Lisa Sank: Why did you decide to become a writer?

Johanna Edwards: Because I come across best on paper. I’m in my element when I’m writing. It’s the one thing I’ve been consistently good at from a very young age. I was always pretty pathetic at math and science and art but I could write up a storm. It was just a natural course for me. With that said, I do have those “I wish I’d gone to law school days” where I’m convinced I’m a total hack. But I’d have never made it as a lawyer. I don’t have the constitution for it.

Lisa: Did you seriously consider other careers?

Johanna: (laughs) I considered pretty much every other career known to man: attorney, chiropractor, dentist, physician, coffee shop owner, school teacher, and on and on. Writing was the only thing I’d ever wanted to do, but I was afraid to admit that. Admitting how much I wanted it, committing myself to being a writer, felt like taking a huge, terrifying risk. I mean if I’d failed as an orthodontist that would have been horrible, but it wouldn’t have devastated me in the same was as failing as a writer would have. It finally dawned on me that it was better to try and fail than to never try at all.

Lisa: Who encouraged you to be a writer?

Johanna: I’m lucky. I’ve had lots of encouragement from a very young age. My mom was always a big reader and, even when times were tough, she made sure our house was full of books. There were limits on what kinds of things I could do and buy, except when it came to books. Every month my mom would take me to the bookstore and I’d stock up on Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley novels. And my love of reading just grew as I got older. I also had a lot of wonderfully encouraging teachers from elementary school on to college. I was a terrible student in math and science, but I always excelled in writing.

Lisa: The odds of selling a novel are pretty bad. Did this bother you?

Johanna: Yes and no. On the one hand I was totally intimidated. On the other hand I wasn’t fazed at all. I think the thing to remember is that while the odds may seem dismal, the process isn’t really that cut and dry. It’s like that old adage: if you’re trying to outrun a bear you don’t have to run faster than the bear. You just have to run faster than the guy next to you. For example, most agents take on less than 1% of the manuscripts they receive. Pretty daunting, right? But when you think about it, probably 50% of the material they get will never be seriously considered because a.) it’s totally unpublishable or b.) it’s geared toward the wrong market. Lots of people don’t do their homework. They send a horror manuscript to an agent who only handles romance novels, or they send a memoir to an agent who handles cookbooks. So you’re truly not competing against 100% of the people who submit and, therefore, your odds really aren’t as bad as you might think.

Lisa: Do you think your radio position as the producer of “Book Talk” helped you?

Johanna: It did, but not in the way most people think. It helped inspire me and it helped motivate me to keep at it. But I didn’t use it to get a connection to an agent or a publisher, which is what everyone assumes. I cold-queried. I had no connections. I felt that was really important.

Lisa: Why was it important to you?

Johanna: Let me explain something about my job. We host between fifty and seventy-five authors in-studio every year. Most of them are bestselling writers with major houses. We also invite live studio audiences to our tapings. Many, many times people wander in off the street and they approach the authors after the show is over. They say something along the lines of “Hi, I’m an unpublished writer who has never read any of your books but I was really, really hoping you’d show my work to your agent.” And then they pull out a manuscript. This happens constantly. Most of the authors are very gracious and will offer a few tips and suggestions and occasionally they’ll offer to take a look at the book. Sometimes, though, the aspiring novelists become upset or angry when the authors refuse to give them a referral to an agent or an editor or when they refuse to co-write a novel with them (you’d be shocked how often people approach big name celebrities like Mitch Albom and suggest co-writing a book).

Part of my job is to run interference, to step in and stop things before the big-name author gets harried. Imagine how that would’ve looked if I’d suddenly pulled out my own book and said, “Oh, I know you just had twelve people ask you to read their novels, and I know you’re in a hurry to catch your flight, but can you take a look at my unpublished tome while you’re at it?” It just didn’t feel right, and it would have been so unprofessional. I really wanted to see if I could do it the old-fashioned way.

Lisa: What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve been given?

Johanna: To finish the book no matter what. And to start on your second book as soon as you finish your first one.

Lisa: Do you think people have misconceptions about novelists? If so, what are they?

Johanna: I think the main misconception is that if you've landed one book deal you've landed twenty. In other words, people think just getting a book deal (or even an agent) automatically means you’re the next Stephen King. The truth is this is an extremely competitive business and unless your first novel is a huge breakout hit like The Lovely Bones or White Oleander, you’ve got your work cut out for you. Don’t get me wrong – selling your first novel is a major accomplishment, but it isn’t an excuse to sit back on your laurels. A few other common misconceptions: every author gets a book tour, every author goes on Oprah, every author has their book made into a movie, and so on.

Lisa: Walk us through what it’s like to get a book deal.

Johanna: It was incredibly exciting – probably the most exciting time of my life. I mean it was a total whirlwind. My agent sent my book out on a Friday. By 8 a.m. the following Monday I had a message from her on my machine. I called up to New York and found out that several editors had read the book over the weekend and were very interested. My agent and I emailed and called back and forth dozens of times over the next few days as the offers started coming in. Every time I saw a 212 area code [Manhattan exchange] pop up on my Caller ID my heart would skip a beat. I was floored by the response time, and by the money being offered. The book had a good deal of buzz, and word had leaked to Hollywood. I remember my agent telling me Paramount was interested and had requested a copy of the manuscript. Nothing came of it but that was still a surreal, exciting thing to hear. I was only 25. I had just graduated college two years ago. I couldn’t believe this was suddenly my life.

Lisa: Receiving the book contract was obviously a big highlight. Were there other exciting events along the way?

Johanna: I think the biggest moments of the experience were finishing the book, landing an agent, landing a publisher, seeing the cover for the first time and getting the Jennifer Weiner blurb. Those were the biggest milestones.

Lisa: Did you have to do a lot of research to write this novel?

Johanna: I spent hours and hours combing through these overly technical videography journals. I wanted to get the technical aspects of the reality show correct – what kind of equipment they used was very important. How many cameramen did they have? What kinds of shifts did they work? I wanted to really get behind the scenes of a reality show. I'm also fortunate because WYPL FM 89.3 has a sister station, a high-tech public access TV station. So I pumped the cameramen and sound guys at our TV studio for tons of info. There was a lot of basic stuff that I didn't know. Like I'm embarrassed to admit I had no idea that industry people typically refer to lapel mics – the kind that clip onto your collar –as lavaliers. Or that those microphones boxes everyone wears on shows like Big Brother and The Real World are called "mic packs."

Lisa: Sounds like the research was time-consuming.

Johanna: It was, but it was also very interesting. I discovered that getting good sound is the most difficult part of these shows. As reality TV has evolved, they've literally had to invent new equipment to keep up with the genre. Mics and cameras that can survive the elements, that can be easily carried up the sides of mountains, that have extra long batteries. I studied interviews with the sound techs from Survivor, The Amazing Race and Fear Factor. They all stressed over and over how hard it is to get clean sound. That's why you see so many subtitles on these shows. Even with the technological advances, there are still limits to what the mics can capture.

Lisa: What makes you unique as a writer?

Johanna: I think my voice is unique. My writing’s very honest, diary-like. I’m not my main character and I’ve never been through what she’s been through, but we share a lot of the same philosophies and frustrations about life. I did put a lot of my real feelings into this book, even if the events, characters and situations are completely made up.

Lisa: Was there anything you debated leaving out because it was too personal or too embarrassing?

Johanna: I get asked this a lot. You’re talking about sex scenes, right?

Lisa: (laughs) Right.

Johanna: I didn’t leave anything out, so I will probably be a little embarrassed when, you know, my grandparents read it. I wrote The Next Big Thing with a no-holds-barred attitude, which was easy to do because I never thought it would be published. There are definitely some embarrassing sexual references and language choices but they had to stay in order for the book to remain true. Overall my book is actually quite tame – I’ve read raunchier scenes in YA books.

Lisa: Is there anything in the novel that’s 100% true?

Johanna: (laughs) As opposed to 5% true? Sorry, I get snarky when I’m tired. Okay, I’ll give you something. The yogurt thing on page thirteen. True story. I did that in the tenth grade.

Lisa: What do you like most about writing? What do you dislike?

Johanna: I like the freedom. Through my writing, I’m able to live out things that I’d never do in real life. In a way it’s a little like turning back the clock, rewriting history. For example, you know when someone really insults you and then five minutes later you think of the perfect comeback? That’s frustrating, right? In a novel you’ve got the power to go back in and rewrite the dialogue, so to speak. What I dislike is the solitude. It can be really lonely sitting in front of your computer night after night. When I’m in the middle of a book, my social life suffers big time.

Lisa: How do you deal with writer’s block?

Johanna: My answer to this has changed. If you’d asked me two months ago, I’d have shrugged it off. I always believed writer’s block was for sissies. I thought it was the result of putting too much pressure on yourself, of trying to get it perfect the first time. Journalism school got that out of my system. When you’re a journalist you don’t have the luxury of writer’s block. You’ve got to get your story filed, even if it’s not perfect. So I thought I had writer’s block beat, but now here I am completely and utterly stuck on my third book. It was to the point where I was ready to beat my head against the wall because I was so stuck. I’ve decided to take a two-week break and then plunge back in. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Lisa: Will you ever write a sequel to The Next Big Thing.

Johanna: Interesting question. Honestly, I don’t know. It depends on two things. Number one, I’ll have to wait and see how the book performs, see if there’s a demand for a sequel. And number two, I’ll have to see if I’m inspired to revisit those characters. I will tell you that at this time I don’t see it happening. At least not for a while. I hate when novelists say this, but I honestly feel that Kat Larson’s story is done for now. The door is shut, so to speak.

Now, as for my second book, I would actually love to write a sequel to it! I think I left the door wide open. My lead character is headed for something really interesting and I’d love to follow her there, to see how it turns out. Also, writing about Kat was painful in some ways, because we share so many of the same insecurities. The protagonist from book #2 is very different from me and that was refreshing.

Lisa: Can you tell us about the plot of your second book?

Johanna: I’m actually under strict orders from my publisher to keep everything about it – including the title – under wraps. So I’m sorry, but I can’t reveal anything at all right now. But it’s very high concept and I’m totally in love with the way it turned out.

Lisa: What else are you working on now? In both your career and your life?

Johanna: Career-wise, I’m doing some freelance magazine pieces and a synopsis for book #3. I’ve got a few other things cooking but, again, I can’t say too much about them. Other than that, I’m just leading a pretty boring life. I go to work at the radio station, watch a lot of TV, read a lot of books, and hang out with my friends.