Nancy Mauro is a former advertising Copywriter and Creative Director. She recently published her first novel, New World Monkeys.

1) Ad writing is to novel writing as _____ is to _____?
Ad writing is to novel writing as a one night stand is to marriage.

2) How well did your experiences as a copywriter prepare you for the challenges of writing a novel?
I can not imagine up a better job than copywriting to prepare one for novel writing. You spend your twenties dreaming up stuff, having it raked over the coals, getting free schwag bags at Christmas, dreaming up more stuff – some of which you will sell, some you will bury in a drawer – and by the time you’re in your thirties you’re ready to write a book. In fiction writing workshops the instructor will commend you for “taking criticism very well.” You will say, “Please, I’ve spent my entire youth having my words torn to shreds by McDonald’s/General Motors/Bell Canada/Proctor & Gamble/Ford/Rogers. This is nothing.”

You will, however, always miss the schwag bags

3) Why did you call the book “New World Monkeys”?
I found out that monkeys of the western hemisphere (the new world type) are mostly arboreal – they spend nearly their entire lives in the canopy of trees. The two main characters in my novel start off this way; slightly elevated and in a position of advantage. One is a copywriter and the other a PhD candidate. They are pretty much knocked off their perch on page one and then things get good.

4) Could you mercy kill a dying animal like your novel’s protagonists do?
No way. Last week I was staying at a cabin upstate. I opened the kitchen cupboard (where they keep the corkscrew) and found a mouse writhing in a trap. I slammed the cupboard shut and went the entire week without wine.

5) What’s the stupidest question you’ve been asked about the book?
“Is that me on Page 89?” Yes, of course it’s you.

6) How is marketing your own novel different from marketing a client’s product?
This is the hardest part of publishing to reconcile – the feeling of not being able to do enough for the book due to budget and reach. After years of selling other people’s stuff, here’s a shot to sell my stuff. Where’s the damn media buyer when you need her? Actually I have a great publicity team – they even got New World Monkeys in the New York Times Book Review. But I’m teaching myself how to market at a grassroots level. That means book clubs, readings and blogging, for starters. We even shot our own book trailers and posted them on YouTube.

7) Back in your agency days, what was one of the common mistakes you saw being made by less experienced writers?
Being overly-defensive about the work. Though I think it takes a while to get this ratio in balance; knowing when to stand up for your concepts and when to push for a better idea. Often, you have to push yourself for more. If you hit gold on the first try, believe me, your colleagues will let you know. You will see it in their green, envious pallor.

8) As a creative director, what was your leadership style?
Too nice.

9) How do you feel about the advertising industry now that you no longer work in it directly?
I like it still and get jealous when I see something spectacular. “I wish I had done that” is still very much part of my vocabulary.

10) Writer’s craft-wise, what are you better at today than you were two years ago?
Plot and speed. Meaning the speed at which the plot moves. And I’ve found this is different in America than it is in Canada. Here a book has to careen around the corner, sandblast the clothes off your body.