About Frank Calderon:
I’m married and I have a son and a dog. I’m a Christian (Catholic) and that’s a very important part of my life. I enjoy spending time with my family, reading the Bible, goofing off on the Internet, graphic design, writing, cooking (and eating!), fishing, and reading.
What else can I tell you about myself? I was in the Army a few years after graduating high school, then I went to college full time (I have a Bachelor’s degree in Communication from Florida International University). My parents are from Cuba so I’m fluent in Spanish.
Professionally, I’ve worked in radio a few years but mostly I’ve worked in advertising and public relations, primarily as a writer. But I have also worked around printers and graphic artists, as well as with video and broadcasting folks.
What inspires you to write?
I’ll start off by saying Jesus is my number one inspiration, for writing and everything else. Additionally, I love the language. I’m fascinated by the English language and enjoy finding new ways to express myself with it. Most recently, I’ve become fascinated with graphic design and so I have started working on coloring books for adults. But believe it or not, there is some writing involved with them.
Tell us about your writing process.
I’d say I’m more of a “seat of the pants” writer. I must admit though that I sometimes find working from an outline is helpful, particularly when writing non-fictional, instructional-type pieces.
My writing process starts when I first decide I’m going to write about something. I’ll get snippets of ideas in my head as I go about getting ready for the day, in the shower, on the commute to my day job, during breaks at my day job, and so on.
I usually get to sit down to write what I want to write late in the evening (my day at the day job consists of writing what my employer wants me to write, and a myriad of administrative tasks). By then, all the idea snippets I’ve had floating around in my head come out and I’m able to write whatever it is I wanted to write.
What advice would you give other writers?
Read and write. They are the two sides of the coin known as writing. Read as much as possible, fiction and non-fiction, regardless of the genre you write in. That way you’ll be exposed to different writing styles, techniques, and usage of language.
Then of course, you also have to write. You have to practice your craft to perfect it (although it will never be perfect). And then go back and edit, edit, edit. One of the most important things about writing I’ve learned as a writer shocked me when I was first told to do it: cut as many words as you can out of what you wrote in the first draft. Try to say what you have to say in the fewest words possible. Go back and reread, and rewrite, what you’ve written. I learned that the best writers of all time–such as Hemingway, among others–will revise their work numerous times before they get to a final version.
Heck, I’ve gone back several times and redone what I wrote here.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I went with self-publishing because it offers me a great deal of flexibility as far as time is concerned. And I need this flexibility because of my schedule. I often can’t write until late in the evening, which only gives me a few hours a day to write. This makes it difficult for me to make a deadline imposed by a publisher.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think we’ll continue to see books get published into the foreseeable future, basically because there is an always an audience for them. Whether it’s fiction or non-fiction–as long as there is demand for the specific genre you specialize in–there will always be an audience hungry for the right books.
Furthermore, I think we’ll continue to see publishing of hard copy books because we humans love to hold them in our hands. That said, we will also continue to see growing demand for electronic books (think Kindle and iPad) as new generations grow comfortable with the use of electronic readers and other devices.
What genres do you write?: For now, cookbooks and coloring books.
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Frank Calderon Home Page Link
Link to Author Page on Amazon
Your Social Media Links
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit, to allow you, the reader, to hear the author in their own voice.
