Fawn Parker is an incredibly prolific and busy writer. She’s published three books of fiction since 2019, the latest of which, What We Both Know, was longlisted for the 2022 Giller Prize and she has a book of poetry and another novel coming out in the next two years. I’ve admired her writing since I read her short story, “Feed Machine,” in the 2020 Journey Prize Anthology. I’m really excited to have had the opportunity to ask her some questions about her writing process, thoughts on awards, agents, time management, Goodreads, etc.

First, let’s talk about your writing process. You’ve published three novels since 2019 and you have a book of poetry and another novel coming out in the next two years. This seems incredible to me, since it takes me about ten years to write a novel! You recently wrote an article for Catapult about how you wrote a first draft in thirty days by writing 1500 words a day, getting a first draft down, and editing later. Can you tell me a bit more about how your books have come to their final state? Do you ever do a complete rewrite after the first draft is finished or is it just editing in sections, etc.?

I’ve definitely done major rewrites—especially with my first two novels which felt so out of control. I’ve heard people say writing novels is something that never gets easier, which I agree with in the sense that each one presents its own challenges, but I do think there is something uniquely difficult about doing it for the first time. If I’ve learned anything by writing the books I’ve written it’s to have a very strong idea of what the book is, whatever that means to you. If I can’t simplify things down to a sentence or two I start to get lost.

Right now I’m editing a first draft, trying to work out some of its problems. Once I feel like the plot is all there, I’ll refine on a sentence level and send it to my agent so we can have a conversation about it. It’s hard for me to think like an editor when I’m working on a first draft, so I try at that stage to maintain my enthusiasm about the project and write scenes that feel exciting.

What is your opinion on awards? How much stock should authors put on them? Your most recent novel, What We Both Know, was on this year’s Giller Prize longlist (congratulations!!), which, for better or worse, seems to capture the Canadian reading public’s attention more than anything else (reviews, appearances at writing festivals, etc.). Have you noticed any change since that happened in terms of book sales, etc.?

Awards are so tricky. I think it’s important not to write for them, not only because it’s impossible but because you run the risk of losing the joy in your writing practice. I never thought I’d be nominated for any sort of award let alone the Giller, so it was easy for me never to think about it. It’s been an adjustment for me to get back to my private writing practice without imagining award juries reading the work.

But it also was one of the most exciting moments in my career. A lot more people are reading the book and I did more press than ever. I think it’s something undeniably helpful on the industry side of things, and it’s important for writers to remember industry isn’t everything. It’s complicated, though. There’s not enough arts funding out there and I don’t know anyone living off of their advances. I’m not sure I can in good faith say a person shouldn’t hope to win an award.

You seem to be an incredibly busy person. Aside from writing, you’ve founded BAD NUDES magazine, BAD BOOKS press, and now you’ve started work on a PhD. How do you manage your time between everything else and your creative writing?

It’s something I struggle with for sure. I think a lot of the “mysteries” in my life when it comes to high anxiety, low self esteem, and burnout might have a solution in common. But to me it feels like I’m always just barely keeping my head above the surface. Maybe it’s a combination of deriving self worth from professional accomplishment, inheriting a good work ethic from my parents, and being obsessive-compulsive.

A simpler answer might be that I am trying to find a better balance. I manage my time by scheduling diligently and being less social than many of my friends. And I’m in OCD exposure therapy where I spend a lot of time making messes and looking at them.

What are your thoughts on Goodreads? Do you think authors should ignore it, worry about it, engage with it? Do you ever use it to decide whether or not to read a book?

I like Goodreads! I use it to track what I’m reading. I think if an author is uncomfortable reading negative user reviews then they should definitely ignore it, because I really don’t think it matters career-wise. A number of “high-up” industry professionals have told me it’s not something they care about. I don’t use it to make reading decisions, but I do like to read my own reviews. I think it’s sort of funny when someone hates the book so much that they’re like extremely pissed they even tried to read it. I recently had a 75 year old reader leave a review saying she “hope[s] this isn’t the future of Canadian literature.”

How about agents? Did you have an agent throughout your publishing process or only when you sold What We Both Know to McLelland & Stewart? How has having an agent helped you? And, any advice on how an author can find an agent that’s right for them?

I started working with Stephanie Sinclair at CookeMcDermid in 2020. She sold both of my novels to M&S and now that she’s working as Publisher at M&S I’m working with Ron Eckel who co-owns CookeMcDermid. I’ve been lucky to work with such talented and supportive agents. It makes a difference having someone in your court, and many of the major publishers won’t read unagented work, so if you’re trying to publish with the “Big 5” it’s more or less necessary.

I think it’s important to know what your goals are as a writer, and that will help guide you through the process of looking for an agent. Look at agents’ lists and see if they represent writers in your genre or sell to publishers you’d like to work with. This is not only a good way to find an agent you’d like to work with but it cuts down on the amount of querying you’ll have to do, so you’re not sending your work to agents who don’t even work in your genre, or who represent only the five most famous writers on earth.

How do you deal with the deflating side of being an author—not being mentioned on lists of books “we’re anticipating,” not being on awards lists, negative reviews, etc.

It sucks, I think. Every part of being a writer, except writing itself, is extremely demoralizing to me. There is so much rejection and disinterest from the industry and from granting bodies and award juries, etc. It’s beautiful in a way because it shows how much passion writers have and that they’re willing to push through all of the difficulties. All you have is your love of the work at the end of the day. I think the person who wins the Giller or the #1 best-selling author might get five or so minutes of feeling like a celebrity, but they’re still going back to their desk and wondering if they have anything worthwhile to say. It’s like this great humbling thing, to actually sit and write. That’s why I think it’s so much less competitive than many of us let ourselves believe it is. Yes the money is very limited but no one is out there trying to be your enemy. Maybe the guy who owns Indigo.

What would be your number one piece of advice for an emerging author (a) creatively and (b) about the business side of writing?

Creatively, my advice is to wake yourself up as often as possible. If you catch yourself writing something that doesn’t excite you, or isn’t exactly what you want to be writing, do something differently. I think it’s easy to start writing on auto-pilot or to get comfortable in what you see as your voice or your style, but it’s important not to stop taking risks. Even if you don’t, as in the previous question, get on some trendy list, you’ll be alive to the work. I think that’s more important.

On the business side, I think you sort of have to turn off your sensitive creative brain. Once the work is all there on the page, move it like it’s a product. Learn how to write a cover letter like an agent, hound people until they answer your emails, send out a hundred submissions if you have to, cancel plans to get the work done, and so on. You have to sort of be an asshole in select moments, and then find your “Dr. Jekyll” again.

And finally, feel free to not answer this … what are you working on now?

I want to write a book like Alasdair Gray’s Lanark. I haven’t decided what that means yet but that’s what I’m “working on” in my mind.

Fawn Parker is a Giller-nominated novelist and poet. She is the author of Set-Point (ARP Books, 2019) and Dumb-Show (ARP Books, 2021), and What we Both Know (M&S, 2022). Her short story, "Feed Machine," was long-listed for the 2020 McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize. Her debut poetry collection Jolie-Laide is forthcoming with Palimpsest Press in 2023 and her novel Hi, it's me is forthcoming with McClelland & Stewart in 2024.