6/21/2016
Earlier this year I was on one of the many Facebook groups for authors that I belong to and another member Ashton Cartwright asked for people who’d like to be involved in a book to help other writers.
Naturally I said yes and now the book is available as both an e-book and a paperback. I’m one of the 36 authors who contributed to the book.
(If you’d like to win a copy enter below).
Now that the paperback is available I thought I’d ask Ashton about how the project came together. Don’t you just love the cover? So pretty!
1. Ashton, how did you get the idea for the book?
I’ve been writing and publishing books now for about four years, and I get asked a lot of the questions, generally the same questions and fairly often; things like “How hard is it to become an author” or “I’ve got a good idea for a book, but don’t know how to start.” or even “I’ve written a book, but don’t know how to get people to buy it.”
So I thought it might be a good idea to write some of my answers down, in the hope that new authors would get a bit of benefit from it, and would hopefully avoid some of the mistakes that I’d made in my own publishing career.
2.Where did you find the authors?
I was very fortunate to be a part of several excellent online author groups, both for Australians and for international authors. Writing and publishing is a community in which everyone tends to do their best to help one another, particularly for self-published or indie authors. When I mentioned in a couple of places that I was looking for some authors to give their advice to new writers, there were lots of people very happy to oblige. (35 plus myself in fact!)
3. Did you learn anything interesting about the authors – something that they all had in common, something that separated them or anything surprising?
The thing that most hit home with me was that even though we each had a different story to tell, we still had a lot of similarities. Nobody in the book had written an instant bestseller and made millions of dollars. Some of us were able to write full time, but we worked really hard at it to make it happen. Some of us were just starting out, and were also working really hard at it to make it happen. I think a lot of times people assume that if you write a book, your work is done. You just get to sit around at home, waiting for handsome royalty cheques, and signing autographs when people meet you in the street. The truth is usually far different from that. Every author I know that has had even a modicum of success has had to work hard for it; they’ve had to stay focused, stay committed, and just keep learning, writing, and moving forward. Being a writer is definitely not a quick path to success, but it is definitely worth all the effort. 🙂
If you would like to get your own copy either e-book or paperback you can buy it here.
Comments
Renee
6/19/2016 04:58:20 pm
I’d love to know, when did you decide to start writing an actual book? Was there a defining moment?
Reply
Monique
6/22/2016 10:23:39 pm
Renee, I always wrote but I took a course at the NSW Writers’ Centre – First Page to First Draft, where you would write a novel in that year so that was when I decided to take it seriously…that was about 10 years ago and that book became Mr Right and Other Mongrels.
Jean
6/21/2016 03:13:42 am
This sounds inspiring, I’d like to know how authors stay so focused and get things finished
Reply
Monique
6/22/2016 10:25:18 pm
That’s a great question and I think (as reading this book with feedback from so many writers will show) everyone is a bit different. In my case I hate to fail at something – so once I set myself a goal I like to get there. I’m not always there in the desired time-frame but I do get there. Focus is really hard. Some people find it harder than others.
Susan Mehr
6/21/2016 01:15:03 pm
Do you find writing a journey inside your own imagination?
Reply
Monique
6/22/2016 10:26:07 pm
I have a very active imagination, which is a good and a bad thing I suppose.. Writing gives that a nice focus.
Valerie
6/21/2016 04:18:06 pm
Sounds like a great book. Can’t wait to read it.
Heather Goldsmith
6/22/2016 02:33:39 am
One, only one? Um, ok, how long did it take from when you wrote your first book to when it was ready to be sent to a publisher, and was it accepted? Ok, that’s two really, sorry. 😉
Reply
Monique
6/22/2016 10:28:15 pm
From the time I started my first novel until I started sending it out was about 3 years. That book was Mr Right and Other Mongrels. It made it off the slush pile at agents and publishers all over the world (well UK, US and Australia) and they all said – we like your writing, send us whatever else you have, but we can’t sell chicklit. That’s what I write so I went the indie publishing route instead.