Ask the Author: Jason Ayres
Answered Questions (9)
Jason Ayres
Hi Melissa! Well - where to start?
The best advice I can give is write a series. When I had only one or two books out I didn't sell many, but once it became a trilogy, it started to take off. Once you've got a few you can put out boxsets which people lap up in Kindle Unlimited.
I've got ten books in my series now - if people love the first one to buy the rest that's ten sales and a new fan.
There are many great book sites that will promote your work to help you to get started and establish your book - Bargainbooksy is one I use a lot and always get good results.
However - the best advice I can give is seek out the books by David Gaughran - Amazon Decoded, among others, which are a huge source of information at very little cost. I swear by these books and have applied many of the strategies in them.
Best of luck!
Jason
The best advice I can give is write a series. When I had only one or two books out I didn't sell many, but once it became a trilogy, it started to take off. Once you've got a few you can put out boxsets which people lap up in Kindle Unlimited.
I've got ten books in my series now - if people love the first one to buy the rest that's ten sales and a new fan.
There are many great book sites that will promote your work to help you to get started and establish your book - Bargainbooksy is one I use a lot and always get good results.
However - the best advice I can give is seek out the books by David Gaughran - Amazon Decoded, among others, which are a huge source of information at very little cost. I swear by these books and have applied many of the strategies in them.
Best of luck!
Jason
Jason Ayres
Hi Jane,
Delighted to hear you are enjoying the books! I've got one other published that you might enjoy if you haven't already read it. It's called Midlife Crisis and is the story of a middle-aged man down on his luck who gets the chance to live six days of his life over again. It's set in the same universe as The Time Bubble series (the man in question is Richard Kent, the hapless policeman).
It is the first in a two book series - I am currently writing the second which follows a female character, Kay, who is introduced in Midlife Crisis. I hope to have it finished by Christmas for an early 2017 release.
Thanks for getting in touch and your kind words - it is hugely appreciated!
Jason
Delighted to hear you are enjoying the books! I've got one other published that you might enjoy if you haven't already read it. It's called Midlife Crisis and is the story of a middle-aged man down on his luck who gets the chance to live six days of his life over again. It's set in the same universe as The Time Bubble series (the man in question is Richard Kent, the hapless policeman).
It is the first in a two book series - I am currently writing the second which follows a female character, Kay, who is introduced in Midlife Crisis. I hope to have it finished by Christmas for an early 2017 release.
Thanks for getting in touch and your kind words - it is hugely appreciated!
Jason
Jason Ayres
Hi Julie, many thanks for getting in touch!
Caring for my son has undoubtedly been influential in my writing. In the early years before he was at school I left full time employment to start up my own entertainment business - effectively this meant I was running discos and karaoke nights on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It was around this time I started blogging my experiences as a parent which eventually evolved into my early non-fiction parenting books and my stay-at-home Dad newspaper column.
I found I loved writing so when the kids were in school full time I took the plunge and started writing the novels, mostly during school time. It's quite a challenge finding time to write as caring for the kids is a full-time job in itself but it's very rewarding and I wouldn't change a thing. I've been able to be there for my kids and fulfill a lifetime ambition which has been to write the stories that have been floating around in my head since I was a teenager.
Thanks so much for taking the time to write and I'm really pleased you are enjoying the books!
Jason
Caring for my son has undoubtedly been influential in my writing. In the early years before he was at school I left full time employment to start up my own entertainment business - effectively this meant I was running discos and karaoke nights on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It was around this time I started blogging my experiences as a parent which eventually evolved into my early non-fiction parenting books and my stay-at-home Dad newspaper column.
I found I loved writing so when the kids were in school full time I took the plunge and started writing the novels, mostly during school time. It's quite a challenge finding time to write as caring for the kids is a full-time job in itself but it's very rewarding and I wouldn't change a thing. I've been able to be there for my kids and fulfill a lifetime ambition which has been to write the stories that have been floating around in my head since I was a teenager.
Thanks so much for taking the time to write and I'm really pleased you are enjoying the books!
Jason
Jason Ayres
My personal way is to always be writing in my mind. When I was writing The Time Bubble I would write for 2 or 3 hours every morning. After that, whilst I was busy with family life, and even at bedtime before I went to sleep I was thinking about the next day and what I was going to write. By the time I sat down at 9.30am the next morning I would already have what I was going to write all mapped out in my head.
Jason Ayres
Being able to share my work and make others happy. From a personal perspective it is also fantastic because it enables me to work around my busy family life (I look after two young children full-time). I write when I can and I get to be with my children every day. Had I stayed in a professional career, travelling up and down the motorways I would have missed half of their growing up.
Jason Ayres
Believe in yourself and don't give up on your dream. If you choose to go down the self-publishing route, learn as much as you can about the whole process. If you have a good product, truly anyone can do it.
When someone comes up to you in the street you don't know and says "I've just read your latest book, and I absolutely loved it" - that is the most fulfilling thing a writer can ever hear.
When someone comes up to you in the street you don't know and says "I've just read your latest book, and I absolutely loved it" - that is the most fulfilling thing a writer can ever hear.
Jason Ayres
I deliberately left some hints and unanswered questions in the last couple of chapters of The Time Bubble to pave the way for a sequel. I won't say more for fear of revealing spoilers but all I can say is it involves snow. A lot of snow!
I'm sketching out a rough outline of this at present with a view to sitting down in September and getting stuck into writing it - once the kids go back to school.
I'm sketching out a rough outline of this at present with a view to sitting down in September and getting stuck into writing it - once the kids go back to school.
Jason Ayres
I've always enjoyed writing. I used to fill whole exercise books at Primary School with elaborate stories - far exceeding the couple of pages the teacher had told me to write.
In the years since I've enjoyed putting together all sorts of humorous pieces of prose - satirical plays, newsletters for all manner of sporting groups and more. The thing that inspires me the most is the enjoyment I get from entertaining people. If something I've written makes people laugh and brightens their day then I'm doing a good job!
In the years since I've enjoyed putting together all sorts of humorous pieces of prose - satirical plays, newsletters for all manner of sporting groups and more. The thing that inspires me the most is the enjoyment I get from entertaining people. If something I've written makes people laugh and brightens their day then I'm doing a good job!
Jason Ayres
I was walking through a railway underpass in town one day and was struck by a thought. What would happen if when I got to the other side, I had been transported into the future. What would the consequences be?
If I'd been transported 6 minutes forward I might not even notice.
If I'd been transported 6 hours forward I might be in trouble for failing to turn up to work.
If I'd been transported 6 days forward, everyone would be really worried about me (I hope!). They might think I'd had an accident or worse.
If I'd been transported 6 years forward, what then? People would assume I was dead. My wife may have remarried. That would certainly cause some headaches.
The basic idea for The Time Bubble was formed around these thoughts.
If I'd been transported 6 minutes forward I might not even notice.
If I'd been transported 6 hours forward I might be in trouble for failing to turn up to work.
If I'd been transported 6 days forward, everyone would be really worried about me (I hope!). They might think I'd had an accident or worse.
If I'd been transported 6 years forward, what then? People would assume I was dead. My wife may have remarried. That would certainly cause some headaches.
The basic idea for The Time Bubble was formed around these thoughts.
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