About Werner Stejskal:
Born in Vienna, Austria, Werner is now living in the paradise of Perth, Australia with his wife, two married children and three grandchildren. He worked many years in the printing industry and later for the United Nations in Vienna. His wife had been a pen-friend, whom Werner visited in Hong Kong and finally got married to. After an eventful life, now retired, he began to write children’s stories, had them illustrated through Odesk, narrated them himself for YouTube and finally published the ebooks on most platforms. Werner’s dream is to see “Oliver and Jumpy” animated as a TV series.
What inspires you to write?
There are lots of fairy tales and bedtime stories around and many of them quite violent. This made Werner decide to write something different. On a flight from Europe to Australia he watched the movie Magic on Belle Island with Morgan Freeman, where Freeman teaches a little girl to have imagination and write her first story. This inspired Werner as well and the first stories with his two characters Oliver, the elegant tomcat, and Jumpy, his kangaroo lady friend, made their appearance. Some very capable illustrators have helped to create this picture book series.
Tell us about your writing process.
Considering my stories are just 500 words each as picture book text, I simply sit down and think up a scenario for a new story involving my main characters and start writing. The outline is in my imagination. I see the stories in pictures and then describe the action there.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I am my main character Oliver the cat. He is doing things I can only dream about!
What advice would you give other writers?
There are two main points I would like to stress. Consider writing to be your business right at the beginning and treat it as such. There are tax advantages as well! The second point is to start promoting your book as early as possible. Build your social networks early on, choosing a relevant audience for your coming up book.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I did not want to go traditional, so I chose self-publishing. There are less and less bookshops out there and the possibility to sell picture books through established channels is disappearing quickly. To find a publisher is too bothersome and even if you find one after years of canvassing, you still end up doing your own promotional work. I rather took the whole process into my own hands. I wrote the stories, hired illustrators, and published through Createspace. I am using the help of an aggregator to service various ebook platforms.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
Printed books will be a niche market, just like records. Book shops will possibly do Print-on-demand in future for those who need a physical book. Amazon is already doing that. It simply will not be economical to print a certain number of books and store them until sold. Most end up being sold off cheaply. Any reference books are already outdated. Google does that job. Newspapers are selling to coffee shops and libraries. Who still gets them delivered? I have up to date news on the tablet! It does not take a crystal ball to look into the future. Most people see what the WANT to see, but it is not going to play out like that!
What genres do you write?: Children’s book series
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Werner Stejskal Home Page Link
Link To Werner Stejskal Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
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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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