Ask the Author: Michael L.F. Slavin
Answered Questions (10)
Michael L.F. Slavin
Thank you for the offer, and congrats on your writing success, and thank you for your service.
I fear I do not have time. I am currently writing Kill Crime 4 and starting a new series about a serial killer. Combine that with my limited time because I care for my wife with Parkinson's, and there's just not enough time in the day. But never say never, just not now. Sorry.
I would love for you to be a reference for me if I have a question now and then about the ATF. Of course, I'd thank you in the credits.
All the best and good luck,
Mike
www.mikeslavinauthor.com
nmws2@aol.com
I fear I do not have time. I am currently writing Kill Crime 4 and starting a new series about a serial killer. Combine that with my limited time because I care for my wife with Parkinson's, and there's just not enough time in the day. But never say never, just not now. Sorry.
I would love for you to be a reference for me if I have a question now and then about the ATF. Of course, I'd thank you in the credits.
All the best and good luck,
Mike
www.mikeslavinauthor.com
nmws2@aol.com
Michael L.F. Slavin
As of Sept 7, 2019
-Life-Changing Money is available on Amazon
-Kill Crime is available on Amazon
-Primed to Kill, Kill Crime 2 is available on Amazon.
-Kill Crime 3 (Working Title) will be out in 2021.
-Kill Crime 4 (Working Title) will be out in 2022.
-Pixie, Powers, PI, she's a comedian at night and learning to be a PI by day, but she is so new she makes a lot of mistakes.
-Working on an assassin novel too.
-Life-Changing Money is available on Amazon
-Kill Crime is available on Amazon
-Primed to Kill, Kill Crime 2 is available on Amazon.
-Kill Crime 3 (Working Title) will be out in 2021.
-Kill Crime 4 (Working Title) will be out in 2022.
-Pixie, Powers, PI, she's a comedian at night and learning to be a PI by day, but she is so new she makes a lot of mistakes.
-Working on an assassin novel too.
Michael L.F. Slavin
Write about something you kind of know about, but make it bigger. Think big, take people to exciting places, doing exciting things. Always remember two things, action and emotions. Get the reader fired up, and excited, and make them laugh or cry.
But write, don't revise, don't go back and think too much about the same scene, keep going. You'll be amazed what you'll think of IF YOU KEEP WRITING. If you are writing a novel write 80,000-100,000 words, then get a beta reader, and start cleaning it up. But if you never put the words down you'll never get a book done.
Good luck and read my books and if you like them please review them on Amazon and Goodreads.
Good luck again, but you don't need luck, you just need to write.
Mike
But write, don't revise, don't go back and think too much about the same scene, keep going. You'll be amazed what you'll think of IF YOU KEEP WRITING. If you are writing a novel write 80,000-100,000 words, then get a beta reader, and start cleaning it up. But if you never put the words down you'll never get a book done.
Good luck and read my books and if you like them please review them on Amazon and Goodreads.
Good luck again, but you don't need luck, you just need to write.
Mike
Michael L.F. Slavin
Could use some Advanced Readers!
Michael L.F. Slavin
Thanks, Bob, I've read Tigner and will try Kasper.
Merry Christmas to you too.
Beat Navy (again and again)
Mike
Merry Christmas to you too.
Beat Navy (again and again)
Mike
Michael L.F. Slavin
I have always wanted to write a book. My first book was started when I was in the third grade. It was a story about a WW II soldier. I was probably eight years old. I didn't have a chance. It was handwritten on ruled notebook paper. I didn't get very far. I have also started some sci-fi books, a romance book (not my thing), and a couple of action books over the years and non-fiction business/self-help.
Over the years, as I said, I have started a few books but never got past about 20,000 words. Then I got the idea to help others learn from my experience. I was broke and bankrupt and really struggled for 7 years. Then I wrote a business plan over a weekend, raised $203,000 in two weeks from strangers and started my own business. Three years later I was a millionaire.
So my first inspiration to get a book finished was my desire to help others. My first book, One Million in the Bank: How To Make $1,000,000 With Your Own Business, Even If You Have No Money Or Experience was my way of helping others know how to do it. Anyone can do it. It has won 7-awards.
I am retired now and have time to write fiction. So I set a word goal of 1,200 words a day. It took me 60 days to write my first novel, Kill Crime. What a rush! I wrote a novel and it seemed like a good action story. I have been editing tweaking it for about 1 1/2 years now. In the meantime, I have written book two (now editing) and started book three and another series, Pixie Powers, PI. She is a comedian at night and learning to be a PI by day.
(Update 6 May 2021- I have also published Primed to Kill, Kill Crime 2, and a short story prequel to the series Life-Changing Money, free on my website www.mikeslavinauthor.com)
What inspires me.........everything! I keep learning and would like to continue new stories with my characters. But I want to try writing other characters and other genres.
I hope I answered your question.
Over the years, as I said, I have started a few books but never got past about 20,000 words. Then I got the idea to help others learn from my experience. I was broke and bankrupt and really struggled for 7 years. Then I wrote a business plan over a weekend, raised $203,000 in two weeks from strangers and started my own business. Three years later I was a millionaire.
So my first inspiration to get a book finished was my desire to help others. My first book, One Million in the Bank: How To Make $1,000,000 With Your Own Business, Even If You Have No Money Or Experience was my way of helping others know how to do it. Anyone can do it. It has won 7-awards.
I am retired now and have time to write fiction. So I set a word goal of 1,200 words a day. It took me 60 days to write my first novel, Kill Crime. What a rush! I wrote a novel and it seemed like a good action story. I have been editing tweaking it for about 1 1/2 years now. In the meantime, I have written book two (now editing) and started book three and another series, Pixie Powers, PI. She is a comedian at night and learning to be a PI by day.
(Update 6 May 2021- I have also published Primed to Kill, Kill Crime 2, and a short story prequel to the series Life-Changing Money, free on my website www.mikeslavinauthor.com)
What inspires me.........everything! I keep learning and would like to continue new stories with my characters. But I want to try writing other characters and other genres.
I hope I answered your question.
Michael L.F. Slavin
Bob,
Thanks for the interest and I too wish you great success.
I always wanted to write a book. I wrote One Million in the Bank: How To Make $1,000,000 With Your Own Business, Even If You Have No Money or Experience. to try and help people. Many years ago I went form bankrupt to millionaire in 3 years. I know how to do it. It took me a couple of years, I did a lot of interviews and research. It has also won 7 awards. But I wrote it while I still owned my business, not expecting to make any more really.
Then as my wife's Parkinson's got worse, I sold my company two years ago to care for her. Her care takes a lot of time and I found my self sitting on the couch quite a bit watching TV with her. I deiced that maybe I could write a fiction book. I had 15,000 words of one of the novels I had started over the years, but never finished. I planned to write a crime/thriller, I looked on the internet, I saw it needed to be about 85,000 words. I needed 70,000 more words for a first draft. It was the last few days of May 2017, I wanted to be done with a first draft by July 1st. I needed about 1,200 words a day. I tracked it daily, I got behind by 4,000 words once, but caught up and got done on time. I was very proud. I liked it, Kill Crime. It was a good story, lots of action with some plot twists and a good ending.
Then I got an Evaluation of the manuscript. They were very complimentary, but they suggested I cut the first 6 chapters and dive into action, plus some other smaller suggestions. It has been about a year.
The book had a number of beta readers. If they are free they are almost worthless. Paid beta readers on Fiverr worked out well, from $10 to $30 I got some great feedback. But the best feedback and where I learned the most were the line edits. Four line edits and a lot of work to tighten the story up, I felt it was ready and went looking for an agent.
Then based on the feedback of two agents, I added a couple of chapters. It is getting a line edit now. In a few days, another proof and I'll go back to looking for an agent.
My advice is don't worry a lot about each page or even if your story makes sense. Think word count, write a first draft, no matter how bad you think it is. Now you have something to edit.
Not sure I answered your question.
Have a great day and again-good luck,
Mike
Thanks for the interest and I too wish you great success.
I always wanted to write a book. I wrote One Million in the Bank: How To Make $1,000,000 With Your Own Business, Even If You Have No Money or Experience. to try and help people. Many years ago I went form bankrupt to millionaire in 3 years. I know how to do it. It took me a couple of years, I did a lot of interviews and research. It has also won 7 awards. But I wrote it while I still owned my business, not expecting to make any more really.
Then as my wife's Parkinson's got worse, I sold my company two years ago to care for her. Her care takes a lot of time and I found my self sitting on the couch quite a bit watching TV with her. I deiced that maybe I could write a fiction book. I had 15,000 words of one of the novels I had started over the years, but never finished. I planned to write a crime/thriller, I looked on the internet, I saw it needed to be about 85,000 words. I needed 70,000 more words for a first draft. It was the last few days of May 2017, I wanted to be done with a first draft by July 1st. I needed about 1,200 words a day. I tracked it daily, I got behind by 4,000 words once, but caught up and got done on time. I was very proud. I liked it, Kill Crime. It was a good story, lots of action with some plot twists and a good ending.
Then I got an Evaluation of the manuscript. They were very complimentary, but they suggested I cut the first 6 chapters and dive into action, plus some other smaller suggestions. It has been about a year.
The book had a number of beta readers. If they are free they are almost worthless. Paid beta readers on Fiverr worked out well, from $10 to $30 I got some great feedback. But the best feedback and where I learned the most were the line edits. Four line edits and a lot of work to tighten the story up, I felt it was ready and went looking for an agent.
Then based on the feedback of two agents, I added a couple of chapters. It is getting a line edit now. In a few days, another proof and I'll go back to looking for an agent.
My advice is don't worry a lot about each page or even if your story makes sense. Think word count, write a first draft, no matter how bad you think it is. Now you have something to edit.
Not sure I answered your question.
Have a great day and again-good luck,
Mike
Michael L.F. Slavin
TY for the connect. No, I don't know Brian Tracy, but he is very generous with giving endorsements if he likes your book. Have a great day. Mike
Michael L.F. Slavin
Because of my subject, it allows me to ask questions of people that most people would never ask.
It also makes me feel young and engaged in life. As I researched One Million in the Bank, I felt like I was back at West Point, learning something new every day. Now I as I research my new book, I am learning again.
It also makes me feel young and engaged in life. As I researched One Million in the Bank, I felt like I was back at West Point, learning something new every day. Now I as I research my new book, I am learning again.
Michael L.F. Slavin
Since my writing is about how to make $1,000,000 , and is practical, not theoretical I have two sources to spark my writing. I talk to people and I read. My sources of inspiration are limitless.
Talking to everyone:
Although I talk to everyone, everywhere all the time, waiters, people in line with me, people on the street, like I said, everywhere. I ask them questions that often through them off, what are your dreams in life? Do you have $1,000,000? if the answer is no then, "Would you like to have $1,000,000?", and the shocker, "Why don't you?
Talking to business owners:
This is the meat of my stories/case studies and where I learn so much. And I personally am so inspired and impressed with those everyday people with their everyday business who has made $1,000,000 or is on the way to making it. If they are in business and do not have $1,000,000 and am not on the way, that too is a story and what do they have to do to get on the right track.
Reading books:
I go through reading frenzies. I may not read a book for a month, I have so much I need to do, writing, interviewing, and getting my books out there. The reading happens mostly when I am in the text and deep into writing my books. I then read many books simultaneously as they give me ideas of what to investigate and different perspectives on some of my research.
I will say when I can not think of exactly how I want to write something, I seldom hesitate, I just start writing about anything-I mean anything. Somewhere in that process I find my focus.
That's it.
Talking to everyone:
Although I talk to everyone, everywhere all the time, waiters, people in line with me, people on the street, like I said, everywhere. I ask them questions that often through them off, what are your dreams in life? Do you have $1,000,000? if the answer is no then, "Would you like to have $1,000,000?", and the shocker, "Why don't you?
Talking to business owners:
This is the meat of my stories/case studies and where I learn so much. And I personally am so inspired and impressed with those everyday people with their everyday business who has made $1,000,000 or is on the way to making it. If they are in business and do not have $1,000,000 and am not on the way, that too is a story and what do they have to do to get on the right track.
Reading books:
I go through reading frenzies. I may not read a book for a month, I have so much I need to do, writing, interviewing, and getting my books out there. The reading happens mostly when I am in the text and deep into writing my books. I then read many books simultaneously as they give me ideas of what to investigate and different perspectives on some of my research.
I will say when I can not think of exactly how I want to write something, I seldom hesitate, I just start writing about anything-I mean anything. Somewhere in that process I find my focus.
That's it.
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