I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Vicki Tiede, author of When Your Husband is Addicted to Pornography (New Growth Press, 2012). One of my favorite questions to ask published authors is what their advice is for aspiring authors. Here is what Vicki had to say:

Q:  Let me close with a final question I ask of all published authors. What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

A:  Write. I have so many people tell me they want to write, but when I ask what they’ve written, they can’t really say. Figure out your niche, find your audience, then get started. Maybe you will start small with articles for the church newsletter, then build to a blog or a guest column in the newspaper. My first published pieces were for devotionals to which I was a contributing author. They were super short, but seeing my pieces published in a book gave me the confidence I needed to tackle larger things. I jumped right into writing books, some of which will never see the light of day (and for that we can both be grateful)! The bottom line though is that you have to park yourself in that computer chair, get your hands on the keyboard, and write.

Read. Be a voracious reader and take notes. I have a running list of “words I like.” They are words, phrases, analogies that tickle my fancy. I write them in my iPhone and wait for the perfect place to use them. The wider read I am, the more ideas I have percolating for my next project.

Pray. I truly ask God to help me represent Him well no matter what I’m writing. I don’t think you can go wrong if you do that every time you sit down to write. While you’re at it, you can pray that He will put whatever you’re writing into the hands of those who need it most. For the last three years, that’s been my daily prayer for When Your Husband is Addicted to Pornography.

You can read my interview with Vicki in its entirety at Bible Geek Gone Wild. If you’d like to learn more about Vicki and her writing, visit her website: vickitiede.com, follow her on Twitter: @VickiTiede, and Like her Facebook page: www.facebook.com/VTiede.

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Bill Foster, author of Meet the Skeptic: A Field Guide to Faith Conversations (Master Books, 2012). One of my favorite questions to ask published authors is what their advice is for new and aspiring authors. Here is what Bill had to say:

Q:  Let me close with a final question I ask of all published authors. What advice would you give to first time / aspiring authors?

A: Be honest with yourself about your passion and your aptitude. Just because you have a passion for something doesn’t mean you should write about it.

Before New Leaf Publishing called, I self-published Meet the Skeptic the first time because I was equipped to do that. I have a passion for apologetics, a degree in English, and am professionally trained in designing and producing media. But if you can’t produce a book in a professional manner on your own, don’t self-publish it. Assess the uniqueness of your subject, craft your writing, and pray for direction pursuing publishing opportunities.

Lastly, there will be times when you will get sick of writing your book and think that nobody will read it. I definitely did, and I think this is normal. Take a break. Then if God is still fanning the flames, keep going.

You can read my interview with Bill in its entirety at Bible Geek Gone Wild. Those interested in learning more about Bill can find him on the web at MeetTheSkeptic.com.

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Anthony Weber, author of Learning to Jump Again (WestBow Press, 2011). One of my favorite questions to ask published authors is what their advice is for new and aspiring authors.  Here is what Anthony had to say:

Q:  
What advice would you give to first time / aspiring authors?

A: 1) This is not original, but it’s true: write what you know. If it doesn’t flow out of you, let someone else write it.

2) Writing is easier than publishing. If your manuscript is “unsolicited,” you have your work cut out for you. Be sure you are committed.

3) If you can afford to have someone else do your publicity, do it. I am not able to do that, so I am on what I call my “Shameless Self-Promotion Tour.” I basically have to go to everybody and say, “Hey, you should read my book because it’s really awesome!” That’s awkward.  Once the New Year rolls around, I think I’ll change the name to “Toot My Own Horn 2012.”

You can read the interview in its entirety at Bible Geek Gone Wild. Those interested in learning more about Anthony can follow him on the web at learningtojumpagain.com, learningtojump.blogspot.com, and facebook.

Books by Anthony Weber:

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Julie Cave, author of the Dinah Harris Mystery series published by Master Books. One of my favorite questions to ask published authors is what their advice is for new and aspiring authors.  Here is what Julie had to say:

Q: What advice would you give to first time / aspiring authors?

A: Always keep writing; it is a great opportunity to further practice and hone your skills. Work out who your target market is and what your hook is – in other words, why your books will be different from anything else on the market. Begin to build a presence, particularly in the online environment, through social media. Think of your writing not just in creative terms, but in business terms too: how will you sell your books? To whom? Keep learning from authors you admire. Pray for guidance. Finally, never give up!

You can read the interview in its entirety at Bible Geek Gone Wild. Those interested in learning more about Julie and her writing can follow her  on the web at JulieCave.com, facebook, and twitter.

Books by Julie Cave: