Author Bio:
Christopher D. Votey was born in Dayton Ohio. He moved to Arizona when he was 3 and lived there ever since. He has had a lifelong ambition to be a writer, but felt it was important to live life before writing about life. In 2012, he suffered a work related injury that left him disabled. In November of 2013, he took a chance at NaNo and was successful and has decided to launch his career. While still disabled, he works hard to making stories and being active in the writers community. He is also active on his blog.
What inspires you to write?
For me, writing is a means of therapy in hopes of recovering from my disability. I’ve always had a story to tell in my head and for years would create fictional universes for fun. Now, I want to share my stories with everyone.
Tell us about your writing process.
I start with a basic synopsis of what I have thought up so far. I often don’t think about the ending. I spend a few months thinking of my story and what I would like to see in the story, and will write down notes about things I think of. Then I will design my character: get their names, functions in the story, actions they preform, and relationships to other characters.
Next I open up Notepad in Windows and start writing. I write as fast as I can to get to the ending, ignoring my need to edit or proofread. Once I’m done with my first draft, I go back and edit it and fix all the problems. For my 3rd draft I use Grammarly.com to edit the grammar. I give one more read through then I convert it to HTML and manually code mobi and epub files.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I let the character tell the story. I see myself more as a fly on the wall writing down what is happening. Sometimes, which I am trying to figure out words characters say, I will reenact the scene where I play all the characters (including the females) and try to develop natural dialog.
What advice would you give other writers?
Start marketing yourself before you first book is written.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I’ve studied the book industry for many years prior to start writing again, and I disliked how I would have to jump through hoops to accomplish what I wanted. I heard success stories of writers who self-published and was approached by publishers to sign with them. That is why I chose the self-publishing route, in the desire to attract my own fans and then attempt traditional publishing once I had a following.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I’ve heard that there is a drop in sales for ebooks. This doesn’t scare me. I think those who look at writing as a long term have the better chances of success. That being said, I think there will always be people who want to read and people who want to own books. I do think ebooks will continue to be the future.
What do you use?
Beta Readers
What genres do you write?
Science Fiction, Fantasy, Urban Fiction, Paranormal Science Fiction
What formats are your books in?
eBook
Website(s)
Christopher D. Votey Home Page Link
Link To Christopher D. Votey Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7733607.Christopher_D_Votey
https://www.facebook.com/ChristopherDVotey
https://twitter.com/authorvotey
