Qualities of Successful Writers: Persistence and Tenacity

What does it take to go from being an aspiring writer to an accomplished writer?

There are two traits every serious writer must cultivate within themselves: persistence and tenacity. It's easy to daydream about being a writer. It's easy to tell people you're thinking about writing a book someday. If someday is not today, then that book may never get written. Being a writer takes sitting down and actually writing. First you must make time to write an important part of your weekly schedule. For instance, I write in the mornings, often before dawn, so that I can start my day with at least a couple of hours writing before I can be pulled away by distractions. Some people I know write well into the night, after the kids are asleep. Whatever works for you, just carve out some time to write.

It may take several drafts to get it right. I probably write and revise each of my chapters at least 30 times (even 50 times). I read the chapters to a critique group and get feedback, then I revise my chapters a little more until they are good enough to submit to a literary agent or editor.

Selling your manuscript to a publisher takes even more persistence and tenacity. You have to have a tenacious spirit and a voice inside your head that says, "Never give up. Keep believing you'll get published." If you receive any rejections, just say "Next!" and move on to the next agent or publisher. Keep searching for ways to publish your book.

The reality is the process to selling your book to a publisher can take months to years. Self-publishing is faster, but still requires a lot of work, and a financial investment up front. After I completed writing my manuscript for SHADOWS IN THE MIST, within nine months of self-publishing, I was holding the published book in my hands. Once the book enters the publishing process, you work with an editor and proofreaders to make sure it's polished.

When the is book finally selling in bookstores or on Amazon, the author is required to promote the book so people will know it exists, and hopefully, buy a copy. Authors typically do book signings, radio interviews, blog interviews, sit on panels at conventions, speak to groups, and teach workshops, all while writing their next book.

So if you are an aspiring writer, and desire to be a published author promoting your very own books, instill in yourself a tenacious attitude that you will never give up. You will do whatever it takes to get your books written, published, and in the hands of readers. 

The most successful authors who have become bestsellers all have these two traits: persistence and tenacity.

Radio Interview: Writing Fiction - Plot

On this episode of the talk radio show Cover 2 Cover, host Michael Gray and I discuss developing fictional characters for stories.

You can listen to the radio show here:



Here are some of the topics Michael Gray and I will be discussing in other shows:

How I Write a Novel
Writing Fiction: Character Development
Turning Your Book into Multiple Products

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Brian Moreland's website: www.BrianMoreland.com
Michael Gray's website: www.TexasGhostWriter.com

Radio Interview: Writing Fiction - Character Development

On this episode of the talk radio show Cover 2 Cover, host Michael Gray and I discuss developing fictional characters for stories.

You can listen to the radio show here:



Here are some of the topics Michael Gray and I will be discussing in other shows:

How I Write a Novel
Writing Fiction: Plot
Turning Your Book into Multiple Products

-------------------------------------------------------
Brian Moreland's website: www.BrianMoreland.com
Michael Gray's website: www.TexasGhostWriter.com

Radio Interview: How I Write a Novel

On this episode of the talk radio show Cover 2 Cover, host Michael Gray and I discuss the steps I take to write a novel. I also published an article that goes with the radio interview called "How to Write a Novel in 12 Easy Steps."

You can listen to the radio show here:



Over the next several weeks I will be posting more radio shows talking about writing, publishing and marketing books. Here are some of the topics Michael Gray and I will be discussing:

Writing Fiction: Character Development
Writing Fiction: Plot
Turning Your Book into Multiple Products

-------------------------------------------------------
Brian Moreland's website: www.BrianMoreland.com
Michael Gray's website: www.TexasGhostWriter.com

What's on My Bookshelves

I was asked by a magazine to write an article about the books on my bookshelves and to provide some photos. Throughout my life, since I first discovered reading as a young boy, I've been a voracious reader. I'm sure you've seen the image of a boy under the covers reading by a flashlight; that was me. I remember feeling both fear and exhilaration at the same time--too enthralled to close the book, yet too terrified to pull the covers off to see what might be lurking in the dark with me. Reading activated my vivid and wild imagination and made monsters and killers and imaginary worlds feel so real, I felt like they were happening to me.

I started out with comic books, but it wasn't long before I discovered the secret joys of reading novels--especially scary ones. I read lots of fantasy, horror, mysteries, and adventure novels. Today I still read a lot of those genres, although my reading has expanded into literary fiction, historical fiction, and lots of non-fiction that inspire me to improve myself or my life in some way. For the sake of this article, I'll share what's on my horror shelves.

In my home office, I have a tall bookshelf that's stuffed with books. My top shelf is comprised of many well-worn paperbacks by some of my favorite authors--Brian Keene, Clive Barker, Dean Koontz, James Rollins, Jonathan Maberry, and Richard Laymon. As a writer always seeking to improve my craft, I like to pick an author and read several of his or her books at once. In college I studied Dean Koontz, Robert McCammon, John Saul, and Stephen King. A couple years ago, I was reading every Richard Laymon novel I could find. Right now I've been reading lots of Clive Barker. I had discovered his Books of Blood series as a teen and they are still some of my favorite stories. I'm also currently reading Clive Barker: The Dark Fantastique, his compelling biography written by Douglas E. Winter. I recommend this book to any horror fan, because Clive Barker not only writes some of the best-written horror fiction I've ever read, his prolific career of writing, painting, performing in plays, and making movies (like Hellraiser) is a true inspiration to any artist or writer. 

My middle shelf is a collection of random paperbacks that I've enjoyed. A few books worth reading: Ronald Malfi's Snow, Adam Nevill's The Ritual, David Wellington's Monster Island, Charlee Jacobs' Haunter and The Descent and it's sequel Deeper by Jeff Long. Also on display is my first mass paperback copy of my WII thriller Shadows in the Mist. Next to it is a sculpture of the monster in the book. An artist friend of mine who had access to a 3D printer made the sculpture of the Nazi with the mask and glowing red eyes. He first designed a 3D model on a computer, then this machine that usually was used for making sculptures of skulls made the Nazi. It started out solid white and then my friend painted it for me. There's only one of it in existence and it's very special to me.

My third shelf is where I keep reference books and non-fiction books on the craft of writing. Three books I've referred to for years are my dictionary, thesaurus, and my Chicago Manual of Style for the rules of editing (the big orange one far right). I believe that even when you've established yourself as an author, it's always important to keep improving your writing. In addition to studying the styles of other authors, I read lots of non-fiction books on the craft of writing. When I first started out, I read books that focused an entire book on one technique: plot, dialogue, creating characters, theme, and the art of storytelling. The first book that I read that showed me how to structure a novel was How to Write a Damn Good Novel by James N. Frey. Also, Stephen King's On Writing is an inspirational gem. For any fiction writer I highly recommend three books by Donald Maas: Fire in Fiction, Writing the Breakout Novel, and Writing 21st Century Fiction. For horror writers, I recommend: On Writing Horror, The Writer's Workshop of Horror, and especially How to Write Horror Fiction by William Nolan. The bobble-head of Dexter was a Christmas gift. I love me some Dexter.

On another shelf, I have a copy of Stephen King's Under the Dome and Nightmares & Dreamscapes (his photo facing me is a constant reminder that being a prolific writer and putting all your hours in typing up stories eventually pays off).

I also have a collection of signed copies of books by fellow Samhain Horror authors I've had the privilege of sitting next to at book signings. Some established and upcoming authors include: John Everson, Hunter Shea, Jonathan Janz, Kristopher Rufty, Ronald Malfi, Adam Cesare, Frazer Lee, Damien Walters Grintales, Russell James, David Bernstein, Mick Ridgewell, and W.D. Gagliani.

These are just a few of my books that have highly impacted my career as a horror fiction writer.

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Brian Moreland writes novels and short stories of horror and supernatural suspense. His books include Dead of Winter, Shadows in the Mist, The Girl from the Blood Coven, The Witching House, and The Devil’s Woods. The Vagrants comes out May 2014. Brian lives in Dallas, Texas where he is joyfully writing his next horror novel. You can join his mailing list at http://www.brianmoreland.com/

Dream Big and Make It Happen

Here is an article I published back in 2008 that I thought was worth reposting. For anyone aspiring to become a published author or taking your writing career to the next level, my wish is that you know that anything can happen when you dream big and dedicate yourself to achieving that dream.

Working your dream job takes courage, commitment, and tenacity. When that dream doesn't earn you money right away, it’s easy to get discouraged. You might question whether following this career is worth the effort. It seems like a huge mountain to climb. And there are no immediate rewards in sight. I say start climbing anyway. Just go for it. There are rewards at every level. Start doing what you love now and the money will one day follow.

Since beginning my path as a novelist, I faced a lot of hurdles. It took eighteen years before I began earning money as a fiction author. I could have been successful much earlier, but several times I gave up on myself. I took advice from people who only looked at the practical side of life. They didn’t strive beyond their comfort zones. They didn't see the point of me writing manuscript after manuscript and not getting paid for all the hours I spent typing at a computer, alone by myself. So those people became voices in my head that slowly, over time sapped my passion to continue. I quit climbing the mountain to my dream. I focused on working other jobs that actually paid a salary. I was making money, but inside a part of me felt empty, and it was only when I got back into writing in my mid thirties and pursuing my real dream--being a published author--that I was happy again. My dream stood before me like a giant mountain, so daunting I feared I could never reach the summit, but I started climbing anyway.

I had the fortune of meeting bestselling author Robert Crais at a book signing. He had just landed a huge Hollywood movie deal for his novel Hostage which stars Bruce Willis. I told Robert Crais that I was writing a novel and I wanted to be sitting where he was one day. He looked up from autographing a book and told me, “Then I’ll give you some advice. Never give up.” Those words stuck with me. I have since rephrased the motto to: “Never give up. Keep taking steps until you reach your goal. No matter what, stay persistent.” We can spend our whole lives making excuses, or we can start taking action now and just make it happen.

So I had a dream fueled by plenty of desire, but I still needed direction. I first listed my values. I asked myself, “What do I want most? What’s most important to me about my dream career?” I listed my values in simple words like: achievement, fun, seeing my books on bookstore shelves, sharing my writing with readers, receiving advances and royalty checks, hanging out with other writers, writing a bestselling novel, etc. And then I listed those values in order of importance. Prioritizing your values is key, because it causes your mind to focus on what’s most important to you. You feel an emotional boost. It empowers you and stokes your inner fire. Then as you begin taking steps toward doing what you love, you take the most important steps first.

Once I had my values listed, I had a new sense of purpose. A vision I could work toward. It was like filling my engine with rocket fuel. I was ready to blast off to a career that was more aligned with my truth. I posted my values on a wall so I’d see them every day. Then I wrote out specific goals, and chunked them down into small daily “action steps” I could accomplish easily. I continued writing, pushing myself daily, weekly, monthly to complete my manuscript. I read books on my craft and took classes so I could get better at it. I read books about other people’s success stories so I could believe that I could accomplish my goals, too. And I read about the publishing business. As a writer seeking to publish my novel with a major NY publisher, I needed a literary agent. I submitted query letters to countless agents over the span of ten years and received only rejection letters. At the time I felt like a failure, but I wasn’t. “Rejection,” as I later learned, is just a guiding post. Rejection guided me away from the wrong paths—the wrong people to do business with. In my vision, my literary agent was passionate about representing me and my books. Rejection is where a lot of people give up. I say, “Never give up. Keep taking steps until you reach your goal. No matter what, stay persistent.”

I eventually self-published my first novel, just to get it out there on the market. More important, to make being an author more real for me. Being your own publisher can be a very time-consuming venture. It was also a huge financial investment. It’s not necessarily the path for all writers, because it requires a business sense and entrepreneurial spirit. It’s also a very high risk of ever seeing a profit. If you don’t mind taking risks and hard work, then I recommend self-publishing as an alternative to getting a book to the market. For me, self-publishing is how I jump-started my career.

Within nine months my novel went from polished manuscript to a soft-cover book I could hold in my hands. Through great marketing efforts in tandem with a publicist I hired, the book sold relatively well. I began to do book signings and realized I had achieved one of my goals: to be like Robert Crais, the author autographing books. It was an awesome feeling.

When you pursue your dream 100%, there can be wonderful surprises that happen along the way. My WWII novel Shadows in the Mist hit number one on Amazon.com’s Bestselling Mystery and Thrillers list, stayed there a couple hours, beating out Dan Brown’s DaVinci Code. That was very surreal, let me tell you, and a victory I would have never experienced had I given up.

Self-publishing turned out to be a great way to launch my career, but it was always just a path toward my bigger dream of landing a book deal with a major NY publisher. I continued to pursue literary agents and eventually found an agent who catapulted my career to the next level. She sold Shadows in the Mist to Berkley/Penguin in New York for a mass paperback deal, as well as to a publisher in Germany. In 2010, a German version of my novel (titled SCHATTENKRIEGER) released in Austria and Germany. Within two years of self-publishing I became an international author. What was once a passionate hobby has finally become a career I take seriously. I have since published five other books through Samhain Horror. When you focus on your dream daily, you get there little by little. In fact, that has become a mantra in my head: “Little by little, little by little, little by little …”

We all have a calling. A life purpose. A reason we came onto this planet. What brings you joy? What do you dream of doing as your career? We can spend our days living mundane lives or we can do what gives us joy. My calling is novel writing and inspiring others to pursue their dreams. Life can be so joyful when you are doing what you love.

So if you're pursuing a dream that isn't paying you the big bucks just yet, keep going for it. Even if it’s just a hobby on the side. You may not see the top of the mountain right now, but keep climbing, one step at a time. Little by little. Focus a few hours each week on your dream career. Commit your weekends to it. You can accomplish anything with time and persistence. And when you reach the summit you can just smile to yourself and say, "I went for it, and I made it happen, and now I can do anything." Whatever your dream is, start taking steps toward it now and make it happen.

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To receive current news from Brian Moreland about his upcoming books and signings, sign up for his newsletter at http://www.BrianMoreland.com (scroll to the bottom of the homepage).

Book Release Party for THE WITCHING HOUSE and OAK HOLLOW on Facebook

Tuesday, August 6th, my novella The Witching House releases as an e-book for all e-readers.

Join Sarah Donovan and her friends as they explore a boarded-up house hidden deep in the East Texas woods that had once belonged to a coven of witches. 

"Witchcraft, sacrifices, an abandoned house and a thing that has hungered for decades set the stage for this must-read expedition to The Witching House. The best advice anyone could offer a visitor is: Don’t go in the attic, don’t go in the bedrooms, but don’t, under any circumstances, go in the basement. You won’t come out the same...if you come out at all."

—John Everson, author of NightWhere and Violet Eyes

"The Witching House represents Brian Moreland at his frantic, bloody best. He takes a clutch of highly-sexed characters and their dark secrets, plunges them into a historical house of horrors, and gleefully throws away the key as all hell breaks loose!"

—Frazer Lee, author of The Lamplighters and The Lucifer Glass

“Moreland’s prose is as strong it’s ever been here, breathing life into memorable characters and assembling a disastrous wall that’s sure to come crumbling down in the pages of The Witching House.”

—Matt Molgaard, Horror Novel Reviews

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Also, that Tuesday night, at 9 PM Eastern Time, I'll be celebrating at a joint book release party on Facebook with author Kristopher Rufty. His horror novel OAK HOLLOW releases the same day.

Come join us Tuesday night, Aug. 6th at this Facebook link:

https://www.facebook.com/events/211105749048244/

Ask us questions, share your thoughts or just hang out with us. I appreciate your support,

Brian