Q. Hey, I bet The Next Big Thing would make a great movie! Any plans?

A. Thanks, but it's doubtful. Nobody wants to make a movie about reality TV. Ditto for big women (Hollywood fears fat in a way you wouldn't believe). So with two strikes against it, The Next Big Thing will probably never hit the silver screen. At this point, no film agents even want to shop the rights. However, my second novels looks much, much more promising. Can't say any more right now. Keep your gingers crossed!

Q. How did you get started writing?

A. I've been writing since before I knew how to write. Even when I was really young I would make up stories and ask my parents to jot them down for me. I founded my own neighborhood newspaper when I was 8-years-old (sadly, I only managed to put out seven issues before the paper folded). I edited my junior high, high school and college newspapers. Plus, I spent all of my spare time picking up other writing gigs -- I wrote newsletters, freelance magazine pieces and even our senior class play.

Q. If you weren't a writer, what would you be doing?

A. Quite honestly, writing is the only thing I've ever really wanted to do. I can't imagine having a different career. With that said, I did briefly (and foolishly) flirt with the idea of law school. One LSAT practice test got that out of my system.

Q. Did your radio connections help you land a book deal?

A. Nope. I got my agent with no connections whatsoever. This bears repeating: I got my agent with no connections whatsoever. It can be done. Now, I suppose I could have schmoozed one of our "Book Talk" guests into giving me a referral. But I never even thought of it. Firstly, that would have been totally unprofessional (many of these authors get asked for referrals on a daily basis the last thing they needed was the producer of a show crossing that line). And secondly, I just didn't feel comfortable doing something like that. If I was going to make it as an author, I wanted to do so on my writing talent alone. 

Q. What did you do before you worked in radio?

A. I've had lots of different jobs over the years, but I'll give you a rundown of the three most interesting. Summer of '97 I worked as a tour guide at the Memphis Zoo. You know those great big two-car trams? I drove one of them...it wasn't pretty. Then I spent two-and-half years working as the entertainment editor at The Daily Helmsman where I met and interviewed lots of cool celebs. In 2002 I moved to England and worked for Blockbuster. Yeah, I went to the UK to work for a Dallas-based company. Makes a lot of sense, right? My job there involved phoning customers with extended viewing fees and bugging them to pay up. I knew I was in trouble during my very first call when the woman who answered placed her hand over the mouthpiece and said: "Honey, there's some girl on the phone claiming to be from Blockbuster Video. She's got this really bad fake American accent...it's obviously some sort of prank."  

Q. Where did you go to college and what did you study?

A. University of Memphis. Graduation date: 2001. I have a BA in Journalism with a concentration in magazine article writing.

Q. How can I get published?

A.  First thing's first: if you want to be published by one of the major NY houses, you pretty much have to have an agent. I have known a few writers who managed to snag major publishing deals on their own, but I personally wouldn't recommend it. Trying to sell a book without an agent is a little like going to court without a lawyer. Agents know the ins and outs of the publishing business and they have the clout and connections to get your book read swiftly. My agent sold my novel in under a week, and she set me up with a fabulous editor. Need I say more?

There are no hard and fast rules to landing an agent. Now, if your dad's best friend happens to be a famous literary agent then more power to you! But for the rest of us, landing an agent involves a lot of legwork (and a pretty thick skin). The best advice I can give you is this do your homework. Learn everything you can about the publishing industry. Read Publishers Weekly and Publishers Marketplace. Get yourself a copy of Writers Market (available at most bookstores or libraries). Research agents online. Then craft a killer query letter, serving up a brief tease of your book, a little about your credentials (why are YOU the best person to write this novel?) and an offer to send along the completed manuscript.

Q. How long did it take you to find an agent?

A. About 10 weeks. I started querying on September 3, 2003 (yes, I know the exact date). I sent out a total of 24 queries (18 of these were by e-mail) over a 2-month period. Four were out-right rejections; 6 didn't respond at all. Eleven agents requested partials and 3 asked for the full manuscript. Out of the 11 agents who requested partials, 10 wrote back and asked to see the full. I took that as a pretty good sign. I wound up with 3 offers of representation, which completely and utterly blew me away. It was very flattering, but there really was no choice in the matter. When my "dream agent" offered to rep me, I immediately said yes.

Q. How long did it take you to find a publisher?

A. A couple of days. My book went out on submission on a Friday and the offers started coming in the following Tuesday. I'm still in awe of how fast it all happened.

Q. I read your book was sold on a partial. Is that true?

A. Yes, The Next Big Thing was sold on a 280-page partial manuscript and a 12-page synopsis.

Q. Who's your agent? And can you hook me up with her?

A. I am sooo lucky to be represented by one of the best in the biz, the awesome Jenny Bent. Unfortunately, Jenny's so awesome and in-demand that her client roster is packed. For the time being, she isn't taking on any new writers. So I'm sorry, but I can't give you a referral.

Q. How long did it take you to write The Next Big Thing?

A. The actual bulk of the writing went very quickly. I did the first fifty pages in a weekend. The rest of the writing took about three weeks. Then I spent another five-to-six weeks on editing and revising.

Q. Did you really write a book in a couple of weeks?

A. Yes, I did. If you don't believe me, ask my coworkers. For a few weeks straight, I literally dragged my butt into the office with only a few hours sleep. Do I recommend this? Not necessarily...the truth is, it was flowing so well that I was afraid to stop. I thought I'd never finish.

Q. What's a typical writing day like for you?

A. I'm a total night owl. Even if I'm dead tired all day, I get a second wind around 10 p.m. and then -- BOOM -- I'm wide awake until 2 a.m. So while I can sometimes craft decent prose during the waking hours, I tend to do the majority of my writing at night. Usually I really get cracking around 11 p.m. and stay up until 3 a.m., or sometimes 4 or 5. If I do make the leap to full-time novelist, I'll probably become completely nocturnal.

Q. Who came up with the titles The Next Big Thing and Your Big Break?

A. That was all me. It came to me around midnight (don't all good ideas?) and it just kind of stuck. I think it's pretty rare that an author actually gets to keep their working title, but I was lucky. Your Big Break was not my title. My editor came up with that.

Q. Where do you get your ideas?

A. There's really no clear answer to this. Ever since I can remember, I've been dreaming up ideas for novels. They just pop into my head out of the blue. And I also read like mad. I don't think it's possible to be a (good) writer if you're not an avid reader.

Q. Do you outline your stories or make them up as you go along?

A combination of both. I usually start off by writing a brief synopsis (or summary) of the main characters and the plot of the book. Then I write a bullet-point outline of the first two to three chapters before I start. I basically write down what characters and scenes will be featured in each chapter, so I can see the story arc. I usually outline a few chapters ahead as I go along. And then, once I'm about halfway through the novel, I go back and outline the first half. This helps me see if I'm on the right track, and helps me fill in plot holes. I think it's important to have an idea of where you're going with the story, and who the characters are otherwise you'll write yourself into a corner. However, I'm always willing to vary from the outline as the characters take me in different directions.

Q. Do you have any weird writing routines?

A. I listen to music while I write. A few favorites are U2, Garbage, Depeche Mode, Gwen Stefani, and a variety of stuff from iTunes.

Q. Come on, 'fess up. The "characters" in your books are all thinly disguised send-ups of your friends/family/coworkers/mailman, right?

A. This is probably the most common question I get asked. People always want to know who I modeled the characters after or, more specifically, "Did you put me in the book?"

The truth is most people (myself included) just aren't interesting enough (and by interesting I mean over-the-top dramatic) to fill out an entire novel. I honestly think one of the biggest mistakes new writers make is taking the old adage "write what you know" too seriously. There's a hell of a lot of people out there writing novels about their life story. Sometimes it works out brilliantly (The Bell Jar, for example). Most of the time, it doesn't. No offense, but most people's lives just don't have enough dramatic punch to make for an interesting book.

And one final note: when you base characters on real people I think you greatly limit yourself as a writer. You wind up second guessing things. ("Would so-and-so actually do this in real life? Probably not, so I'd better take it out of the book.") So much of the fun of writing NBT was discovering who the characters were along the way, and watching them do things that surprised me. 

Q. You mean you've never written about your life?

A. Oh sure, I've written lots of semi-autobiographical stuff -- it just hasn't panned out. I can't tell you how many times I've tried to write a novel about working and studying abroad in London. It was such an incredible, life-altering experience...yet I just can't seem to shape it into a good book. I've attempted to loosely fictionalize the frenzied and overwhelming world of movie press junkets (I've been lucky enough to attend a few) with no success. Finally, I gave up trying to write my life into a novel and came up with something that was pure fiction and it sold in under a week.

Real life experiences are great fodder for newspaper and magazine columns, essays, poems and (possibly) short stories. I just don't think anything from my life could sustain an entire novel.

Q. So maybe you just haven't had an exciting life. Or you aren't a good enough writer to convey it.

A. Uh...let's move on!

Q. Who's the coolest person you've interviewed?

A. Seann William Scott was probably my favorite. Really bright, intelligent, incredibly gorgeous and friendly. Just an all-around great guy. We even had drinks together at a Road Trip party. Oh, and Paulo Costanzo (who you're all going to hear of soon, thanks to Joey) was awesome. He was funny and adorably neurotic. I have the cutest picture of the two of us hugging, which I'll probably slap up here soon. Jon Lithgow was also brilliant and amazing. Most veteran actors would probably be annoyed about being interviewed by some pesky college kid. But he was gracious, enthusiastic and charming.

Q. What are some of your likes/dislikes?

A. Hmm...didn't I just answer this? Oh, you want specifics, eh? Fave band: U2. Fave movies: About a Boy, The Birdcage, Bowfinger, Memento. Fave shows: Seinfeld and Sex and the City. Fave song: Until the End of the World - U2.

Q. Is your name Joanna?

A. Wow...thanks for asking. Most people think the "h" in my name is silent, but it's not. Johanna is a common German name, but my parents decided to Americanize it a little bit. So the actual pronunciation is Jo Hannah, kind of like Mary Anne or whatever. Another thing people tend to do is to mess up the first "a" --my name rhymes with Savannah, as opposed to Nirvana. Over the years I've gotten all sorts of variations, so I pretty much answer to anything remotely close to Johanna. Oh, and you can always call me Jo, for short. Every now and then I run into someone who gets it right the first time, and they're usually fans of this Bob Dylan song.

Q. Hey, why is there a doghouse in the background of your photo?

A. Uh...'cause we have a dog. I love, love, love animals - dogs, cats, whatever.

Q. How old are you?

A. 27