The biggest challenge [of being a writer] has been exposure and marketing.
I spend most of my time writing, and rarely have enough time to actually promote my books. I’ve never been cursed with writer’s block or distraction issues, but I struggle with the business end of the venture.
Think of Marketing Like an Exercise Routine
This is ironic, because I owned a Sci-fi based comic books store for more than a decade; somehow the business acumen didn’t translate well into my writing life.
I generally force myself to spend half an hour each day on editing ads or finding new places to get exposure. I fight my fear of marketing with forced exercise: 30 minutes a day of marketing (whether I like it or not).
This might be like someone entering an exercise routine.
Some Writers Spend Too Much Time Working
I think most people have a hard time fighting distractions and actually doing the work, but I never had that problem. Instead, I think I spend too much time working.
We spend too many hours at the computer, sitting and staring at a screen. Exercise is key, along with eating well. While I might sit for hours at the computer with coffee on hand, I always take breaks to exercise, usually swimming.
I also walk more than 5 miles per day in the afternoon. Healthy fruit shakes help, too.
The Key to My Creativity: Reading
I did a lot of reading as a kid (and still do), voraciously, and that stimulated my mind.
I usually write what I’d like to read, something I wish someone else had written or made into a movie. I think it’s 90% creativity, 7% luck, and 3% insanity.
Problems with editing or finding good proofreaders can discourage me. You get past it by forging ahead.
When a Reader Says, “I Can’t Wait…”
[My biggest triumph as a writer?] Perhaps the positive reviews, from magazines as well as individuals.
When someone emails me asking for the date of the next book, and says “I can’t wait…” it’s great. This doesn’t happen often, but it is nice when it does.
Focus has kept me true to my path, and not thinking too much about the small stuff. Love for the stories, most of all, has kept me focused.
Advice for a Young Writer: There’s No Reason Not to Write
Just do it. Now, more than ever, it’s easy to publish your works on your own website, without the hassles of the publishers.
When I started 25 years ago, I had to wrestle with publishers and editors, even to get a short story in a magazine. Today, you can just pop it up to your own site, so there’s no reason not to write.
Also, don’t feel boxed in; just write what you want. You may not get rich or famous, but you’ll get instant exposure to your words, and that’s what it’s all about.
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Rod Little has written science fiction and horror for more than 25 years. His shorter works have appeared in more than two dozen magazines, and he has three novels: Earthweeds, Revenge of the Spiders (both part of the Sons of Neptune series), and Wayward Pines: Dark Pines.
Currently, he is working on the third book in the Neptune saga, and a spin-off of the same series. Rod owned the sci-fi store Starbase One in Pittsburgh for 11 years.
For more information on Rod and his work, please see his website, or connect with him on Twitter or Facebook.
Earthweeds: Two students return from a mountain camping trip to find an empty city: Pittsburgh is desolate.
Only a few living souls remain in the countryside.
And then the lizards appear. The size of men, they flood the city and attack the few remaining people.
When these mutated creatures are confronted by giant spiders, the two species fight each other for the remaining food supply …with the humans caught in the middle.
Available at Amazon.