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Cynthia Lord

Cynthia is a middle-grade writer from Maine. Her first novel, RULES, will be published by Scholastic Press in 2004.

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What drove/inspired you to get started?

I began writing in high school and found I could make people laugh. I used to write serialized novels and pass chapters around while my algebra teacher was checking the homework. I also took writing classes in college and had professors who encouraged me to see myself as a writer.

Do you have any specialized training?

I have taken some college-level writing courses, though I'm not sure they were a great help to me in writing children's fiction.

Has this been something you've always wanted to do?

Not always, but once I started in earnest, it became such a part of me that I can't ever envision life without it.

Have there been any obstacles along the way?

There's always obstacles: time, energy, life and family commitments. But I find time for things that I value, and for the past three years I've gotten up around 4 am every morning to do some writing before starting the rest of my day.

Before you got the all important contract how did your friends and family react to your goals?Were they supportive?

My family has always been very supportive.

Now that you have a book/books in print, do you get different reactions from friends and family?

My book isn't in print yet, but just knowing I have one coming means they do look at my writing as not just a hobby.

How did you land that very first book deal?

I queried with three chapters. Those chapters led to a request for the whole novel, and the rest is history!

Did you have any misconceptions in the beginning about the whole book process?

TONS! I never realized how much rewriting goes on with a book, all the roles an editor plays (and how important it is to find someone who likes the same things about your book that you do, etc.).

How would you describe your work? What's the most important thing you'd like others to get out of it?

I can tell you the words other people use most often to describe my work and my writing style: spare, emotional, warm, sensitive. I had a girl reader say to me that she cried at the end of one of my novels because she didn't want it to be over. THAT's what I want others to feel, that they've been such a part of these characters and this story that they don't want it to be over.

Do you have an agent? If yes, please explain how you acquired your agent and how do you think having one has helped you? If you don't have an agent, would you consider getting one?

I sold RULES on my own, but hired an agent to negotiate my contract. I had met my agent when she critiqued the first 10 pages of my novel at an SCBWI conference. I like having an agent very much, though it's a personal choice.

Describe your relationship with your editor (art director if applicable).

A true partnership, trusting, friendly, professional.

How do you most often communicate with your publisher--e-mail, phone, or snail mail?

All three, but most often through e-mail.

What books do you have in the works now?

I have one being shopped around, another that's still in a first-draft stage.

Is there anything you'd do differently with your new projects?

Each book is so different, I do lots of things differently in each one.

What's the best thing about publishing a book? What's the worst?

Getting to work with other people passionate about children's literature is the best part. The worst is the waiting.

Any last words of encouragement for beginners?

Find the story that only you can tell and tell it in the way only you can tell it.