About Patrick Szabo:
Patrick Szabo has been writing stories and novels for over two decades. His day job is driving truck and he writes in the mornings and night. He gets a few minutes of sleep between the two careers.
Originally an army brat from Ohio, he lived in Germany for 10 months, and then his father got stationed in Fort Jackson, SC. Patrick spent the next eight years in Columbia, SC and moved back to Ohio in 1990.
He has lived there ever since.
What inspires you to write?
I have always loved telling stories. When I was a kid I used to write and (badly) draw my own comic books, using existing characters. I then moved on to short stories and finally novels. I just feel a need to write everything down and then hammer into a good tale.
Tell us about your writing process.
For the most part I am a pantser. I have an idea and then I just sit down and write. The one time I used an outline screwed everything up and the story never got finished.
I open up Scrivener, turn on some tunes, and write. I blast through the first draft pretty quickly then send it off to the editor and fix what needs to be fixed. It’s a pretty straight-forward process.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I’ve gotten into arguments with my main character. heh heh. “I need you to do this, MC.” “Well, Mr. Writer-Man, I don’t WANT to do this, I want to do THAT.” “Grumble grumble. Fine!”
It usually works out best to let the characters do and say what they want. They know better, ultimately.
What advice would you give other writers?
This is going to sound trite, but it’s so true: you must write! Every day. Read craft books, learn your weaknesses as a storyteller and fix them. Find a writers group.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I thought about going the traditional route: looking for an agent, querying publishers. But the more I looked into my options the better self-publishing sounded so I took that path. I like having complete control over my career.
New authors should explore everything. Some feel the need to just write and let someone else take it from there (which is perfectly fine). Others, like myself, enjoy having total control over every aspect of publishing a book. It’s challenging but more than worth it, in my opinion. But research everything and then make your choice.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I wish I knew. Everything is still in such a state of flux that it’s hard to to say with any kind of certainty. There will always be traditional publishers but they are going to have to change the way they do business if they want to thrive.
What do you use?: Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer, Beta Readers
What genres do you write?: YA, horror, Urban Fantasy
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Patrick Szabo Home Page Link
Link To Patrick Szabo Page On Amazon
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