Ask the Author: M.R. Mackenzie
Answered Questions (3)
M.R. Mackenzie
I know it’s a cliché, but just do it. The rise of eBooks, self-publishing and independent publishing houses means that the process has been democratised like never before, and there’s never been such a wealth of options for getting your work out there.
I would also say don’t be discouraged by a lack of overnight success. Very few authors shoot to the top of the charts and receive critical acclaim right out of the gate. It takes time to build a profile – I’m only in the early stages of it myself – and it can feel like an uphill climb with the summit nowhere in sight. My long-term goal is definitely to be able to make a living doing this full-time, but until then, I would much rather my work was out there and being read by however many people it can reach – whether that’s a bajillion or just a handful – than locked away on my hard drive being read by no one.
I would also say don’t be discouraged by a lack of overnight success. Very few authors shoot to the top of the charts and receive critical acclaim right out of the gate. It takes time to build a profile – I’m only in the early stages of it myself – and it can feel like an uphill climb with the summit nowhere in sight. My long-term goal is definitely to be able to make a living doing this full-time, but until then, I would much rather my work was out there and being read by however many people it can reach – whether that’s a bajillion or just a handful – than locked away on my hard drive being read by no one.
M.R. Mackenzie
Sit down and force myself to write. If I’m struggling, I like to set myself a nice, achievable target, like writing a hundred words over the next ten minutes. It doesn’t matter if they turn out to be drivel – in fact, chances are they WILL be. The act of forcing myself to put pen to paper (or, more likely, fingers to keyboard) usually unblocks the dam and get me back into the swing of things.
M.R. Mackenzie
I’m currently working on a sequel to In the Silence, focusing on one of the secondary characters from that novel, and a standalone thriller which I’m not ready to talk about just yet, except to say that, like all good novels, it starts with a dead body.
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