About Matthew Butler:
Matthew grew up in Zimbabwe. After a short time at Oxford (England), he left to Australia where he currently lives. He is CMO of a large public company, a Certified Chartered Accountant, a Graphic Designer and a User Experience expert.
What inspires you to write?
The creative process itself is what inspires me. To create a work that others might enjoy, talk about and be inspired from in turn is what drives me more than anything else.
Tell us about your writing process.
I do start with a basic outline. I enjoy writing with a pen until I’m comfortable with each chapter and the general feel of the book. Throughout the actual writing process I have these notes beside me, but I’m not afraid to be a ‘seat of the pants’ writer either and I will certainly make radical changes on the fly if I think the book suits it.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I usually draw sketches of my world (you can find these sketches at the beginning of each of my chapters). For my book I also drew a detailed map and illustrated the front cover. I did all of this while I as still in the middle of writing my book, and thus I would find myself more engaged, with my characters and the environment in which they live. Also it certainly helps I find to have a tone of voice, or personality that I can play inside my head for each character to make sure it ‘suits’ them!
What advice would you give other writers?
Just write, write, write write. Don’t worry so much about making it perfect. Once you get to the end of your book you can spend longer editing, but at least you have something to work with then that you probably won’t walk away from permanently until it’s done!
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I decided to self-publish. I think the world is changing and more control of your work is the way to go. Ultimately I believe the readers will decide on whether the book is good or not, so I believe in them more than massive marketing campaigns!
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
It’s self publishing. But I don’t think print will die, it will exist along with kindle. I think audible books will grow in popularity.
What do you use?: Professional Editor
What genres do you write?: Adventure, Fantasy, Children, Young Adult
What formats are your books in?: eBook, Print, Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Matthew Butler Home Page Link
Link To Matthew Butler Page On Amazon
