About Vanessa Morgan:
Vanessa Morgan is an author, screenwriter, and blogger. Two of her works, The Strangers Outside and A Good Man, have been turned into films. Her short film script Next to Her is currently in pre-production. When she’s not working on her latest book, you can find her reading, watching horror movies, digging through flea markets, or photographing felines for her blog Traveling Cats. She lives in Belgium.
What inspires you to write?
Having seen As I Lay Dying on stage in London. I wouldn’t be an author without it. As I Lay Dying inspired me to write stories with the same emotional impact.
Tell us about your writing process.
I started my writing career as a plotter, but I quickly noticed that plotting blocks my creativity and makes my stories contrived. If I just write and see what happens (with a vague idea of where I’m going in the back of my mind), my writing becomes fresher and more original. Sure, there’s more work to get it right in the end, but the process is worth it.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
Worse. I become my characters.
What advice would you give other writers?
Keep improving yourself. Keep learning about your craft and about book marketing. Think hard about the emotional impact you want your stories to have and work consistently in that direction. Many self-published works are forgettable because the emotional impact is missing. A book can be well-written, original, and smart, but if the reader doesn’t feel anything, the book won’t have any potential. And no DIY book covers, please.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I first came into contact with self-publishing with my supernatural short story The Strangers Outside. I was asked to contribute it to an anthology. However, that anthology never saw the light of day. I still wanted the story to be read, so I published it on Amazon Kindle. Suddenly I was making more money from my short story than from the novel I published traditionally. The financial rewards, the creative freedom, and the advantage to publish your books whenever you want, makes me want to stick with this type of publishing. It’s really nothing more than owning your own business compared to working for someone else; you create a product and sell it.
That being said, you’re not a superhuman. You can’t do it all by yourself and do everything perfectly. There will always be things others will do better. Therefor, I’m always using a professional editor and cover designer. Beta-readers are important, too. I noticed the impact of other opinions on my writing when my screenplays A Good Man and Next to Her were adapted for the screen. The screenplays were good to start with, but as I started improving the stories with the directors and producers, I got them to a complete new level of quality.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I really have no idea.
What do you use?: Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer, Beta Readers
What genres do you write?: supernatural suspense, horror, pet books, movies
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Vanessa Morgan Home Page Link
Link To Vanessa Morgan Page On Amazon
Link to Author Page on other site
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
LinkedIn
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.
