Ask the Author: Michael Alan Peck
Answered Questions (4)
Michael Alan Peck
Hi, ❀Aimee❀, and thanks for the question!
The good news is that the Commons series' second book, which will be called The Margins, is fully under way, with a great collection of interconnected tales involving old friends from the first book, minor characters who'll be major in this one, and a few who are entirely new.
The not-so-good is that given the constraints of life and time, I'm realistically expecting that book to be ready to go (written, edited, designed) in somewhere between two and two and a half years. I know, I know—that sounds like a ridiculously long time, doesn't it? But I tend to be a meticulous outliner. And while my first draft will take about a year to write, I'm guessing, the editing process takes just as much time, if not more.
All of that comes off as one big excuse, I'm afraid. But I want to put out the absolute best books I can so that I don't let any readers down.
And the short answer, I suppose, is: I'm kind of slow. But I'm confident it'll be worth it.
Thanks again for the interest, ❀Aimee❀, and thanks in advance for your patience.
The good news is that the Commons series' second book, which will be called The Margins, is fully under way, with a great collection of interconnected tales involving old friends from the first book, minor characters who'll be major in this one, and a few who are entirely new.
The not-so-good is that given the constraints of life and time, I'm realistically expecting that book to be ready to go (written, edited, designed) in somewhere between two and two and a half years. I know, I know—that sounds like a ridiculously long time, doesn't it? But I tend to be a meticulous outliner. And while my first draft will take about a year to write, I'm guessing, the editing process takes just as much time, if not more.
All of that comes off as one big excuse, I'm afraid. But I want to put out the absolute best books I can so that I don't let any readers down.
And the short answer, I suppose, is: I'm kind of slow. But I'm confident it'll be worth it.
Thanks again for the interest, ❀Aimee❀, and thanks in advance for your patience.
Michael Alan Peck
It wasn't hard, Marie, but there's no question that it was a lot of hard work. As I'm sure you know, however, there's work and then there's work. The second kind is the work you have to do, even if you don't enjoy it, while the first is a labor of love. And writing a book, for me, is most definitely the first kind. If it weren't, I wouldn't be able to do it.
I self-published my novel because I wanted as little as possible to come between me and the reader. When I was writing screenplays and trying to break into Hollywood, I was the last person in line in terms of influencing how my own creation would take shape. My agent and manager had more power than I did, as did the producers and many others in the food chain. So when I decided to write fiction, I was very happy to discover the self-publishing option.
With self-publishing, I'm able to hire the same editors and designers the publishing houses use, but there's one important distinction: I have final say over what ends up in the reader's hands. And that makes all the difference to me. When you journey to The Commons, you're seeing the world and its characters as I wrote them. If you love them, I've succeeded. If you don't, then at least I know I'm responsible for that and not someone who forced a change I didn't agree with.
That's my promise to you, the reader. What you see is what I created. And that's what keeps me creating more.
I self-published my novel because I wanted as little as possible to come between me and the reader. When I was writing screenplays and trying to break into Hollywood, I was the last person in line in terms of influencing how my own creation would take shape. My agent and manager had more power than I did, as did the producers and many others in the food chain. So when I decided to write fiction, I was very happy to discover the self-publishing option.
With self-publishing, I'm able to hire the same editors and designers the publishing houses use, but there's one important distinction: I have final say over what ends up in the reader's hands. And that makes all the difference to me. When you journey to The Commons, you're seeing the world and its characters as I wrote them. If you love them, I've succeeded. If you don't, then at least I know I'm responsible for that and not someone who forced a change I didn't agree with.
That's my promise to you, the reader. What you see is what I created. And that's what keeps me creating more.
Michael Alan Peck
Hi, Desiree—
First off, thanks very much for you interest, and best of luck in the contest. I don't have any immediate plans for book swag, no, but I definitely have it in mind for the future. Just so I know, though: what's your favorite swag? What do you find the most useful?
First off, thanks very much for you interest, and best of luck in the contest. I don't have any immediate plans for book swag, no, but I definitely have it in mind for the future. Just so I know, though: what's your favorite swag? What do you find the most useful?
Michael Alan Peck
The world of The Commons has been gestating for years, starting way back in the '90s, when I took my first class (at New York's Gotham Writers Workshop). I had no name for it and had only random pieces of the overall idea. When I moved to Los Angeles to try and break into TV writing and screenwriting, the idea became more fully fleshed out, and I developed it into a screenplay. My agent at the time loved it and got me a bunch of meetings, but it never sold.
That, as it turns out, was the best thing that could have happened with it. Years later, I went back to the idea of turning it into fiction. I went deeper into the questions I wanted to explore: Is dying the end of us? Is it the end of our ideas and creations, our dreams and our fantasies? If not, what happens to them? And what would happen if someone came along and highjacked the structure underlying the whole thing?
Soon I was off and running, and I quickly realized that this would not be a single book. Instead, I could create a world that was the fiction equivalent of Marvel Comics, where an initial trilogy could then be followed with standalone novels, short stories, graphic novels, and whatever else I could come up with.
The Journeyman is just the beginning, and I have so many ideas for the trilogy and beyond that right now, my biggest challenge is simply organizing them. I know where it's going, in terms of the big picture. But I think I'll surprise even myself as I work it into its final version. If I get it right, the reader will be as excited about it as I am.
That, as it turns out, was the best thing that could have happened with it. Years later, I went back to the idea of turning it into fiction. I went deeper into the questions I wanted to explore: Is dying the end of us? Is it the end of our ideas and creations, our dreams and our fantasies? If not, what happens to them? And what would happen if someone came along and highjacked the structure underlying the whole thing?
Soon I was off and running, and I quickly realized that this would not be a single book. Instead, I could create a world that was the fiction equivalent of Marvel Comics, where an initial trilogy could then be followed with standalone novels, short stories, graphic novels, and whatever else I could come up with.
The Journeyman is just the beginning, and I have so many ideas for the trilogy and beyond that right now, my biggest challenge is simply organizing them. I know where it's going, in terms of the big picture. But I think I'll surprise even myself as I work it into its final version. If I get it right, the reader will be as excited about it as I am.
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