About GJ Stevens:
GJ Stevens started writing fiction at the age of thirty. He describes his style of writing as popular fiction which usually has some sort of Sci-Fi or paranormal element, but he is on a journey and won’t pigeonhole himself into one genre. Even as a degree level engineer with a large family and a full time career in a serious profession with plenty of adult responsibilities, he has always had an artistic and creative side. After years of self-suppression, the flood gates opened and his novel, In The End, is the culmination of many years of finding time from nowhere to learn the craft.
Whilst working to self-publish his first novel, GJ, real name Gareth, chose to document his publishing journey in an open-book and honest fashion and through his blog he lays bare his journey, detailing his mistakes and the findings of his research as he treads his way into publishing.
As a lover of the outdoors, every year he spends weekends out in the desolate countryside of the UK hiking and camping with his long-time friends which he uses as inspiration for both his creative fiction works and the subject of many a blog post. GJ Stevens is on the beginning of his publishing journey and wants to share the highs and lows with anyone who will listen.
What inspires you to write?
Although I write for enjoyment, there is nothing better than the satisfaction you can get from reading something you wrote and feeling proud of the prose, my readers comments and enthusiasm inspire me to write more.
Tell us about your writing process.
I absolutely fly by the seat of my pants, especially when I start a new series of books. If it's a continuation then all I maybe know is where I have to get to at the end of the novel. My characters grow through reacting to the many pitfalls and obstacles I place in front of them. I use Scrivener for getting the words down on the pages, at least an hour a day and then move on to MS Word for formatting and when it goes off for editing. I often will write a chapter and send it to one of my first readers, then I will leave it fundamentally unchanged as the novel develops.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
My characters actions are their own. I don't talk to them, but their actions come to me as I write. I vary rarely have to ponder a situation to see how they will get around whatever trouble they're in.
What advice would you give other writers?
I talk to a lot of other writers and I think the best advice I have every received would be to ensure you write for yourself and you write to have fun. If you don't enjoy what you're writing then how can anyone else enjoy reading it.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
My novel In The End is my first published book, but I have written six novels previously. I touted my first novel to multiple agents and that was not fun. I wrote In The End for fun and decided I would independently publish which gave me full control and allows me to keep the stress out the process. I knew nothing about publishing so I set about asking as many authors as I could and I documented the entire process on my blog. You can see not only all the decisions I made and am still making, but other information in the form of interviews with authors and other publishing professionals such as agents and editors. I would advise any new authors check it out.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think there will always be the big publishers but these will publish less and less books, leaving the masses to publish themselves. I know so many independently published authors who are outselling the majority of traditionally published books and because they don't have a major overhead, they're making a lot of money whilst doing it!
What do you use?: Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer
What genres do you write?: Horror, Thrillers, Post-apocalyptic
What formats are your books in?: eBook, Print, Both eBook and Print, Audiobook
Website(s)
GJ Stevens Home Page Link
Link To GJ Stevens Page On Amazon
Link to Author Page on All Author
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
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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.
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