on the project. At least 4 never responded at all. In the early 2000s it wasn’t as critical to have a literary agent, so I made a list of 20 publishers who would read my manuscript without an agent and began the process of submitting to those publishers. Over two years, seventeen rejections rolled in, but I was determined to query every one. Harlequin’s LUNA Books was number 18 and they said yes! Persistence is key in publishing!
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
My writing career was chugging along pretty well. I was earning a living from the royalties of my books and growing my reader base. Then HarperCollins, a big publisher, bought out Harlequin. I still had a three book contract with Harlequin, so they published the books. However, they put zero effort in the. cover art, marketing, or promotion. At the end of the contract they said sales were down and they no longer wanted to publish anymore books written by me. Cue heartbreak. I made the mistake of trusting my agent after that, and he basically caused my career to come to a screeching halt.
After I dealt with the emotional consequence, I focused on what I could do. It was 2016 and self-publishing was becoming a viable income source for writers who didn’t wish or couldn’t find a traditional publisher. I pivoted. I kept writing books, but I published them on my own. I had a pretty big reader base and they happily bought my books. Currently, I’m earning the same income as when I was publishing with Harlequin. Not selling as many books, but earning more per book.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mariavsnyder.com/
- Instagram: @mariavsnyderwrites
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mvsfans
Image Credits
Author Photos – Kristian Beverly