Ask the Author: Kep Lagrange
Answered Questions (3)
Kep Lagrange
There's no such thing as an "aspiring writer". You either write, or you don't. If you write (and it doesn't matter what you write) then you're a writer.
Now, an "aspiring author" is a very different thing. This is someone who wants to make their finished book available to readers. Most people call this "published", but the lines are blurred as to what being published means, with the various forms of electronic and self-publishing changing the industry and how readers access and enjoy books.
My advice for aspiring authors is simple:
Don't give up.
Whether you choose to self-publish (like I did), or choose the traditional (legacy) route by trying to get signed with a book publisher doesn't really matter.
What does matter is that you continue to write, write, rewrite, edit, write some more, edit, edit, edit - and keep doing it until your book is finished and you can't improve it any further without endangering your sanity and that of those around you.
Then put the book away for a month before reading it and editing all over again. And get other people to read it and suggest changes. Edit again.
Make sure what you publish is at the limit of your talent and abilities at that point in time - your absolute best possible work.
And start working on the next one...
Now, an "aspiring author" is a very different thing. This is someone who wants to make their finished book available to readers. Most people call this "published", but the lines are blurred as to what being published means, with the various forms of electronic and self-publishing changing the industry and how readers access and enjoy books.
My advice for aspiring authors is simple:
Don't give up.
Whether you choose to self-publish (like I did), or choose the traditional (legacy) route by trying to get signed with a book publisher doesn't really matter.
What does matter is that you continue to write, write, rewrite, edit, write some more, edit, edit, edit - and keep doing it until your book is finished and you can't improve it any further without endangering your sanity and that of those around you.
Then put the book away for a month before reading it and editing all over again. And get other people to read it and suggest changes. Edit again.
Make sure what you publish is at the limit of your talent and abilities at that point in time - your absolute best possible work.
And start working on the next one...
Kep Lagrange
I'm currently writing Book 2 of the Pervideo Series.
Book 2 tells the story of Ash and Bots, who left the survey ship Pervideo just before the events in Yellow Tag (Book 1). I'm having fun putting Ash and Bots together in the same confined location (they don't get on very well). I can't tell you much more, as I don't want to give away what happens - other than to say that their challenges will be considerable.
I'm also forming the plot of Book 3 in my head, as the story of Ash and Bots will strongly influence how (and where) Book 3 starts.
Watch this space...
Book 2 tells the story of Ash and Bots, who left the survey ship Pervideo just before the events in Yellow Tag (Book 1). I'm having fun putting Ash and Bots together in the same confined location (they don't get on very well). I can't tell you much more, as I don't want to give away what happens - other than to say that their challenges will be considerable.
I'm also forming the plot of Book 3 in my head, as the story of Ash and Bots will strongly influence how (and where) Book 3 starts.
Watch this space...
Kep Lagrange
My most recent book, Yellow Tag, was only meant to be a short story of about 4,000 words. It ended up far longer...
Yellow Tag started it as a warm-up for the main novel idea I have in my head, with the intention it would provide back story and motivation for the main characters in that novel.
Well, what happened was the characters in Yellow Tag developed lives of their own, and kept reacting in unexpected ways to the events I was throwing at them. As a writer, it is awesome when that happens. So I just went with it.
The idea came from the false notion that space is a wonderful, even romantic place to be. It is in fact one of the most hostile environments to life as we know it, but in the future we will live and work in space just as we currently do here on Earth. When I say "we", I mean everyday people just like you and me - who will have their own problems, may not like their job in space, and are unsatisfied with life in general.
How would people live and cope in that environment?
How would they rise to challenge?
How far can they be pushed before they break - and what happens when they do?
That's the story of Yellow Tag, and the other books in the series.
Yellow Tag started it as a warm-up for the main novel idea I have in my head, with the intention it would provide back story and motivation for the main characters in that novel.
Well, what happened was the characters in Yellow Tag developed lives of their own, and kept reacting in unexpected ways to the events I was throwing at them. As a writer, it is awesome when that happens. So I just went with it.
The idea came from the false notion that space is a wonderful, even romantic place to be. It is in fact one of the most hostile environments to life as we know it, but in the future we will live and work in space just as we currently do here on Earth. When I say "we", I mean everyday people just like you and me - who will have their own problems, may not like their job in space, and are unsatisfied with life in general.
How would people live and cope in that environment?
How would they rise to challenge?
How far can they be pushed before they break - and what happens when they do?
That's the story of Yellow Tag, and the other books in the series.
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