Interview - Richard G. Lowe Jr.

Welcome back,

            For this month's interview, we have the pleasure of meeting published author, Richard G. Lowe Junior. Richard and I met on one of the many Facebook writing pages after I posted that I was looking for published writers to interview.

            So on to the interview!

Short Bio:

Richard Lowe is a professional ghostwriter, Senior LinkedIn Branding Expert, and blogger. His passion is to help businesses and individuals strengthen their brand, establish their credibility and prove their expertise. Richard has written and published 63 books on a variety of subjects (including 2 bestsellers), ghostwritten 16 books, and authored over a thousand articles for blogs and social media. Previous to his writing career, he was the Director of Computer Operations for Trader Joe’s Company for 20 years, and before that the Vice President of Consulting for two computer firms. Some of his works include Focus on LinkedIn (an Amazon bestseller), Cyberheist (for KnowBe4), and Digitize or Die (as Copy Editor and Coach).

Published Works:

Focus on LinkedIn

How to sell on eBay

Real World Survival

How to Operate a Freelance Writing Business

Make a Living as a Professional Self-Published Author

Safe Computing is Like Safe Sex

How to be a Good Manager and Supervisor

How to Throw Parties like a Professional

How to Publish on KIndle

Help! My Debt is Making Me Miserable

How to Manage a Consulting Project

Make Money Using the Internet

Make Money by Decluttering Your Home

Belly Dancers Coloring Books (four volumes)

Human Rights Coloring Books

Dragons Coloring Book

Steampunk Dragons Coloring Book

How to be Friends with Women

Network Your Business to Prosperity

Turn off the TV, Get off Your Ass and do Something

Unlikely Hero

How to Create your Own Zombie Apocalypse

Current Projects: (if any)

Peacekeeper Vol 1: The Beginning of the End

Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity (working title)

Website: https://www.thewritingking.com

When did you begin writing?

I began writing when I was 6 years old with a short story about dragons. I wrote on and off throughout my life, and wanted to be a writer "when I grew up". Life got in the way, so I kept postponing it. I wrote a huge number of technical books for work. in 2013, I decided to retire from my job and become a professional writer. Since that time, I've written over 60 books for me (some under pen names), and ghostwritten 16 books.

Did you receive any special training or attend a school?

Nope

Where do you get your inspiration from?

I walk around, looking at things, and inspiration comes to me. I'll look at a garden, and think about a fantasy novel, or a rock and wonder about the history of that rock. From there, stories result.

Do you use any special resources when writing? (other books, computer programs, etc)

I always keep a couple of good dictionaries, a grammar book and a style guide (Chicago Manual of Style) handy. Plus, for fiction, the whole set of books in the Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman.

What is (in your opinion) the most important thing to remember when writing, and why is it so important?

That you must sit down, get rid of the distractions and write. It doesn't matter how bad you feel, how many problems need to be resolved, or whatever. Just write. The solution for writers is to write.

What is (in your opinion) the most challenging part of writing, and how do you overcome it?

Filtering out the bad advice from others. Nothing works for everyone. What works for one writer doesn't work for another. A writer has to come up with their own voice and style. I had to learn that lesson and it's a tough one.

Did you use an agent? (why or why not?)

No. I'm entirely self-published at this time. Peacekeeper, one of my current projects, may be the first that I find an agent for.

Did you use an Editor? If not, what process did you use to edit your work?

First, I write the whole book using dictation directly into Word. Then I review it from top to bottom, changing it up and making sure it all makes sense. I read it out loud all the way through, then review it back to front.

How did you get your book published? (self-published, Vanity publishing, Mainstream publisher).

Self-publishing as an Indie publisher. I also publish books as a ghostwriter for others.

Do you handle your own marketing?

Yes. I've found I do a better job than anyone else marketing my books.

What is your best marketing tip?

Social media does not work for promotion, but it works for marketing. You have to build yourself as a brand. Engage with your readers and get them excited about your works.

Do you have any advice for other writers?

My main advice is that to be a writer you must write. I set my goal at 5,000 words per day, minimum, ready to publish. If you are not writing every day, you're not really a writer. Also, if you are not published, you are not a writer. I know several writers who delay publishing to "get the perfect title" or "to give their book one more polish". Wrong. Publish the darn thing. In the modern self-publishing world, you can change almost anything. So publish away, knowing that your first couple of books may not be as good as you'd like. But you'll get better and you can always fix the earlier books

Hopefully everyone found this interview as informative as I did. I would like to thank Richard for taking the time to take this interview. Your knowledge, experience and participation was very much appreciated.

Until Next time.

Cheers,

Patrick Osborne

Current Progress part 38

Welcome back,

It has been a long time since I hadn’t written an article this late. For the past two years, I have had my blog articles prepared at least a month in advance. However, as I am writing this, it is now March fifth, and I have virtually nothing ready in terms of content.

That being said, I still managed making some progress over the last month.

   

           Because of my decision to focus more on my writing rather than my blogging, I managed to get some progres done on my story. I made some new additions to my story tree, and chipped away at my second chapter. Describing the setting proved to be a bit of a challenge for the second chapter, as I had never really put that much thought into it. It is still a work in progress, and I feel it is coming along nicely.

Unfortunately, my progress was cut short due to an increased workload and having to fill in for my manager at work. But I’m confident this new focus will allow me to see actual progress on my story.

   

Though I am no longer working actively on this project, I am still supporting it, as I did contribute a lot of time and material. Later in February, the writers from the project approached me for details on some of the material I had contributed. I feel this is encouraging, as it means the material is that much closer to being included in the games lore. Missing Worlds Media has released two new update in the past month. You can read the full article on their kickstarter page:

Lore: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/missingworldsmedia/the-phoenix-project-city-of-titans/posts/2098956

Staff: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/missingworldsmedia/the-phoenix-project-city-of-titans/posts/2109797

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments. I am also open to suggestions for future articles, if there is anything you would like further explanations on. I can be reached via the following social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bookmarkboundPMosborne/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel

Twitter: @OzmosisCoH

Google+: https://plus.google.com/+PatrickOsborneOzmosis

Sorry for the short update, as that is all I have for this month. Thank you all for dropping by, your continued support is always appreciated. I hope to see you all at next month's progress update.

Until next time.

Cheers,

Patrick Osborne

Interview - Hope White

Welcome back!

 

Today we have something special; an interview with published writer, the lovely Hope White. This is the first time I have had the opportunity to interview an author who I’ve had the joy of reading.

 

I approached Ms. White back in December, shortly after having read her book, Covert Christmas. While working on the book review article, I discovered her website, and found her email address. I decided to take a chance and contact her. To my surprise, she contacted me back a few short days later! I’m super excited to have her with us today!

 

On to the interview!

 

 

 

Short Bio: With a degree in journalism, Hope White started her career as a reporter for a small town newspaper.  Years later she decided she wanted to do more than report the facts – she wanted to take readers on a suspenseful and thrilling adventure.  Hope has published 11 romantic suspense novels with Steeple Hill including her popular Echo Mountain Search and Rescue series. When not at her computer, Hope can be found hiking a mountain trail to stimulate ideas for her next book.

Published Works:

   

Search and Rescue series

Mountain Rescue, Payback, Covert Christmas, Witness Pursuit, Christmas Undercover, Mountain Ambush

 

Stand alone books: Safe Harbor, Hidden in Shadows

 

Port Whisper Series

Witness on the Run, Christmas Haven, Small Town Protector

 

Coming Soon:

Lost and Found Baby, Jan. 2018 EHarlequin Short story

Baby on the Run, February 2018 (The Baby Protectors)

 

Current Projects: (if any)

Bodyguard Series for Love Inspired Suspense

 

Website/social media:

Hopewhiteauthor.com

Facebook.com/hopewhiteauthor

When did you begin writing?   

 

I’ve always been a storyteller, even as a kid.  I wrote my first book when I was 11 and had a friend illustrate it.  It was a mystery-thriller even back then!

 

Did you receive any special training or attend a school?  

 

I have a B.A. in journalism.  After years of newspaper and PR work, I decided it was more fun to make stuff up.  I had to relearn how to tell story in the fictional sense, which was totally different from collecting facts and sharing a non-fiction message with readers.

 

Where do you get your inspiration from?  

 

Everywhere!  Other books, movies, newspaper stories, conversations I overhear in the Starbucks line.  Writers are ALWAYS listening.  Sometimes ideas come to me when I’m listening to music or cleaning the house.  Which doesn’t make me want to do more housework unfortunately.  Another great way to develop ideas is to meet with other authors and brainstorm.  One story can be told a dozen different ways.  It’s a fascinating process.

 

Do you use any special resources when writing? (other books, computer programs, etc)

 

Blake Snyder’s “Save The Cat” book, plus his Beat Sheet for structure. Character development articles by Michael Hauge.  I hope to outline more, and have heard GREAT things about Scrivener.

 

What is (in your opinion) the most important thing to remember when writing, and why is it so important?

Get out of the way!  It’s important to let your characters develop the way they need to develop and not muddy up the waters by shoving them around.  If you’ve created strong characters, they will drive your plot, which makes for GREAT story.

 

What is (in your opinion) the most challenging part of writing, and how do you overcome it?

 

Staying focused. I mean once I’m “in story” it’s easy, but getting there can be challenging.  So many diversions – Facebook, Twitter, etc.   The best way to counter this distraction is to set goals and commit to writing for one hour.  That’s it.  Most of the time you’ll find yourself writing longer, but it’s less intimidating to go into the process with a one-hour commitment ahead of you.

 

Did you use an agent? (why or why not?)  

 

Not at present.  I have had a few in the past.  I don’t need an agent to negotiate with my current publisher who has a very standard contract.

 

Did you use an Editor? If not, what process did you use to edit your work?

 

I work with an editor at Harlequin AND hire an editor for my self-published projects.

 

How did you get your book published? (self-published, Vanity publishing, Mainstream publisher).

 

Most of my books are published through Love Inspired Suspense, aka Harlequin.  My fiction career started when I won a writing contest and the editor judge asked to see the book.  Contests are a great way to get noticed! I self-publish contemporary romance novels as well.

 

Do you handle your own marketing?  

 

Yes, and am working to get better at it! I belong to a few self-published author groups to get lots of tips on how to expand one’s audience.  May authors feel that promotion is key when you’re self-published.  I agree.

 

What is your best marketing tip?

 

Join an online indie group.  Even if you’re published traditionally, you’ll learn a ton from other writers.  Also, I’ve used Fiverr to promote. Inexpensive and boosted my numbers!

 

Do you have any advice for other writers?

 

Sure.  1) Write because you love it!  2) Write the book you want to read.  3) Create a tribe – other writers who can give you feedback and offer support.

 

In closing, I would like to thank Hope for doing this interview. As someone who is still in the process of finding himself as a writer, I found her energetic personality to be quite motivating. I look forward to reading more of her books in the future.

 

Until Next time,

 

Cheers,

 

Patrick Osborne

Interview - Charlotte Summers

Welcome back,

This month we have Charlotte Summers, the young author behind A Different Kind of Hell novella series. She kindly volunteered as I was searching for interview candidates on Facebook. I’m glad to have her on my blog, sharing her insight with us.

 

     

    

 

Short Bio: I am a young author and writer with a passion for my work. I love nothing more than to sit by the fire with my two dogs and write to my heart's content. This passion of mine started when I was around 13, going through a traumatic situation lead me to start reading and I found that I could write my own worlds to escape - if only for a little while- the real world.

 

Published Works: I have a novella series called A different Kind of hell and a new novel called Trusting Your Instincts

 

Current Projects: I am currently doing the third book in the different kind of hell series.

 

Website: https://authorcharlottesummers.weebly.com/

 

When did you begin writing?

 

I begin writing at the age of 13 and have been doing ever since.

 

Did you receive any special training or attend a school?

 

I didn’t have any training and to be honest I couldn’t even read until I was 12 as for writing I didn’t know how to do it right until I started doing it. I self-taught myself to read and then to write.

 

Where do you get your inspiration from?

 

I get mine from my mother who passed away when I was 12, I know she would want me to carry on with my work. I also get inspiration from my favourite author, Cheree Alsop.

 

Do you use any special resources when writing? (other books, computer programs, etc)

 

I use Grammarly and Google docs but that’s about it.

 

What is (in your opinion) the most important thing to remember when writing, and why is it so important?

 

The most important thing is editing. I know you cannot forget it however you need to remember to edit and edit some more during writing and during drafting.

 

What is (in your opinion) the most challenging part of writing, and how do you overcome it?

 

I think the most challenging for me is writer's block and once I have it I find it really hard to overcome. Normally to overcome it I read a book by my favourite author and listen to music.

 

Did you use an agent? (why or why not?)

 

No, I didn’t use an agent as I wanted to do it all myself, I’m a self-published author so didn’t really need an agent.

 

Did you use an Editor? If not, what process did you use to edit your work?

 

I edited myself, however, I did get my father to edit (he is an editor by profession). The key thing is to use more than one editor, I used three editor programs and got my dad to do it as well. You can never be too careful.

 

How did you get your book published? (self-published, Vanity publishing, Mainstream publisher).

 

I self-published all my books.

 

Do you handle your own marketing?

 

Yes, I do however it’s a lot harder than people make it out to be.

 

What is your best marketing tip?

 

Get your work out there as much as you possibly can. Set up twitter, facebook and any other social media you can think of.

 

Do you have any advice for other writers?

 

Keep writing, even when you feel like quitting; Keep going. Also never feel like a failure, everyone has been where you are and has overcome it. You can too.

 

In closing, I would like to thank Charlotte for doing this interview. As someone who is still in the process of writing his first book, I found this interview to be an eye opening experience. The amount of work she has produced at her age is truly inspiring. I look forward to hearing more about her in the future.

 

Until Next time,

 

Cheers,

 

Patrick Osborne