Part Two

This is the second half of my interview with Schuyler Thorpe.

Question Four- You share your novels online. How and when did you come
to this decision? Is it something you struggled with or did it seem like
the obvious choice from the start?

I started this decision almost 4 years ago. It seemed appropriate for me--that if I was going to be a serious player as a writer, I would have to start advertising and promoting myself online and locally. But it was a natural choice--since I've been doing something like this for almost 20 years now. (I started writing when I was 14. I'll be 34 come January 3rd.)

But being online has given me a wide lattitude when it came to selling myself as a competent and reliable author. Most authors and writers usually sell themselves short in this regard--by relying on more traditional methods--but I see the internet as just another extension of myself.

I use it appropriately to share what I know about writing and publishing--and not just my books or myself. The only thing I charge is doughnuts, hot chocolate, and sunflower seeds these days for my "services". I tried asking for money and donations once, but no one seemed to take me seriously enough to part with a small amount of their change--so I dropped that idea. :0)

Question Five- You've been writing for over twenty years. Ever think
about throwing in the towel? Any advice for those of us just starting
out about how to overcome our doubts?

If I threw in the towel, I wouldn't get anything else done. I still have over 300 stories and about 105 novels to complete. What you read and see on the 'net through search engines is just the tip of the iceberg. :0)

How to overcome your doubts about writing and publishing?

Sigh...let me think about this one for a second. I've given out so much advice for first-timers over the years, I think I've emptied the bank on that front!

The most prevalent advice I can come up with is to keep perservering and experimenting with your works. Both arenas--in question-- are a real bitch and a half to go through--let alone overcome--and you just need to keep hammering away at it, until you succeed.

And success as a writer doesn't mean just doing it for the money, fame, and fortune. Those things are as extinct as the dinosaurs are now. And you shouldn't count on any of them to lift you up.

Success for you, should be the love of the craft. What you most like about writing and why you are doing it! If you can get one book done, then consider that a success!

Take a bow!

Does it matter if you're published or not? Does it matter if you're in bookstores or not? Or even on the bestseller's list?

No!

As long as you keep churning out stories and books at your own pace, you will be a success in your own right. Your career as a writer doesn't need to be tethered to the mainstream any longer.

Not when you have the internet and e-publishing to look forward to now.

And that's why you should not worry about being a notable household name. That's not important anymore.

What's important is the story and how you tell it. Everything else is just fish food for someone else to worry about.

Be a writer. Be that storyteller. And tell people about the worlds you've created and visited in your life's travels.

Check out part one to read more about this writer and find links to his work online