 Have you ever wished that you could sit down with a successful author and ask the secrets to their success . . . and more? We did! In this post, Laura Frantz pulls back the curtain and tells you what pitfalls to avoid, what she wishes she'd done earlier, and some things that transformed her writing. Laura Frantz is a Christy Award winner and the ECPA bestselling author of numerous historical novels. She's been writing stories since the age of seven. She is passionate about all things historical, particularly the 18th-century and her novels often incorporate Scottish themes that reflect her family heritage. She is a direct descendant of George Hume, Wedderburn Castle, Berwickshire, Scotland, who was exiled to the American colonies for his role in the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715, settled in Virginia, and is credited with teaching George Washington surveying in the years 1748-1750. Proud of her heritage, she is also a Daughter of the American Revolution. Though she will always consider Kentucky home, she and her husband live in Washington State. Her bestselling, award-winning novels have been translated into various languages. Keep reading to get Laura's insider keys!  If you could go back to your early writing days, what one piece of advice would you give your beginner self? Without a doubt, I'd start an author newsletter, something I failed to do till I'd been in the industry a decade. Your newsletter doesn't depend on algorithms and is your captive audience, so to speak. Your subscriber list is made up of your most devoted readers, the ones who will pre-order your books and enable you to keep publishing. Equally important is your website. Invest in something that feels like your online home & is welcoming & informative to your readership. Priceless! Looking back, what’s one choice you made early in your career—about your writing, publishing, or mindset—that you credit for your longevity as an author? Endurance. Your mindset needs to be that you're in this for the long haul. A long obedience in the same direction as has been said. Quality. Never turn out a half-baked book. How do you reconcile the tension between writing what you love and writing what the market demands? Have you ever regretted following (or ignoring) trends? I always advocate for writing what you love foremost. Sure, writing for the market might earn money but it's not soul-satisfying, at least for me. Earlier in my career, there seemed to be a call for a family legacy series spanning generations. This required me to move out of my beloved 18th-century to incorporate books in other time periods. Not always a bad thing for authors or readers but in my case it didn't work well. By the time of publication (several years down the road from the original plan) the market had changed & family series were not trending. My standalones perform far better & part of the reason might be that readers had come to expect non-series books set in that early American timeframe from me. I was off brand, so to speak. I'll not write a series again. What's one book (or author) that transformed your writing? Two books have transformed my writing: The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery and The Child from the Sea by Elizabeth Goudge. One is short and sweet, so to speak, the other long and layered. Literary lionesses. I find little fiction today that holds me like they do. From querying agents to hitting bestseller lists, what was your biggest publishing hurdle, and how did you overcome it? My biggest publishing hurtle was not wanting to publish. Once I did, I was shocked at how much of a business publishing is. Few authors that I started publishing alongside back in 2009 are still publishing or even writing yet new authors are appearing all the time, especially with the rise of indie. Another hurdle (there are always ongoing hurdles in this business no matter how long you've been in) was hearing my beloved book called a "unit." Yep, words are dollars. As much as I loathe it, I can't change it. If you could leave one word of advice for future writers, what would it be? Quality. Write what you love & can't find on the shelf. Make it the best it can be. Don't take shortcuts as shortcuts will shortchange the reader & in the end you as creator, too. Prior to publishing, I would write a first draft then toss it in a drawer. I had no idea the time & care & painstaking work it requires to turn out a quality story that stands out from all the rest. Worth it in the end but it will require all that you have & then some. Looking back on your career, what are you most proud of? Writing quality books that I hope will still be read a hundred years from now. That's my legacy, my footprint in time. My hope is that someone will find my books in future and they'll speak to a need or get them over some sort of setback & inspire them with beauty & purpose & truth. You can check out Laura's website at LauraFrantz.net. Buy Laura's recent release, THE INDIGO HEIRESS.  In 1774, Juliet Catesby lives with her father and sister at Royal Vale, the James River plantation founded by her Virginia family over a century before. Indigo cultivation is her foremost concern, though its export tethers her family to the powerful Buchanan clan of Glasgow, Scotland. When the heir of the Buchanan firm arrives on their shores, Juliet discovers that her father has arranged for one of his daughters to marry the Scot as a means of canceling the family's crippling debt. Confident it will be her younger, lovelier sister, Juliet is appalled when Leith Buchanan selects her instead. Despite her initial refusal, Juliet realizes that fleeing Virginia is her only choice after finding herself in the midst of a scandal. The ship just leaving the harbor for Glasgow is her only hope. But she will soon realize that being part of the complex and calculating Buchanan clan is not the sanctuary she imagined--and the man who saved her from ruin is the very one she must now save in return.  This post was complied by Brandy Vallance, a literary agent with Barbara Bova Literary Agency, an award-winning author, and a Story Consultant for Writing Day Workshops. Brandy is the winner of two national writing awards, one of which included a $20,000 prize. Her novel, THE COVERED DEEP, has been featured in USA Today & Writer’s Digest. WITHIN THE VEIL has been called “passionate and riveting” and Publisher’s Weekly encourages those who like sweeping Scottish sagas to dive in because “the journey is wonderful.” Brandy loves helping writers break the chains of fear and self-doubt. You can find out more at brandyvallance.com.  Attend a Writers Conference in 2026:
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