Ten questions with Marjorie McCown
Marjorie McCown put her 27-year career working on movie sets to good use in her fantastic new debut Final Cut. In this interview she explains how she transitioned from her career as a costume designer to mystery author.
1. Please tell us about your debut novel.
Final Cut is a murder mystery set behind the scenes of a big budget Hollywood movie that's plagued by a string of disasters creating havoc with the shoot. The story was inspired by my 27 years working as a costume designer and key costumer in the film industry and realizing all the things that can go horribly wrong on a movie set. The book begins on the first day of principal photography when key costumer Joey Jessop finds the body of a murdered coworker on the beach in Malibu where the movie company's been shooting. The dead woman was seeing Joey's ex and because of that, along with the fact she found the body, she immediately becomes a suspect. Then the story blows up in the press and social media, so she's suddenly targeted by a lot of negative publicity, too. That's when things really start to go wrong, for Joey and the movie.
2. I've read that only 4% of the people who start a novel finish writing it. Why do you think you beat the odds?
Books have been a mainstay in my life for as long as I can remember and from a very early age, I dreamed of being a writer. I just never thought that authoring a book was an insurmountable aspiration. I also think that my professional experience in theater and film helped me understand the process of accomplishing a substantial creative goal. Once you can see yourself achieving an objective, you're already more than halfway to the finish line.
3. Was your debut novel the first book you wrote? (Any prior efforts hiding on your hard drive?)
I wrote a murder mystery (against the advice of my very astute literary agent, Ann Collette) that was never published, featuring a traditional private investigator protagonist. From the beginning of our association, Ann advised me to write a mystery set smack in the middle of the Hollywood film industry, which is where I spent most of my professional life. But she agreed to submit my private investigator manuscript to prospective publishers, and she wrote a fantastic pitch for the book. Even so, the only response we received was a pile of very polite rejection letters. That's when Ann said to me, "Now if you want to sell a book, write what you know." Finally, I took her excellent advice, and I wrote Final Cut.
4. What helped you become a better writer? Any books or resources you found helpful?
Reading avidly has been my most enduring source of entertainment throughout my life and has also provided an amazing reservoir of inspiration for me as a writer. You learn so much from reading the work of other authors. In terms of instructional books, I think Stephen King's On Writing is clear, comprehensive, and very practical in addition to being an entertaining read on its own. But in terms of honing one's craft (in my opinion) there's just no substitute for sitting down and doing the work in a disciplined way.
5. What was your process getting an agent?
I was incredibly lucky to strike gold the way I did when I met my formidable, talented, insightful, and endlessly patient literary agent, Ann Collette (who has also become one of my dearest friends) at the California Crime Writers Conference. When I registered for that conference, I paid the $50 fee to have a publishing industry professional read and critique the first 5 pages of my manuscript, and I feel like I won the lottery when my pages were assigned to Ann. She gave me some very helpful notes about the content I had written, then she asked me if I had a completed manuscript. I replied that I did, and she then said, "If you send it to me, I will read it. And if it is as promising as these pages, I would be willing to talk to you about representation." I was so surprised and excited; I could hardly believe my good fortune! And I didn't even know the half of it at that point because Ann has been my writing and publishing guru. She's completely invested in her clients and any success I ever have she has made possible.
6. How did you celebrate when you learned your book would be published?
Well, I was thrilled when Ann called to tell me Crooked Lane Books had made an offer on the manuscript. But my knee-jerk reticence born of decades in film immediately took over, so I didn't do much of anything (or even tell anybody, for that matter) until the contract with the publisher was actually signed 2 or 3 weeks later. With feature film, you learn never to say anything to anybody about a possible job until you've done your deal. It's an unwritten rule in the business, and those old habits die hard!
7. What was the most exciting moment involving the publication of your debut novel? (The moment you first saw the cover? The call when you learned when it was being published? When you cashed your advance check?)
All of those markers were exciting. But the milestone that made it real for me was the day I signed the publication contract. Putting my signature on that document was the moment I crossed the threshold to become a professionally published author, the fulfillment of a long-cherished dream.
8. What's your best advice for someone who wants to be published?
Make sure your manuscript is as good as you can possibly make it. When you believe you're finished, put it away for at least a couple of weeks, then get it out, read it with fresh eyes, and make notes for yourself about any changes you are considering. Good writing (certainly for me and I think this is true for most writers) almost always requires rewriting with discernment. Invite people whose critical judgment you trust to read your work and offer you their honest opinions. Select your agent carefully. Try to make sure they are someone you can communicate with comfortably, and I would also suggest you look at their professional history, see which authors and books they do/have represented.
9. What are you currently reading? Or, what's one of the best novels you've read lately?
I'm almost always reading more than one book at a time. Right now, I'm reading Hot Pot Murder by Jennifer Chow and City of Dreams by Don Winslow. I recently finished a very fine novel called Complicit by Winnie M. Li, which like my book Final Cut is set in the film industry and is a very nuanced and compelling story. I'm looking forward to Barbara Ross's next book, Hidden Beneath, which I have preordered and will go on top of my stack when it arrives!
10. What are you working on now? Any projects coming out soon?
I am working with my developmental editor at Crooked Lane on Joey Jessop Hollywood Mystery #2. The working title is Starstruck and the book follows Joey to another job as key costumer on an epic period movie set in Hollywood in the 1930s.