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Random Author Survey
Posted by π.π. ππππππ π³οΈπβπ½
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Forum: Books and Stories
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
Ever since I discovered the ability to tell my own stories and make my own worlds. The day I discovered other people create the stories I've been so obsessed with even before starting school and the stories themselves aren't conceived by machines I guess the "logical assumption" would be at that age. But I've always had books in my life.
How long does it take you to write a book?
It took my co-author and me quite a while to finish out with JUDD, it's gone through many drafts and versions but there's also a lot of things that have stayed consistent. The characters have been there from the beginning, but it didn't start out with powers, it started in the Dramedy genre coming-out story. I wasn't originally going to publish it, I was just writing, but it still felt like it was missing something and not worth sharing on something like FictionPress.net or Wattpad.
After we decided to add superpowers into the mix, all the worldbuilding was coming in as we were pantsing a redraft with a similar story but scenarios where powers were an additional struggle along with the life of being a teenager in the closet. Not only just that but a teenager in general. Eventually, I fell in love with this world and idea we were coming up with and I began to bring publishing up to Erika and she agreed. I started creating docs upon docs of worldbuilding to use and backstory for even side characters as side characters and villains always tend to be my favorite parts in works of fiction.
After I felt I was done I started the draft that would be sent off to Beta readers before publishing. The whole process has taken us 7-10 years, but I just wanted to make sure it not perfect but something worth reading ourselves even. Now we're planning the rest of the series, a bulk of it is planned and hopefully, the later books won't take as long to write, so far so good now that we have a planned direction.
What is your work schedule like when you're writing?
I write while my husband is at work so about six hours a day, five days a week. Sometimes I'll put headphones in and write while he's here but he really likes to talk to me while he's gaming or watching something and I like to give him my attention. So many authors get so caught up in work they leave no time for loved ones. I don't want to be consumed, I tell stories because it's my passion, publishing is the cherry on top.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I have a lot of fun with diverse characters and personalities. The more into the series the stories gets, the more you'll learn about these characters, more than just Sam himself. Yes Sam is the main central story, but I wanted every character to have interesting stories, in a world with superpowers, I imagine a lot of big things happen to people. Again, I've always favored side-characters. I was afraid that fact would take away from Sam's personality, but at this point I'm confident it hasn't
How do books get published?
There are a couple of ways, you can get an agent to get you traditionally published but I believe you give up a lot of creative control when you go traditional a lot of the time. I'm a bit of a control freak, self-publishing was the lane I chose from the beginning, I'm a series writer, I didn't want to be told by "the man" that my story wasn't interesting enough to be into a series or if it was, be told what direction I had to go in it. I believe our story will have an audience; big, small, doesn't matter to me.
Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
I listen to some podcasts and blogs, and they all give pretty good advice. I'll list them below.
YOUTUBE:
Alexa Donne
iWriterly
Writing With Jenna Moreci
PODCASTS:
The Rebel Author Podcast
Professional Book Nerd
Go Publish Yourself
When did you write your first book and how old were you?
I was about ten, it was a Harry Potter parody we'll call it. Since at that age, publishing wasn't even a thought I feel plagiarism is kinda harsh. Only my mom read it and I'm sure it's in a trash heap degraded by now.
What do you like to do when you're not writing?
I love watching movies, TV shows-- mostly Marvel MCU and Star Wars content--videogames, and of course reading books. I'm very much an introvert.
What does your family think of your writing?
So far they approve and are proud. They know my expectations aren't astronomical and that the point is just to share and be a storyteller. NYT Best Sellers List would be cool, but not required.
What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?
How to use a semicolon, never thought I'd learn but I think I'm getting the hang of it
How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?
I've written a handful, at least ten. Not all have been shared but this is my first published.
Do you have any suggestions to help others become better writers? If so, what are they?
If you want to publish and tell your story, do it. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise. Many write and have a full-time or part-time job. Writing and publishing can also be a part-time job and also be called a career. That's how I see it for myself personally. Also, know what advise to take and not to take, you don't have to take absolutely everything, just consider advise and decide what's for you and what's not.
Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
We only have ARC and Beta readers for JUDD so far so in terms of it, yes. But when I'd post on WattPad I'd get a lot of feedback and comments of my writing. I just felt one day it was time to take my craft seriously.
Do you like to create books for adults?
I want to eventually, I'm taking babysteps. This is only my first publication so I want to allow myself to grow as a writer before I start on something I feel I'd like to get a bit more complex on.
What do you think makes a good story?
A good idea and letting fictions inspire you. It's not easy to be original but you can still tell a good story if you place your own twist on it somehow.
As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?
I wanted to be a writer. Again, books have been my life, I've been captivated by storytelling since my first Dr. Seuss book was read to me in the early single digit and I eventually memorized the words on every page and was reading them to my mom. That's how I learned how to read, by self-determining what I've been memorizing and making sense of those shapes I was staring at and how they create their sounds.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and get to know about me and our book.
A blank version of this survey will be in the comment section if you'd like to fill it out yourself for a bulletin or blog or something, just make sure to say you got it from me or copy and paste this section along with your post so that the source said in a minute is present. Questions gotten from a website called TeacherVision for young kids who want to interview authors, I'm just using it as a SpaceHey author survey. I figured start somewhere. I'd like to see some more authors show up on this website, aspiring, indie, and traditional.