Self published author interview – Simon Fox

I am pleased to have had the opportunity to interview author of The Firstlord Chronicles, Simon Fox. Please rate, comment and Like toward the end of the post.

1/ How would you describe the Firstlord Chronicles?

I would describe it as ‘science fiction’ rather than ‘fantasy’. There aren’t any elves or dwarves in the story!

2/ Do you think your religious views and scifi addiction strongly influences your work?

Yes, my Christian beliefs are an important factor in the FLC equation. Jaddra Vallmar, the main character in Parts 1–4, is a Follower of the Anthall, the God of the Varrdans.

3/ I see you have published with Lulu. How have you found the experience?

Lulu is great to use if you want to produce high-quality, low-cost paperbacks. I have also published my novels as Lulu Epubs, available in the iBookstore.

4/ Have you published anywhere else and, if not, do you plan to?

All of my books are now also available in the Kindle store. The Kindle market is expanding exponentially on a daily basis!

5/ What is your writing process?

Fairly simple, really: (1) thrash out the basic concept/plot structure; (2) rapid first draft; (3) drastic revision; (4) revise again; (5) revise yet again! (6) final tweaking.

6/ Who does your cover art?

I do it myself. The results are OK (at least, I think so!), and it costs me nothing, thus maximizing profits.

7/ Your bio says you’re an editor. Do you focus on similar work to your own?

About 30% of my work is editing Christian non-fiction books, the rest is proof-reading general fiction and non-fiction.

8/ What is your #1 tip for self promotion?

Today the best means of promoting your work is social networking, especially Twitter. Give people substantial samples to read; don’t bore them with mere ads.

9/ What is your #1 tip for authors wanting to self publish?

DON’T GIVE UP!! It’s a steep learning curve and you will probably get little encouragement from other people. But if you believe in what you’re doing, persevere until you get results.

10/ What does the future hold? Any new books in the pipeline?

I have a whole new series of ebooks in mind, featuring my characters KnowsMuch and ThinksFast (see XUNNSPHERE and UNSPACE).

11/ Do you want to name drop any fellow authors or people that have helped along the way?

To be honest, I’ve not received much help from people. It’s been a long, lonely road! I think that’s true of most writers. To get through to some form of success, you need fire in your belly that compels you to write. Your writing should give you a deep, unique joy. If you don’t really have that fire and joy, go and do something easier!

A little bit about Simon Fox

First and foremost, I’m a Christian. Also I’m a husband, dad, writer, editor, politico, sci-fi geek, beer lover, thinker of weird & wonderful thoughts .

Follow Simon on Twitter @SimonFoxWriter and purchase his e-books at Simon’s Bookshop here.

Thank’s very much to Simon for his time and his useful insights.