Halley Sutton: You Have to Love the Process of Writing More Than the Dreams of Being Published
Halley Sutton the author of The Lady Upstairs. A writer and editor, she is a Pitch Wars mentor and holds a bachelor’s degree in creative writing from the University of California Santa Cruz, and a master’s degree in writing from Otis College of Art and Design. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Halley Sutton
Faizah Rajput
In this post, Halley shares what she learned about her writing process during the second book, why writers need to love the writing more than the publishing, and more.
Name: Halley Sutton
Literary agent: Sharon Pelletier, at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret
Book title: The Hurricane Blonde
Publisher: Putnam
Release date: August 8, 2023
Genre/category: Crime/thriller
Previous titles: The Lady Upstairs
Elevator pitch for the book: A former child actor, nepo baby of Hollywood royalty, discovers a dead body on her Hollywood true crime tour bus—at the very site where her sister was murdered, years before. When the police refuse to believe the two deaths are connected, she decides to investigate for herself—leading her back into the dark, dangerous glitter of the Hollywood limelight, where old secrets are worth killing to keep.
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What prompted you to write this book?
I’ve long had a love of all things Old Hollywood—I wanted to create a story where I could explore some of those interests and ideas, throw together some old rumors and mythologies and create my own version of a “behind the scenes” look at a Hollywood family.
In addition to being part of a famous family, and a former child actor, Salma Lowe, my main character, also gives a bus tour focusing on women in Hollywood who died before their time. This is based on my own experience taking true crime tours through Los Angeles—to me, they’re a morbid but fascinating look at the city, the crimes that have shaped it and why.
I think the crimes of a city tell us a lot about the dynamics of that city—especially the crimes that become emblematic of a city, like the Black Dahlia murder.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
I sold the book to Putnam on proposal in February 2021, which meant I’d been thinking about it for about six months prior, and my editor and I wrapped edits on it December 2022. It’ll be published in August 2023.
I’m a natural “pantser” much more than a natural plotter, so the book did very much shift and change from the original synopsis I submitted to my publishing team. One of the biggest changes that occurred from my early drafts to the final book was combining two characters into one—I had two characters who had a similar function in the novel for my main character, Salma, and combining them streamlined the story more elegantly, and also created one character with more life on the page, versus two characters who were only partially sketched.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
My first book, The Lady Upstairs, came out during the pandemic, so in a weird way, it does feel like a different process this time around. I’ll be doing in-person events with this book.
So much of the pieces around the novel—the cover, the title, some marketing positioning—occurred before the book was even in its final form. That was a very different experience than the first book—then, we had more or less the final book in hand when we were considering cover design. It was interesting to go about it from a different direction!
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
I think I learned a lot more about my own writing process with the second book than my first. Writing a book on a deadline taught me a lot about my writing process: that changing the narrative is part of my process, and that I’m a discovery writer more than a planner.
I already knew that from the first book, to some degree, but it became very clear that I’m a writer who discovers the story as I write it—even though I have some ideas about where things want to go, I never quite know exactly how it will unfold until a few drafts in.
That’s a piece I’m going to take with me to the next book—that it takes me about four or five drafts to really feel like I have a handle on the story and my characters.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
I hope readers will interrogate their own feelings about some of the questions I bring up: the ethics of who gets to tell the story of someone who died in a tragic or violent way, what do we excuse in the name of art, and how do we reconcile meaningful art with problematic creators.
I don’t feel like I have definitive answers for any of the questions I pose in the book—I have a viewpoint and feelings, certainly, but I’m hoping that more than my ideas, readers come away with a better sense of their own. I also hope readers are entertained!
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
You have to love the process of writing more than the dreams of being published. Don’t get me wrong: Publishing is a wonderful journey, and there’s nothing like holding your own book in your hands. But the piece that lasts longest is the joy you took in writing the thing, and publishing success is more or less out of your hands, anyway. If you don’t love the actual process of writing, how good publishing feels won’t make it worth it.
Also—there’s so much about publishing and success that’s out of your hands as a writer, but what isn’t out of your hands are the relationships you foster with other writers in the field. Building strong relationships in your literary community is something you can do at any level and will pay massive dividends one day. Like the tweet, involve yourself in conversations, send your favorite authors notes about what their books have meant to you. They won’t forget it, and maybe one day when you need a blurb for your book, they’ll be first in line!
While there’s no shortage of writing advice, it’s often scattered around—a piece of advice here, words of wisdom there. And in the moments when you most need writing advice, what you find might not resonate with you or speak to the issue you’re dealing with. In A Year of Writing Advice, the editors of Writer’s Digest have gathered thoughts, musings, and yes, advice from 365 authors in dozens of genres to help you on your writing journey.