Mark Messick has also dabbled in short story writing
(see end of interview).
~ Tell
me about yourself. What got you started in writing?
Well, I've
always liked to read (ever since the 2nd grade, at least) and at the
age of 9 or 10 I just natuarallly started writing my first book. I've been
writing ever since.
~ How and where do you write? Do you prefer a laptop or do you prefer writing
freehand?
I really
prefer writing at a desk in a quiet room with a big window and lots of books.
And I definitely prefer a laptop.
~
What's your favorite part about writing? Your least favorite part about
writing?
I have two
favorite parts of the writing process. A) when I first get the idea for a book
and B) when I finish the book.
My least
favorite part of the writing process is the editing phase. I really don't care
for editing that much, even though it is quite necessary to the success of a
book.
~ How
do you come up with your characters? Why would readers want to get to know
them?
Well, I mostly
write in the “Advice & How-To” niche, so I don't have to bother with
creating characters that often.
~ What
types of marketing do you do to promote your writing?
There are four
main marketing techniques that I believe are extremely effective:
1)
Having A Clickable Title
2)
Having An Amazing Cover
3)
Having An HTML Formatted Book Description
4)
Keyword research
Each one of
these things have been extremely helpful to me and I wouldn't trade my
knowledge of them for the world.
Unfortunately,
some of them are quite complex, so I can't discuss how to do all of them here.
However, I have written a book that covers a couple of them. It's titled Secrets
To Selling Ebooks On Amazon: How To Sell More Kindle Ebooks On Amazon Using
HTML, SEO & Copywriting Techniques In Your Book Description. If you're
interested, you can learn more about the book here:
http://amzn.to/17TGbRK
~ How
do you schedule your writing time? When do you write?
I write as
often as possible but I have found that I'm most productive from 4 to 6 in the
afternoon/evening. So, I try to write during that time nearly every day.
~ What are you currently working on? Do you have a new book out?
A couple of
weeks ago I published Secrets To Selling Ebooks On Amazon and I'm
currently editing a new book, which I have decided to title: Write Better,
Write Faster, Write Freely: How To Write A Nonfiction Ebook In
Just 24 Days
I'm planning
on releasing it in the next week or two, so it shouldn't be too long until it's
available for purchase.
~ Do you
have a project on the back burner? Tell me about it.
I'm currently
working on what I call the “Secrets To Selling Ebooks On Amazon Series”. The
writing book is the first in the series and the HTML book is the fourth. (Yes,
I am writing it out of order, I know.) I have planned 9 books in this series so
I'm planning on just writing a new book in the series every month or so for the
next 7 months.
I also have a
ton of other ideas but until I finish this series I'm not going to focus on any
of them.
~ What
would you tell a beginning writer who wants to publish but doesn't believe
he/she has enough talent?
Dang, I wish
my writing book was already out there. That book would be perfect, perfect,
for somebody struggling with this question.
But, since
it's not already published I guess we'll just have to make do.
I firmly
believe that nearly anyone has the ability to write a book, even if they don't
yet know it. Maybe not a fiction book (I've tried) but definitely a nonfiction
book. Nonfiction is really easy to write, especially when the book is about
something you know and care about.
I suggest that
you just come up with a topic that you
are both knowledgeable and passionate about and start banging it out on a
keyboard. Don't worry if it sounds all funky. The important thing is to get it
out there as fast as humanly possible and then clean everything up afterwards.
Some great advice, Mark! Thanks for coming in for an interview, and I wish you success in your endeavors!
To learn more about Mark:
~ 4016 A.D.: http://amzn.to/15sYJ97
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