Wanda M. Morris

How did you become a writer? I think I've always been a writer and just took the circuitous route to become a novelist. I've always journaled and still do every morning before I start my writing day. As a lawyer, I always wrote--memos, briefs, summaries, etc. But I've never enjoyed writing as much as I do when I am creating stories in my head and bringing them to life on the page. 

Specifically, my journey to publication was not an easy one but I hope it inspires and encourages other writers. It took me 13 years from first draft to publication with my debut novel, All Her Little Secrets. I started a draft of the book and then put it away for 7 years because I convinced myself that nobody would want to read about a 40-ish Black woman who worked with really awful people. I think people  want an escape when they read a book and who would want to escape to the world I had created in that book?! During that time, I continued to write whether it was personal essays or journaling, but I didn’t go back to the book. Then I had a health scare a few years back and I started to look at my life differently. I’ve always loved to write, so why not do what I love to do? I pulled out the manuscript. When I read it again, I knew it was pretty bad, but that was okay. All first drafts are bad. I knew immediately I needed to improve my craft. I began reading about fiction writing and took night classes on creative writing. I attended workshops, including Robert McKee's Story Seminar.

After revising the manuscript, I began querying agents. I did so with horrendous results. My queries either went into a black hole of which I didn’t hear a word back or I got a standard form letter thanking me but advising that the project was “not right” for them. I still felt deep down that I had something with this book, so I kept revising and polishing it. I queried some more. More rejections. But this time, some agents responded that they liked the premise but went on to give me specific comments about why the book wasn’t working for them. I took those comments and poured them back into my manuscript revisions. 

While on my “Journey of Rejection,” I did a really smart thing – I built myself a community of support in other writers, some more advanced in their journey and some right where I was in the journey. I came to rely on their friendship, wisdom and insight. Rejection is hard and having people to support you along the way is hugely important. I joined groups like Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime and Crime Writers of Color. I continued to query and continued to rack up an painfully impressive number of rejections. And while you would think I would have given up on this book, I didn’t. I had this mantra in my head that came from the lyrics of a gospel song, “I almost gave up. I was right at the edge of a breakthrough but couldn’t see it.” I knew if I just stayed with this book, I would see a breakthrough. 

Finally, in July 2019, I attended a writing conference and participated in their pitch. I met a lovely woman, Lori Galvin of Aevitas Creative Management, who became my agent. She is a fierce advocate for this book and my career. After I signed with Lori, she gave me notes and I spent another nine months or so (the pandemic intervened and at one point I was not writing all!) working on more edits. We went on submission in July 2020 and the book sold 12 days later at auction!

Name your writing influences (writers, books, teachers, etc.). My mother, Toni Morrison, Zora Neale Hurston, Alafair Burke, Lou Berney, Robert McKee, Don Winslow, Steven Pressfield's book, The War of Art, and my sixth grade teacher Mrs. Shirley Cook.

When and where do you write? My brain is fresher in the early morning so I try to get in the bulk of my writing then. I write in a small room off my living room. I have library envy when I look at other people with large, impeccably decorated rooms with wall-to-wall bookshelves that they modestly call their "study."

What are you working on now? I am working on my third book that is currently untitled. It is about a young woman who returns to her hometown in coastal Georgia after suffering a devastating loss. When she learns that a Black landowner is missing and his very valuable property is being redeveloped, she makes a desperate search to find out what happened to him and others like him. The book deals with themes of Black land ownership and generational wealth and what it means to have a home.

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block? Thankfully no. I view writing full-time as my new career. I couldn't show up at my previous job as an attorney and say "I can't practice law today because I'm uninspired." When I feel like I am stuck in my writing, I try to work through it by changing up my routine. That may mean changing the locale where I write or leaving a particular point in the project to work on a different section of the project, or simply distracting myself from the problem by reading to free up my brain. As Stephen King says, I let the "boys in the basement" do their work.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received? Grow a very thick skin before jumping into publishing. It can be a tough industry. And that's coming from me, a person who worked in the cut-throat world of the legal profession. I don't think publishing is necessarily cut-throat, but it can be filled with inordinate amounts of rejection and subjectivity.

What’s your advice to new writers? Read as much as you can. Reading helps you develop "an ear" for discerning when narrative works and when it doesn't. I also recommend that new writers read outside the genre in which they write. If you write literary, read a thriller on occasion to learn something about pacing. If you write mysteries, read a biography on occasion to learn about characterization. Read often and read widely.

Wanda M. Morris is the acclaimed author of All Her Little Secrets, which was named as one of the “Best Books of 2021” by Hudson Booksellers and selected as the #1 Top Pick for “Library Reads” by librarians across the country. All Her Little Secrets won the 2022 Lefty Award for Best Debut Mystery Novel. Her new book, Anywhere You Run, was named as One of the Top Ten Crime Fiction Books of 2023 by The New York Times. It has received starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Booklist and Library Journal. Wanda is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Crime Writers of Color and serves on the Board of International Thriller Writers. She is married, the mother of three and lives in Atlanta, Georgia.