Author Bio:
I never wanted to be a writer, not at a young age anyway. My imagination was too busy being used for other things.
You see I grew up with the release of films like Starwars and Tron. I played Dungeons and Dragons. The home computer became wide spread. My favourite books were the Fighting Fantasy series by Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson. I read White Dwarf magazine in the days when it covered more than just Games workshop products.
All this formed my great love of Fantasy and Science Fiction. But it took a long time before I decided I had a story in me that could really make a great book.
George and the Dragon is that book. Now I’ve written and published one book I realise there are so many stories for me to tell.
What inspires you to write?
A love of fantasy and science fiction coupled with an over-active imagination. Also once you’ve written one book you know you can do it and want to write a second and a third.
Tell us about your writing process.
I used to be a write it and see what comes out type of person and this has stood me in good stead. However, I recognise that if I want to write more and produce more publishable works then my writing has to be more structured.
To that end I have switched to writing a chapter synopsis for the novel before I start writing it. Sometimes I can’t finish the synopsis because I don’t have all the answers yet but it gives me a good structure to start with.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I see what they are getting up to but I don’t interact with them. In my mind I’m the camera and always third person watching everything unfold. I can switch from location to location and character to character quickly in mind, I suspect this comes across in my writing.
What advice would you give other writers?
Finish your first draft. That’s the big one. It doesn’t have to be good it just has to be written.
Then start building your author platform while you’re rewriting, editing and proof reading.
All four of the above are really important you platform is just as important to your sales as your finished novel that you are trying to sell.
Get a professional book cover made. When your book is sitting on the electronic shelf next to all those books that have great covers make sure yours doesn’t look like an amateurish mess. Book covers are the first thing a prospective buyer sees make yours sell your book.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I did a lot of reading of stuff written on line and a decided I’d go the route of self-publish and the hope to prove my book has what it takes to get picked up by a big publisher.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think it’s in great health. There’s going to be some kind of quality control shift with digital books, probably on the reviews side to make them more trustworthy. I think the consumer is smart and wants to know they are buying a great book not one the authors friends and family were coerced into saying was great.
What do you use?
Beta Readers
What genres do you write?
Fantasy, Science Fiction,Cyberpunk,Steampunk
What formats are your books in?
eBook
Website(s)
Philip Tolhurst Home Page Link
Link To Philip Tolhurst Page On Amazon
Link to Author Page on other site
Your Social Media Links
https://www.goodreads.com/PhilTolhurst
https://www.facebook.com/philtolhurst
https://twitter.com/PhilipTolhurst
http://www.pinterest.com/philiptolhurst/
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