Ask the Author: M.J. Hardy
Answered Questions (5)
M.J. Hardy
As an independent writer, I enjoy the whole process. For me its broken into halves. The first half is the creative process. Taking your idea, sitting down and writing, getting it edited, and ready for publication (book cover, which platform you are going to use). The second half is the business process. Advertising, word of mouth, social media. Building your social media platform. Posting on a consistent basis to overcome those pesky algorithms. Yes, have some writers become overnight sucess and made large amounts of dollars - sure. But, for the vast majority if not all of us - it's about persistence. Putting out a good product. Matthew Kelly in his book Resistance to Happiness tells want-to-be writers; "What does your book promise?" I think that is an excellent question. He sees to many writers getting ahead of themselves and asking him lots of publication questions when they haven't finished their manuscripts. He tells them, "come see me after you have finished your manuscript." Very few do. Need to understand this is a job and you have to approach it as such.
M.J. Hardy
I just finished Agatha Christie's: Lord Edgware Dies, Why Didn't They Ask Evans?, and Cards on the Table; A. J. Finn's The Woman in the Window; Francois Mauriac's A Kiss for the Leper and Therese Desqueyroux. Nicholas Blake's The Beast Must Die. I'm currently reading John Le Carre's A Perfect Spy.
M.J. Hardy
My lovely wife asked me to write something nice. She's tired of me writing about serial killers and people with bad intentions. So, I am writing a collection of faith based short stories. I really enjoy the challenge, because short stories (5,000 words) require me to be very judicious with my use of words. These stories aren't Hallmark feel good stories, but stories of people with real challenges and how their faith is challenged and the way they respond makes for some fun and interesting story telling.
M.J. Hardy
LoL, I vacuum! My monkey brain is constantly doing flips. Thoughts and ideas are constantly bombarding my brain. Cleaning up around the house or doing yard work helps me get my thoughts and ideas organized. I run characters and plots through my brain - a version of internal mind-mapping. So, when I do sit down to write, I have a very clear idea of where I'm going.
M.J. Hardy
Persistence, we all need to write every day. As example, Stephen King goes by time - five-to-six hours a day. Others will tell you that you need to write so many words such as 1,000 words a day. Some go by number of pages. Whatever measure that you use or works for you - get after each and everyday.
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