Jackie Collins
Author
www.jackiecollins.com
She’s known for writing 24 bestselling novels, selling 400 million books and launching herself into celebrity and glamour by giving us page-turners full of guilty pleasures. Now Jackie Collins (www.jackiecollins.com) is getting ready to debut her latest book, ‘Drop Dead Beautiful’ (St. Martin’s Press).
Jackie’s heroine, the charming and powerful Lucky Santangelo, struts into bookstores on June 26th. (Indulge in a few pages before bed and don’t be surprised if you’re still reading at 3 a.m.)
In ‘Drop Dead Beautiful,’ as the plots against her mount, Lucky gets ready for the grand opening of her posh Las Vegas casino, so it makes sense that Jackie plans to launch the book with a public signing event at Harrah’s in Vegas on June 23.
Most exciting… meet Jackie at the Ladies Who Launch Speaker Series in New York on June 25, the night before her book hits store shelves, when you’ll get ideas from her on achieving stratospheric success for yourself.
Here Jackie talks about ignoring comments that she couldn’t be a writer, and offers advice on getting published and more…
Her Secret to 400 Million Books Sold
Jackie: “I think it’s interesting, you know, because I’m a storyteller. My passion was always writing. When you have a passion for something, it makes a big difference because you’re following a career you really want to do. A lot of people who write a book do it for the money or for other reasons, not because they love writing, and that comes across to the reader. ‘Drop Dead Beautiful’ is my 25th book and I hope to write another 25.”
Lesson from Lucky Santangelo
“I think women have to be smarter and quicker than men because it is a man’s world, as much as we would like to think it isn’t. Women have to use their charm… not necessarily be sexy, but use their charm.”
How Jackie Masters Marketing
“I believe very much in not delegating, in being incredibly hands-on because I believe very much in crossing the ‘T’s and the dotting the ‘I’s. In my contracts early on, I made sure they said that everything (about my books) had to be run by me. I look at everything from the size of print… I make sure the cover is exactly right. I go through all the approvals with the covers. It’s a lot of work.
“I’m a bit of a control freak, but I want to fail on my own mistakes, not other people’s. You’ve got to follow your own instincts.”
Living the Life and Then Writing about It
“When I’m writing my Hollywood books, I don’t need to do research because I’m going to all the parties, I know all the superstars, and I know all the people driving cars and doing makeup.
“When I’m writing a book like ‘Chances,’ which was my early gangster book, obviously I researched it very carefully. For ‘Lovers and Players,’ I spent months researching how you might escape in the Amazon. I’ve never had a researcher. Once again I’m completely hands-on. I know some writers who have a team around them, but that’s not for me.”
Tips on How to Get Published
“I think if you are planning to write fiction, write about a subject you know. Don’t write about Hollywood if you’ve never been there. If you live in a little town somewhere, there’s intrigue… you can create intrigue with your characters. The secret is to write about what you know, not what you think you know.
“First of all, you have to find an agent. Go to an agent and tell them, ‘This is my title, this is what I want to write.’ Get a theme, then get an agent. Don’t go straight to publishers - that is not a good idea.
“Because if you send a book to a publisher and you don’t know (whom) you’re sending it to, it’s going to end up in the slush heap. Whereas an agent will have a relationship with the editor and take it to the editor and say, ‘Here’s a good idea.’”
Greatest Business Challenges
“I loved writing the sixth book about Lucky. It’s a challenge because when you’ve written five previous books (about the same character), you have to get all the facts right.
“I find that keeping abreast of all the different contracts is very difficult. Reading contracts is difficult, especially when they’re in Japanese, German, Italian. My books are published in 43 different languages. There’s a contract for each one. The contract might be for five years and then they renew it - it’s difficult to keep up on all that.”
Greatest Success
“Bringing up three fantastic daughters. I’ve always put family first and career second. My message to women has always been girls can do anything… I think it’s foolish to think you’re going to get married and have some man support you all your life. Family is important, but kids grow up and leave you. You have to have an interest or career or something you love to do.”
The Next Chapter for Jackie
“I recently signed a deal with Fremantle and am creating new ideas for a TV series and writing a new book called ‘Married Lovers.’ It’s about relationships in L.A. among high-powered couples. I never reveal (who my characters are based on). Sometimes it’s components of lots of people. The guessing game is always fun. My fans love the guessing game. They never know who the characters are (based on) and that’s half the fun of it.”
Breaking Creators’ Block
“I think it’s great to take a day off occasionally and do things that make you happy. Sometimes I drive down to the beach and walk along the shoreline or stay in bed and watch Tivo all day. I love playing music. I love soul music.
“I don’t get writers’ block. I get ‘getting-to-the-desk block.’ I’ve got to walk the dog or defrost the fridge or run errands. Once I’m at the desk, the characters take you over.”
Recent Discoveries That Delighted Her
“I love printing out photographs at iPhoto (www.apple.com/ilife/iphoto/). Making those iPhoto books…I also like putting together my own CDs from iTunes. I’m kind of obsessed with the computer at the moment.”
Favorite Travel Destination du Jour
“I love Paris because they have an incredible flea market there. It might sound like they have cheap things, but they have the most incredible things… I’m perfectly happy to spend two days in Paris just walking around the flea market.”
Favorite Quote
“I made up my own, which is ‘Girls can do anything.’ Boys are always told they can do anything. As a woman, nobody ever points out that those kids are going to grow up and leave you, and then you’re stuck with a guy who’s glued to the TV and watching football. You’ve got to have your own interests.”
Words of Advice - Never Mind the Naysayers
“My parents said, ‘You can’t be a writer.’ I was a school dropout at 15… I was expelled from school. My parents said, ‘You can’t be a writer without education.’ In the face of that I said, ‘Screw it, I’m going to be a writer’ and pursued my dream. You have to have a vision for yourself and pursue that vision very strongly.
“I think you have to realize that you can do it. That the great American dream is out there waiting for you to do it and you can pursue it and the power of positive thinking. Most people think about what they want to do, but they don’t follow through - following through is incredibly important.”
