Interview with Brock Eastman - Part 2

Thanks for sticking around for Part 2 of this interview with author Brock Eastman, author of Howlsage, one of the favorites in my classroom!

 

As of this writing, it looks like the KickStarter campaign is 90% funded right now with just over a day left! If you haven't checked it out, click here to see how you can help get some great books published!

 

 

 

Here is the rest of my interview with Brock --

 

5.       How has KickStarter changed the book/publishing world?

Crowdfunding platforms like KickStarter have done something really amazing and exciting for the publishing world, or for that matter, creators in general. KickStarter brings the consumer and the creator into a partnership unlike before. In the case of book publishing, authors rally their readers with exciting opportunities and special editions of their latest series.

In this way series that might be turned down by a publisher come to life because an author’s readers get behind it and fund the creation, which might include editing, typesetting, cover creation, printing, and distribution. It’s true teamwork.

Most books come to be because an author’s work somehow finds itself out of an agent’s slush pile and onto their desk, then the agent takes the work to a whole lot of publishers and hopefully the manuscript and proposal find their way in front of an acquisitions team, which then selects what books will get published, finally it goes through extensive editing and will be given some sort of promotion to get it on to bookstore shelves. It involves a lot of competition and a lot of people’s opinions.

But with Crowdfunding the author and their readers create something together. The readers will always remember they helped make it happen and therefore the series means even more to them, and the author will always be grateful to their audience who made it all possible. It really is a win-win for everyone.

And that’s why I chose to launch a KickStarter to finish Sages of Darkness. HowlSage came out back in 2011, and my readers have been left in the lurch since then waiting to read what happens to Taylor and Ike. I’ve received so many questions and comments in regards to the series and the next book, that it was finally time to do it. But I needed funds to commission the editing of the books, so I turned to KickStarter.

The fun thing is, I got to come up with all sorts of rewards for my readers that get them involved in the creation. From something as little as $5 to get your name listed in the back of the book, to $250 and having a minor character named for you, or even $750 to have one of the remaining two books dedicated to you. There are of course many other rewards, like e-books, paperbacks, and dust jackets of the series as well as Skype conversations and Novel Proposal reviews.

6.       What authors do you currently enjoy reading?

The last book I read was The Rule of Three by Eric Walters, but I also like Patrick Carman (Skeleton Creek and Thirteen Days to Midnight), Donita K. Paul (Dragon Keeper Chronicles), Veronica Roth (Divergent trilogy), Aaron Becker (Journey and Quest), Frank Peretti (This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness), and also Carl Hiaasen (Chomp and Hoot.) But really I am so busy editing and writing, that it can be hard for me to dig in and read a book. I tend to get so into a story I can’t stop until I am done.

 

7.       Any advice for young authors?

Number one: JUST FINISH! I think the biggest problem I see is kids have great ideas, but they don’t want to write the whole story. One chapter isn’t a book; ideas on paper aren’t a book--you need to write the story from beginning to end. Don’t even edit the first time; just write your whole story from start to finish. When you have the full story, it’s easier to pull it apart and revise it into a great story. It’s like most anything you buy, version 1 is usually not as great as version 2 and 3. But version 2 and 3 wouldn’t be possible without a complete working version 1. There will be plenty of time to go back and clean it up. JUST FINISH!

I’d add, don’t let your first critique get you down; don’t let any critique get you down. Use criticisms positive or negative to dig in and make your story better. I received some hard criticism when I first started writing; I took it to heart and stopped writing. Eventually I shook it off and continued to finish my book. And what do you know, I got published. I believe that if you tell the story God wants you to, then it’s going to find its home with a publisher. If God is in it, success will follow.