Ask the Author: Michael Southwick
Answered Questions (5)
Michael Southwick
Loads of stuff. At the time of writing this, I am on the verge on publishing a book entitled 'The Great North-East: An English History Tour, vol.1'. Then I will move on to finishing vol.2 of my 'Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Fragments of the Past' series of books. I'm also penning a book on Newcastle's suburbs ... and have plans for several more similar efforts.
Michael Southwick
It absolutely is NOT the money. Most writers would agree with this. And, anyway, I donate all my profits to charity. It's all about unloading a burden, in a way. I crave to get the next book out there, and there's a tremendous sense of achievement every time it finally happens. Those who don't have that NEED to write will never understand this. And because no-one needs a traditional publisher now (I publish all my books through Amazon's KDP), then there is no excuse for not having a go.
Michael Southwick
As I deal with non-fiction only, then I can only really write with any authority about what interests me and what I know a lot about. And if there's something I lack info on I say to myself 'do I want to dig deeper and become an expert on this topic?' If the answer is 'no' then I'm barking up the wrong tree. I have my interests, but some, often closely-related stuff, is just too specialist for me to get involved with - or I am just not quite interested enough in it to pursue it with a passion.
Michael Southwick
Well, what I love best is passing on historical facts to other folk. When I learn of some interesting little story, the first thing I think of is finding out more about it, then writing an article about it as part of a future book, or whatever. So, 'sharing information' is the short answer, I suppose.
Michael Southwick
I turn to other writing-related tasks. There's always proof-reading to do on something or other; or maybe turning to another ongoing project/book (I've always got several on the go at once!) Then there's always simply reading other books on the topics I love.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more