Robin Yeatman: On Combining Suspense with Satire
Author Robin Yeatman discusses writing her debut suspenseful satire, Bookworm.
Robin Yeatman, a shameless bookworm, was born in Calgary, Alberta, and raised for the most part in Vancouver, where she attended a French Immersion school. She studied English Literature at the University of British Columbia, where she was an arts critic for The Ubyssey, and finished her degree at Lancaster University in England.
After earning her Diploma in Broadcast Journalism from the British Columbia Institute of Technology she worked in radio for roughly a decade. After a dozen years in Montreal, she now lives in Vancouver. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
In this post, Robin discusses writing her debut suspenseful satire, Bookworm, what surprised her in the process, and more!
Name: Robin Yeatman
Literary agent: Madison Smartt Bell
Book title: Bookworm
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Release date: February 14, 2023
Genre/category: Psychological suspense, domestic satire
Elevator pitch for the book: A wickedly funny debut novel—a black comedy with a generous heart that explores the power of imagination and reading—about a woman who tries to use fiction to find her way to happiness.
What prompted you to write this book?
I’m really interested in domestic relationships and am particularly fascinated by the role fantasy life plays in an unfulfilling relationship—how fantasy can provide harmless psychological comfort and escape, but how it can also be very, very dangerous.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
The idea came to me in late 2016 when I wrote a short story featuring a woman who sees a stranger and is convinced he is her soul mate without exchanging a word or even making eye contact with him. The story evolved from there, as I discovered the woman is a reader, not only of books but of people. She is also unhappily married. The idea never really changed, it just continued to reveal itself to me as I groped along in the writing process.
It took three years from when I had the original idea to the completion of the novel. Then it took about six months to find an agent, and about 18 months to find a publisher. From there, another year until publication. So, about six years from end to end. Yikes!
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
The whole process has been a learning experience for me! Thankfully, I had a fabulous team, to help me through each step.
The truth is, it’s a lot of fun.
I learned that it’s not a great idea to quote six lines from a John Lennon song in your novel (and that obtaining rights to publish those lines is for someone with a lot of time and money to spare).
I learned that copy editors are incredible, perspicacious people, and despite many sharp readings of a manuscript by experienced professionals, copy editors still manage to find errors.
Speaking of errors, I learned that continuity errors can be quite tricky to fix!
I also learned that social media is of front-row importance in book promotion, particularly for debut authors.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
I was surprised at a point in the writing when I felt particularly stuck. In desperation one night before falling asleep, I asked the universe for clarity. The next morning, the tangles had sorted themselves out.
I use this a lot now. It’s not a magic trick. I think of it as a way to put my subconscious to work for me.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
I hope that readers will see they aren’t alone. We all have interior lives that are just as alive (and sometimes more so) than the ones we present.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
I would tell them what Patricia Highsmith told me in her writing book, Plotting and Writing Suspense Fiction: “The first person you should think of pleasing, in writing a book, is yourself.”
It’s impossible to please everyone, and there’s a lot of noise that writers hear, so if you do as Ms. Highsmith suggests and write the book YOU want to read, you’re on the right path.
Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
