1. How long did it take you to publish, ‘The Boy Who Sneaks in My Bedroom Window?’
The process itself was actually not that long. It took a long time to write the book – about seven months. Then I rewrote it, then edited, then had it edited after that. Once all of that was done the process of getting it ready to publish was fairly quick. From the time I started writing the book in July 2010, I then published it in April 2012.
2. If you could choose one thing about the whole work involved from writing your first book, to its publication, what would you say was the hardest thing to achieve?
The writing part is the most fun, but also the hardest. Writers block is the worst thing, the words just build up inside you and the frustration that comes with it is very intense sometimes. But it definitely has its rewards when you get to the end of the book and are happy with the result!
3. Of all the books you have written, which book did you enjoy writing the most?
If I had to choose, I would say Nothing Left to Lose – although, at times I hated it, too. I got so involved with the characters that when they hurt, I hurt too, so it was painful at times.
4. How long did it take you to get your first successful book published?
I decided right at the start that I didn’t want to go the traditional route with my books. Someone I knew that gone the self-publishing route, so once I started googling how to do it I knew that was the path that I wanted to take with my books. Once the book was ready for publication, it is literally just a matter of uploading it and hitting that magic publish button – there’s no waiting around like with traditional publishing.
5. If you could give one piece of advice to a new writer, what would it be?
Don’t give up. If you have a story in your heart, write it!
6. Many writers are warned about the dreaded ‘rejection letter,’ but speaking from your own experience, what is your take on the rejection letter?
I heard it was average to be rejected around twenty times before you finally get to that one agent that wants to take a chance on you. I would imagine that’s very frustrating and upsetting – however, you also need to remember that with the amount of submissions they get, they can only take a few on at a time. You also have to make sure you get to the right agent, and they have to have open spaces for clients. It can probably be pretty hit and miss I would imagine. Thankfully, because of self-publishing, I didn’t require an agent, and after I published I then had agents coming to me, so I never had to go through the harrowing rejection process.
7. What would you say is the first steps of publishing?
Writing a story that you can be proud of, characters that you love and believe in. Once you have those, you just need to take that leap. If you’re not in love with your leading man, or aspire to be your leading female, then maybe take another look at your book – you can’t expect readers to fall in love with someone who doesn’t spark any reaction in the author.
8. If a new and upcoming writer was trying to publish their own novel, how would you recommend they go about it?
Most of publishing is down to promotion too, it’s a fine balance, so they’d need to set up website, twitter, Facebook, talk to other writers too, join the community in preparation. After that it’s a choice between if they wanted to try the traditional route, or walk the Indie path.
9. We all love writing our own characters, giving them personalities, histories and lives, but if you had to choose two characters from your own books, which two would you say are your favourites?
Male - Jamie Cole from Fighting to be Free (a book not yet published). He’s been through a lot, tough, hard, but has a heart of gold. Female – Rosie York from Enjoying the Chase. She’s strong, a devoted mother, and has a sarcastic mouth.
10. The publishing industry is beginning to get increasingly difficult, with less and less books being published each year, and this year is no exception. Book deals and publications are at an all-time low.
Many writers are turning to Amazon, Smashwords, Nook, etc. and self-publishing their books.
But this choice isn’t for everyone.
What would you say to young, unpublished writers out there who are debating about which route to take?
And had you been starting out all over again, would you still take the same route?
It is hard, the writing industry is changing so I think authors need to adapt and accept that too. As an Indie author, I would absolutely recommend self-publishing if you like the creative control over your work. For me, that is an important aspect of it all, for others it’s not as important. I guess it is up to everyone which way they go – if I had the choice all over again, absolutely I would choose the same path again.
The process itself was actually not that long. It took a long time to write the book – about seven months. Then I rewrote it, then edited, then had it edited after that. Once all of that was done the process of getting it ready to publish was fairly quick. From the time I started writing the book in July 2010, I then published it in April 2012.
2. If you could choose one thing about the whole work involved from writing your first book, to its publication, what would you say was the hardest thing to achieve?
The writing part is the most fun, but also the hardest. Writers block is the worst thing, the words just build up inside you and the frustration that comes with it is very intense sometimes. But it definitely has its rewards when you get to the end of the book and are happy with the result!
3. Of all the books you have written, which book did you enjoy writing the most?
If I had to choose, I would say Nothing Left to Lose – although, at times I hated it, too. I got so involved with the characters that when they hurt, I hurt too, so it was painful at times.
4. How long did it take you to get your first successful book published?
I decided right at the start that I didn’t want to go the traditional route with my books. Someone I knew that gone the self-publishing route, so once I started googling how to do it I knew that was the path that I wanted to take with my books. Once the book was ready for publication, it is literally just a matter of uploading it and hitting that magic publish button – there’s no waiting around like with traditional publishing.
5. If you could give one piece of advice to a new writer, what would it be?
Don’t give up. If you have a story in your heart, write it!
6. Many writers are warned about the dreaded ‘rejection letter,’ but speaking from your own experience, what is your take on the rejection letter?
I heard it was average to be rejected around twenty times before you finally get to that one agent that wants to take a chance on you. I would imagine that’s very frustrating and upsetting – however, you also need to remember that with the amount of submissions they get, they can only take a few on at a time. You also have to make sure you get to the right agent, and they have to have open spaces for clients. It can probably be pretty hit and miss I would imagine. Thankfully, because of self-publishing, I didn’t require an agent, and after I published I then had agents coming to me, so I never had to go through the harrowing rejection process.
7. What would you say is the first steps of publishing?
Writing a story that you can be proud of, characters that you love and believe in. Once you have those, you just need to take that leap. If you’re not in love with your leading man, or aspire to be your leading female, then maybe take another look at your book – you can’t expect readers to fall in love with someone who doesn’t spark any reaction in the author.
8. If a new and upcoming writer was trying to publish their own novel, how would you recommend they go about it?
Most of publishing is down to promotion too, it’s a fine balance, so they’d need to set up website, twitter, Facebook, talk to other writers too, join the community in preparation. After that it’s a choice between if they wanted to try the traditional route, or walk the Indie path.
9. We all love writing our own characters, giving them personalities, histories and lives, but if you had to choose two characters from your own books, which two would you say are your favourites?
Male - Jamie Cole from Fighting to be Free (a book not yet published). He’s been through a lot, tough, hard, but has a heart of gold. Female – Rosie York from Enjoying the Chase. She’s strong, a devoted mother, and has a sarcastic mouth.
10. The publishing industry is beginning to get increasingly difficult, with less and less books being published each year, and this year is no exception. Book deals and publications are at an all-time low.
Many writers are turning to Amazon, Smashwords, Nook, etc. and self-publishing their books.
But this choice isn’t for everyone.
What would you say to young, unpublished writers out there who are debating about which route to take?
And had you been starting out all over again, would you still take the same route?
It is hard, the writing industry is changing so I think authors need to adapt and accept that too. As an Indie author, I would absolutely recommend self-publishing if you like the creative control over your work. For me, that is an important aspect of it all, for others it’s not as important. I guess it is up to everyone which way they go – if I had the choice all over again, absolutely I would choose the same path again.