Interview with Bestsellling Author Donna Hill by Marcia King-Gamble

 

Author Donna Hill

https://donnahill.wordpress.com/

I had the good fortune to work alongside talented author Donna Hill at BET, Kensington Publishing, Harlequin and again at St. Martin's Press. I am delighted to have had the opportunity to interview her. Donna has one of those voices writers envy. Please read what she had to say about her writing journey. 

1/ When did you first know you wanted to become a writer? 

I don't believe I ever thought I would 'become" a writer per se. I always wrote from way back in grade school.  I would write for my friends, I had books of poetry.  I wrote on everything I could get my hands on. But it never occurred to me to be a writer. it wasn't until the late eighties after writing a short story that I considered getting it published. I knew that I loved to read and write but becoming a writer was not something that was conscious. But when I began looking into getting  my short story published, and it was, then I kind of thought, "wow, I can do this. I can be a writer."

 

2/ Once published, did you set goals as to what you wanted to accomplish? 

To be honest, not really. I think I was just so happy to be able to do what I'd loved all my life, my only plan was to just write and hope that readers loved what I wrote. That was probably not the best goal! LOL. It wasn't until much later that I realized that my writing was no longer a passion project it was a business. There were contracts and deadlines and book tours and promotion. But, I still didn't have a plan exactly. I suppose the closest thing to a plan was learning to remain relevant. I partnered with other writers in anthologies back when they were not being done. I presented book projects to editors, I learned to write blurbs for the back of books. Studied my contracts for ways to be able to write for multiple houses, in various genres. That was pretty much what I did.

 

3/ You started off writing short stories. Tell us about that and the journey to having three books (I believe that was the number) turned into movies by BET? 

My first short story 'The Long Walk" was published by Black Romance Magazine. Nathasha Brooks-Harris was my editor. She was the one that gave me the opportunity to serve as advice columnist and edit the letters that came. The more short stories that I wrote the longer and more complicated they became and Nathasha told me that the stories were getting too lengthy for the magazine and maybe I should think about writing a novel. Ha! The idea had never occurred to me. But I started it and long story short it was ultimately published by Odyssey Books, a small black owned publishing company in Silver Springs, Maryland. Leticia Peoples was the publisher. My novel Rooms of the Heart, launched her contemporary line and Mildred Riley launched the historical line.  I did one more novel with Odyssey, Indiscretions, before going over to Kensington which had just launched Arabesque with Monica Harris as the editor. Sandra Kitt and Francis Ray (who'd both written for Odyssey) were the first two published by Arabesque. Eventually the Arabesque line was swept up by BET Books and thats when the movies deals came along. They picked three of my works for television A Private Affair, Intimate Betrayal and Masquerade.

4/What are some of the most memorable moments in your publishing history? 

Hmmm. After I wrote If I Could  I remember receiving a letter (yes a real letter) from a woman that said reading If I Could finally gave her the courage to leave her husband! Yikes. Another highlight was with my novel In My Bedroom the book was being used in a college classroom as a teaching tool  and woman approached me during a signing of In My Bedroom and confessed "this happened to me. thank you for writing this."

 

5/ You have a successful career in the educational world as well. That said, if you weren’t a writer, what would be your second career? 

When I was very young still in middle school I wanted to be a magazine publisher! LOL.  Right now, I'm doing my other love, teaching. I enjoy the students, the content I can create with them and seeing them shine. It's great.

 

6/ Many writers are no longer writing, especially writers of color. Why do you think that is?

 It's hard to say. I would guess lack of support from publishers, changing market and just plain exhaustion. Writing is real work and the job doesn't end with you hit sent to your editor. That's when the real work begins and it's exhausting.

 

7/ There have been so many changes in the industry. Publishers merged. Editors lost their jobs. eBooks took over. Do you see the Publishing world shifting again?

 Hmm, with so many book influencers I think that recognition for new authors and even seasoned ones are showcased. There is definitely a shift in every aspect. We don't mail in manuscripts anymore, we email them. Book tours are not what they once were. It's not a lone author at a table hawking books. Now authors are "in conversation" with someone during these events. There are ticketed events and QR codes and multiple levels of social media placement. Its a brave new world and social media is one of the driving forces. I guess AI will be "in conversation" with the author with virtual events in the future.  (that's an idea though).

 

8/ No one predicted that eBooks would take off the way they did, or that Indie authors would be on the New York and USA Bestseller list. What are your thoughts? 

I think its great. Traditional methods and traditional publishing . . .move over.

 

9/What advice would you give to beginning writers?” 

Hmm, decide if you are going to be a sprinter or a long distance runner. Read widely, travel when you can, listen to conversations, pay attention to the world around you and don't get trapped in writing to a fad.  Fads fade.  Read. Read. Read.

 

10/ Why do you think so many multi-cultural lines closed down? Was it the marketing?  

Hmm. Hard to say. The house will say it's the numbers. And it's the numbers for various reasons. 

 

11/ Finally, what’s next for Donna and her writing career? 

Well, I just submitted a novel to Harlequin entitled Unfinished as well as the synopsis for the next book. My next historical, Nola and Baldwin with Amistad is in and being edited as I type this. I am working on a followup to submit to Amistad. Debating whether to return to contemporary or do another historical. I just received Tenure at work my college Medgar Evers and have also taken on the role of Executive Director for the Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College. So, trying to stay busy. LOL