A while ago (summer of 2018), I started a non-fiction project titled Simple Ways to Write, Publish, Market a Debut Novel (+ Intimate Testimonials from Published Authors).
Because of various things going on in my life (working on several fiction books, health issues, turning my newest release — Whispers and Other Strange Stories — in audio book format, now available on Amazon, iTunes and Audible),
this particular non-fiction book is taking me longer to publish.
I have, therefore, decided to release extracts from my project here, on my website. In case something happens to me before I manage to publish the book, I want to make sure I'm sharing these awesome letters with you.
These extracts are from Part 4 of the Simple Ways book, titled Intimate Love Letters: From Published Authors to Aspiring Authors. They contain, as the name suggests, letters I have gathered from authors about their journey to, through, and after publication. These are the questions I have asked them to specifically write to me (and you) about:
How was the experience of writing your first / debut novel? What is some (brief) advice you would give to aspiring novelists now?
What are the essential things to do, and others to avoid, to make a good start as a writer and aspiring author?
How has writing the first novel influenced writing your second one, and/or your writing career in general?
What did you learn the most from this author journey you’ve been on so far?
What lessons have you learned about life from reading?
What book changed your life that you would also give to a friend’s child on their 18th birthday?
What would you tell your 16-year-old self if you could go back in time ‘disguised’ as a stranger?
What is one thing that always makes you smile?
‘The thing’ of your choice can be tangible or intangible and doesn’t have to be writing related. Can also be a pet, person, book, movie, poem, memory, etc. If you’d like to mention more than one ‘thing’, please do.
I will be releasing their 'letters' one by one, every week or so, in the order they got back to me.
I hope you enjoy them and find them useful. I love reading them and think are most enlightening, especially to aspiring authors, but also to seasoned ones. It is always great to learn from others.
This next letter is from Mars Dorian.
Mars Dorian is a fiction author and illustrating storyteller.
You can find and follow him here:
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Dear Reader,
Writing my first novel was exciting and intimidating. I loved creating the outlines and characters, but the actual writing was challenging. I lacked knowledge about writing snappy dialogue. I didn’t plot and didn’t know how to use theme in a story. So my writing sprees resembled a sinus wave. High: fun. Low: worries.
If I could give you some brief advice, it would be this. Learn storytelling and marketing. Storytelling, because that’s the word magic you want to conjure to spellbind your readers. To learn the craft, check out pages with screenplay writing advice and get books about grammar, writing good sentences and self-editing. You must learn your wordcraft. Every single day. When it comes to book marketing, check out blogs like reedsy.com or any self-publishing podcasts teaching keyword research, blurb writing, and paid advertisement.
If I were a beginning author, I’d focus on writing and releasing the first book. That’s it. When I started out, I worried about the future; books that I hadn’t written yet, contract problems with traditional publishers and other horrors. Self-publishing is complex, but if you learn a single issue every day about writing/marketing books, and focus only on the next step, you can take on the giant.
My writing process streamlines with every new novel. The first novel was a scattershot — aiming in all directions, hoping something hits. Heck, I didn’t even know how to write a compelling character motivation. Now I use templates for the story summary, the character creation, 3-act plot structure and the world building. My approach is systematic while still open to freestyle writing, especially when it comes to scenes, which I DON’T plan. You gotta leave space for surprises, right?
The writing journey can be loooong, with many obstacles blocking your path, both in human (nasty reviewers) and technological form (why is that formatting mistake happening again?).
I had always thought success would come much quicker, but life ripped me a new one. Keep. On. Trying. Making connections with fellow authors and folks in the industry, improving your writing skills EVERY single day, especially if you write in English, and you’re not a native speaker, is also a must. Reading can also aid your writer’s life. I’ve learned that every problem I face has been endured by someone, somewhere on the planet. Nothing about my experiences and challenges is unique, which lifts a lot of pressure. Plus, reading fascinating stories has expanded my mind about life’s (endless?) opportunities.
When it comes to inspiration, the book “The Stone & The Flute” influenced me the most. It’s an epic smart fantasy story from Germany, my home country, yay! The story is about a young man called Listener who travels a mysterious land and meets unique humans and creatures while trying to find himself. Sounds simple, but the story’s ripe with fascinating factions, quirky personalities and minor but well implemented magical elements.
It’s one of the few books that made me cry. It’s also one of the few books that I read over and over and over again, despite its length of over 800 pages. A true childhood gem.
And talking about childhood — if I could time travel back to my 16-year old self, I’d tell young Mars Dorian not to worry about the future so much. Relax. Drink a hot chocolate. Bite one thing. At a Time. Even in my teenage years, I always created horror scenarios in my head, worrying about things that never happened. You can never predict the challenges and opportunities coming your way — life is too adventurous for that.
Smile more. What makes me smile are creative daredevils telling unique stories. I love digging up new creators who either use their drawing or storytelling skills to create fantastic worlds I can get safely lost in. Even in the last months, I can remember reading comic books like Lazarus, Dissonance and God Complex and feeling excited by the sheer amount of creativity.
So reader, learn your craft, improve every single day and read, read, read and read.