Author Interview...Jon Rance

I'm a huge fan of Jon Rance,  This Thirtysomething Life is a superb insight into the male brain.  His latest book Happy Endings is published on Paperback this Thursday and I'm delighted that he's answered a few questions for HerBooklist. 

What inspired you to write Happy Endings?

It might sound a bit cliché, but life. After university, I think a lot of us go through similar experiences. It can be tricky and some of us end up in the wrong career, the right relationship, the right career or the wrong relationship. Some of us go travelling, follow our dreams, find new ones and some of us lose things we might never get back. The only thing you can guarantee is that it’s going to be messy and it definitely is for the characters in the book. I’ve also always been interested in the theme of happiness. It’s something that’s universal to us all; the search for whatever it is in life that makes us happy. I also really wanted to write an ensemble piece and so when I started thinking about the two, it all came together.

How would you best describe Happy Ending?

Happy Endings is comedy drama about four people, two couples, searching for their own version of a happy ending in modern day London. It’s told uniquely from all of their perspectives in alternating chapters, so you get to hear the story from four different perspectives. Kate just wants to go travelling before she reaches the big three-O, while her long-term boyfriend Ed wants to settle down. Jack wants to be a published author for many reasons, but mainly to save his relationship with fiancée Emma. Emma wants to be an actress more than anything in the world, or at least that’s what she thinks. Its six months that’s going to change all their lives forever.

It’s also a story about our past and how a lot of our happiness comes from our parents and our childhood. All the characters have cathartic moments and have to come face to face with issues from their past before they can move on and I hope people will be able to relate to at least one of the characters in the book.

Happy Endings is a book for both sexes and I think I’ve created interesting and unique characters, all of whom are going through something big and emotional but in a very real and hopefully entertaining way. It’s been compared by a few people to old TV show Cold Feet. If you’re old enough to remember that, I think it’s a very flattering comparison.

How difficult is it to come up with the title of a book? Do you have the title of the book in mind before you start writing?

I usually do have the title before I start writing a book. I think it helps bring the whole thing together. To be honest, and I don’t want to sound at all conceited about it, but I’ve always found it quite easy coming up with titles. Whether they’re good or not I couldn’t say, but so far my agent and publisher haven’t tried to change any of them. Let’s hope it continues.

I do think that titles are incredibly important, especially nowadays, and so I do feel a pressure to get it right. A great title has to be true to the book and should give us the basic premise of the novel. Along with the cover, it’s the first advertising tool the book has and one of the most important. If you look at a book like One Day by David Nicholls for example, the title says everything about the book.

Who do you have in mind when writing? Did you have a specific age group in mind when writing this book?

Again, this might sound a tad cliché, but I don’t write for anyone except me. When I sit down to write or plan a book, the only thing I’m thinking about is creating a novel that I’d want to read. I think it’s so important as a writer to really tap into your own inner reviewer. I generally read my manuscript probably about twenty to thirty times after the first draft and so I have to love it. If other people do too, great, but mainly I’m writing for me. To answer the second part of the question, I’m thirty-eight years old. This is my age group, although hopefully my books can be enjoyed by any age from teenagers to people in their Seventies and beyond.

Are there any occupational hazards to being a novelist?

You get rejected a lot. I mean A LOT. I had years of rejection letters before my BIG break, but then guess what happens? After you get published and think of yourself as a big shot, who is destined for greatness, guess what happens? Yes, that’s right, you get reviews. You get a lot of reviews and some are lovely and some are not. Some are downright rude and offensive. If you want to be a writer, you’ll need a thick skin and a healthy enjoyment of hearing the word, ‘No.’ As soon as your work is out there you’re a target and so you have to get used to that. I also have a bad back.

Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

From reading. When I was a kid, I always had my head in a book. I’ve always loved reading and as I got older, I started writing and fell in love with that too. I think when you’re a writer you just have to do it. I write every single day and not because I need to or have to force myself, but because it’s just something I have to do. It’s a compulsion. I love it.

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

1. Write something every single day. Writing is a skill and most authors have a certain amount of natural ability, but writing is still a skill that needs to be worked on and crafted over. Think of it as a muscle. The longer you go without working it out the weaker it gets.
2. Read every book you can in your genre and don’t just read them for fun, but analyse them. Look at the structure, the characters, the plot, the style, everything and learn as much as you can. There’s a reason why books get published. They have to have something a little bit different or special. Read those books and figure out what made them stand out.
3. If you’re going to self-publish, get it proofread by a professional. I didn’t and I really wish I had. When Hodder got This Thirtysomething Life proofread I was gobsmacked and embarrassed. I have a degree in English Literature, but the number of mistakes was appalling. Pay the money and get it proofread properly. Also get a decent cover. Covers sell books.
4. Less is always more. First time writers tend to go a bit crazy. They start typing away without really thinking about what is needed and what isn’t. A good rule of thumb is to finish the first draft and then cut 10% of the book. I always cut at least that and usually more. 
5.  Title. Main characters. Motivation. Ending. These are all things I know before I start a book. For some reason I need to have a title. It helps bring the idea together. I need to know the main characters and what their motivations are. What is going to make this book worth reading? I also need to know the ending. Not in great detail, but having an idea where the book is going is essential. Everything else I can work out during the writing process