Jenna Bennett/Jennie Bentley is the author of A Cutthroat Business, the first in a series of romantic mysteries about a Southern Belle-turned-Realtor who sells houses and stumbles over dead bodies in Nashville, Tennessee. She sits down with fellow StoryBundler Geoff Morrison to discuss being a pantser.

How did you approach your first book? Is that different from how you approached the next? The most recent?

I approach all my books the same way. Get an idea, think about it for long enough to figure out what it’s about, and start writing. I’m a total pantser, so I usually don’t plot anything.

What did you learn writing your first novel? Your most recent?

That it never gets easier.

How much do you plan out in advance, and how?

I don’t plan out very much. I write a lot of mysteries, so I have to have the setting, the victim, the murderer, and the motive before I get started... except for the couple of times I’ve had the setting and victim and haven’t known the who or the why until later. But that way means more extensive re-writing later, so it’s better if I have the big questions answered.

How do you approach writing characters?

The same way I approach anything else. I sit down and write. The characters exist in my head, fully formed, from the beginning. I don’t usually know them well when I start, but they show themselves to me as we go along. It’s all very organic or instinctual rather than planned out.

How do you give individual characters their own “voice"?

It’s not really something I do. They come with their own voices. They’re all different. They grew up in different parts of the world, in different social strata, with different experiences, and the ways they express themselves are a reflection of that. I just try to make them sound as authentic as possible.

How do you decide on pacing?

Again, I don’t really decide on anything. I just write. It’s all subconscious. In re-writes, if something drags, I cut until it doesn’t.

How do you decide what to reveal to the audience, and when?

It’s a pretty logical progression, really, whether the character is discovering clues to the murder or learning about his/her romantic interest. It starts small, with one little piece of information, which leads to another, a little bigger, and then that leads to another, even bigger... until all the information – or enough information to solve the murder – is on the table.

When it comes to description, do you think there’s such a thing as too much? Too little?

There’s both too much and too little, but too little is a lot better than too much. Too much slows the narrative down. You only want what’s necessary to set the scene and impart the information. I don’t know how I decide on it, only that I try to keep it as spare as possible, and only what’s needed. I usually add more than I need in a first draft and have to cut later. I’m not a skeleton-writer; I’m someone who has to cut the flab in later drafts.

Do you have a specific place to write? A separate computer?

I work in a closet, on my own full-size, big-keyboard desktop computer. I can write in other places too, if I have to, but that’s my office, my workspace, and where I do my job.

Do you listen to music as you write? If so, what?

I don’t. The words of the songs distract me from the words on the page. I need silence. Classical or instrumental music is OK, but I usually forget to turn anything on.

Do you finish, then edit, or do you edit as you go?

Mostly I finish, then edit, although I do a little bit of editing as I go, too, some of the time. Since I’m a pantser – someone who doesn’t plan anything out ahead of time – sometimes the story goes off in a different direction than I thought it would while I’m in the middle of it, and there are things I’ve already written that have to change as a result, or a clue I have to layer in.

Depending on a lot of different factors, sometimes I’ll go back and change what needs changing immediately, so I can go forward with the manuscript making complete sense, while other times I’ll make a note and leave it for later. It all depends on timing and how the rest of the writing is going. I rarely spend time editing grammar until the very end, though.

Do you wait until you have an idea, or do you sit down and write every day no matter what?

I write four different series, so there’s always another book due. And I do sit down and write every day whether I’m eagerly looking forward to it or not. It’s my job. That said, it’s hard to write without an idea. You have to have something to write first, I think. Luckily, I’ve never had a dearth of those. It’s more a case of “too many ideas, too little time.”

What’s your biggest hindrance to finishing a book?

Time. There are books I’d like to write – and half-written books I’d like to finish – but I just don’t have the time. I’m pretty much always on deadline, so I have to fit the non-contracted books between the contracted ones, and sometimes it can be a while before I can get back to something.

How many people get to read your unfinished, or recently finished, work?

I have a couple of beta-readers or critique partners, who read my first or second drafts. I revise once more based on their recommendations, before I send manuscripts to my editor or – in the case of the self-publishing – hit the ‘publish’ button.

What do you feel are your strengths as a writer? What advice would you give for someone who wants to improve that aspect of their writing?

I think I’m fairly good with characters and dialogue. I’m not as good with plotting. The best way to improve any aspect of writing is to read a lot. Good writing sinks in after a while, sort of by osmosis.

What would you like to improve with your writing, and how would you go about doing it?

Gosh, I have no idea. I’m sure I could improve in lots of ways, but it’s not really something I sit around and think about. I’m too busy writing the next book, and trying to make it better than – or at least as good as – the last one. But if I wanted to learn how to do something well – say, for instance, fight scenes, which I’ve never had much occasion to write – I’d find an author who was very good at it, read his/her books (scenes) and then emulate. Not copy, but pick apart what works and try to do that.

What advice would you give to someone just starting out, trying to finish (or start!) their first novel?

AIC = Ass in Chair. If you write just 1,000 words a day, you can have a 90,000 word book in 3 months. 500 words a day, you write a book in 6 months. 250 words a day – less than one double-spaced page in most cases – and you get a book in a year. Most people can write 250 words in a few minutes. Crank it to 2,000 words a day, and you have a book in a month and a half – but only if you actually get those words down every single day. You can edit bad writing, but if you haven’t written, there’s nothing to work with, so getting words on the page is the #1 thing.

Who are your favorite authors?

Too many to mention. Starting with Elizabeth Peters, Jennifer Crusie, Ngaio Marsh, Tessa Dare, J.D. Robb, Dorothy L. Sayers, J.K. Rowling, Suzanne Brockmann, Lois McMaster Bujold, Barbara Samuel, Julia Spencer-Fleming, Linnea Sinclair...

If you could ask your favorite author one question, what would it be? What would you like to learn from them?

I have no idea. I think I’d just sit there and soak up whatever they wanted to talk about, you know? Who they are, how they think, what makes them the writers they are.

Have you read any useful books that helped you with story, characters, or writing in general?

Stephen King’s On Writing is fabulous. Not because it helps with story or character or even writing in general, but because it’s very motivational.

How did you approach your cover artist, and what was that experience like?

For the self-publishing, I’ve made my own covers. I’ve tried to work with a couple different cover artists in the past, but they’ve never been able to translate the cover I imagined into a cover I liked, so I ended up making my own instead. Even though they’re not perfect, they’re closer to what I’ve wanted that anything anyone else has been able to come up with.

What software do you use?

I usually use MS Word. Sometimes – when I’m traveling – I write on an iPad, and then I use Pages.

Are there any websites you found helpful in regards to eBook formatting?

I like the Smashwords style guide. The Smashwords Meatgrinder is extremely picky, and if you can get your book accepted by that, you’re pretty much good to go anywhere else.

Any tricks you’ve learned in eBook formatting?

Not really. Not beyond making the manuscript as simple and basic as possible. There’s less for the various platforms to get hung up on that way. The biggest thing for me when I started out was the tab key. I used the tab key all the time instead of setting up indents in formatting. Once I figured that out, everything became easier.

Do you sell across all eBook platforms? Has one done better for you than others?

I sell on Amazon, BN, Kobo, iBooks, Smashwords, and Sony. Amazon is usually the big seller, with BN trailing behind, and the others behind that again.

How do you feel about KDP Select (i.e. Kindle Owners' Lending Library)?

I don’t use it. I want my books available in as many formats and on as many platforms as possible. Not everyone reads on a Kindle and I want anyone who wants one, to have access to my books. Beyond that, I don’t like the idea of monopolies, so that’s another reason I diversify.

Do you sell print versions of your books? If so, what company do you use, and why?

I use CreateSpace, because it seemed the simplest solution.

Do you do any marketing? If so, what works for you, what hasn’t?

I use social media. I also spring for the occasional website ad or newsletter listing. For sales, BookBub has been the big seller. Goodreads ads and Facebook ads work well for visibility and name/face recognition – for author or book – but they don’t translate directly to sales in the same way.

Did you enjoy being a part of your StoryBundle? Have you seen an increase in sales separate from the Bundle?

I enjoyed being part of StoryBundle very much, and was thrilled to be included in such exalted company!

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jenna Bennett/Jennie Bentley writes the Do It Yourself home renovation mysteries for Berkley Prime and the Cutthroat Business mysteries for her own gratification. She also writes a variety of romance for a change of pace. You can find out more about her on her website, www.jennabennett.com.

Geoffrey Morrison is a freelance writer and editor. His first novel, Undersea, was featured in the first StoryBundle. You can follow him on Twitter @TechWriterGeoff.