Scott McCormick is a acknowledged and broadly acclaimed children’s book and YA author. His assorted achievement includes clear novels (the accepted Mr. Pants series), fantasy books (The Dragon Squisher and its accessible sequel), and several Audible Originals, including the Rivals alternation of amusing history audiobooks and a soon-to-be-published atypical alleged Mutually Assured Detention).
One of Scott McCormick’s accepted Rivals! alternation of amusing history audiobooks
Micah Solomon, Chief Contributor, Forbes: How do you absorb a archetypal day? If there is a archetypal day?
Scott McCormick: I address every day. The hours I address change, but basically, back I’m not chauffeuring my kids or accepting anybody accessible for the day, I’m writing. And back I’m not writing, I’m generally cerebration about writing. This absolutely doesn’t accomplish me the best agitative actuality to be around, but it gets the job done.
Author Scott McCormick
Solomon: How did you get your aboriginal book published?
McCormick: Back my illustrator (R.H. Lazzell) and I accomplished our aboriginal Mr. Pants story, we printed up some copies apart and aggregate them around. The acknowledgment to Mr. Pants was startling: “Oh my God, this is amazing. Can I accept a archetype for my niece?” So, we were appealing assured we had hit on article great; I ample we’d acreage an abettor and a publishing accord in no time.
Well, not so much.
Finding an abettor is tough. And the querying action to acquisition one is daunting, time consuming, and the acknowledgment isn’t usually actual helpful. My luck afflicted back I went to the SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) appointment in New York. There I abounding a console hosted by an abettor I had never heard of before, but the moment he started talking I accomplished he would accept Mr. Pants. I approached him afterwards his console was over and we hit it off immediately. From there, he helped us fine-tune our IP and, back he was assertive it was accessible to prime time, he fabricated one buzz alarm and awash it about overnight.
So, my admonition to any advancing writers out there: accompany a writer’s alignment and appear their bounded or civic conferences. It’s a abundant way to accommodated added writers and possibly your approaching agent.
Solomon: Like best of us, I apprehend you didn’t appear as an absolute wordpreneur (that’s mine; feel chargeless to use it) all at once. Did you acclimated to accept a day job? Any acumen on transitioning? Anything to watch out for?
McCormick: My aboriginal austere job was in accessible relations, which meant autograph a lot of columnist releases. This was not the affectionate of autograph I was ambitious towards, but it paid the bills. Then I formed for a accomplishment aggregation area I formed my way up from autograph newsletters to eventually acceptable their chief copywriter. In that role, I wrote all their catalogs and website archetype and ads—and basically aggregate else. That job was accomplished training because it affected me to acquisition new agency to be artistic about the best arid things you can imagine.
That job additionally gave me accomplished training for autograph on a deadline. As a result, I adulation autograph on a borderline and actively animosity not accepting one. I acclimated to acquaint my colleagues to consistently accord me a bound borderline and to lie to me if the activity didn’t accept one. Never acquaint me there’s no rush. That aloof agency you won’t anytime get it. But if you acquaint me you charge it Tuesday, you’ll accept it Tuesday, no amount how continued it is.
It was back I still had that job that I appear Mr. Pants: It’s Go Time, and things assuredly started accident for me in agreement of accomplishing my artistic goals. But of course, you don’t broadcast one book and aback abdicate your day job. You charge to adept the basics and bolts of business, such as advantageous your bills, bulging for banknote flow, and accepting a acceptable mix of assets sources. So, in adjustment to alteration to actuality a full-time author, I launched Storybook Editing, area I offered alteration and ghostwriting casework for absolute authors. This not alone helped me pay my bills, but because I was assuredly absorbed in publishing, I was able to hone my own craft.
As for transitioning, I wouldn’t go abounding time until you’ve had a acceptable two years’ account of earnings, or unless you accept a abundant abutment system. Publishing is a awe-inspiring business. It takes a continued time to get a book from the arrangement date to the bookshelves, which agency it can be a year or two afore you get absolutely paid for your work. So unless you accept a cogent added with a abiding paycheck (my wife is a superhero), the annual fluctuations can be boxy until you get over the hump.
Solomon: Do you accept in “flow”? Do you feel you accept moments of back you’re writing?
McCormick: I do acquaintance the breeze state, admitting not about as generally as I’d like. It’s the greatest activity in the apple back the characters alpha talking on their own. Back I’m in that accompaniment I’m not autograph so abundant as demography dictation. As I mentioned before, deadlines—specifically panicking about missing a deadline—will get me into that accompaniment afterwards fail. If I don’t accept a deadline, it can be adamantine to get into that state.
Solomon: What are some of your artistic triumphs?
My aboriginal Rivals book (Rivals! Frenemies Who Afflicted the World) was the number-one album on Audible for about a ages and still continues to advertise actual well. The third book in the Rivals series, Pirates! Scoundrels Who Shook the World, is my admired of the so far, admitting I’m actual aflame to apprehend book four: Spies! Sneaks, Snoops, and Saboteurs Who Shaped the World, which is advancing out Spring of 2022.
I’m actual appreciative of The Dragon Squisher, a amusing YA fantasy novel, abnormally back I self-published it. The accession to that has been astounding, alike accumulation absorption from Hollywood. (If you’re a fan of Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett, The Dragon Squisher will be appropriate up your alley.)
And alike admitting it came out about ten years ago, I still get fan mail for my Mr. Pants series, which I co-created with the super-talented illustrator R.H. Lazzell. Kids accept dressed up as our characters for Halloween and beatific me their own Mr. Pants stories. I alike apprehend from parents who say they’ve begin their kids account my books beneath their covers, able-bodied accomplished their bedtime. That’s the affectionate of fan mail you dream about getting, so it warms my affection every time.
Solomon: What are you dying to try that you haven’t yet?
McCormick: I accept consistently capital to advertise a screenplay. I put that appetite on authority for a few years while I pursued children’s books, but aloof this year I completed a calligraphy that has been accepting some austere interest. So, fingers crossed.
Solomon: Do you accept any admonition for accepting over writer’s block?
McCormick: Best able authors will acquaint you they never ache from writer’s block. Well, that’s nice for them, but as addition who does suffer, I accept formed out a few tricks over the years that usually admonition me.
First one: go for a walk. And accomplish abiding it’s the best arid airing in the world, area you can pay no absorption to area you’re activity and area you’re not activity to be absent by added bodies or admirable vistas. You charge to angle up, footfall abroad from the computer, get your claret pumping, and let your apperception wander. Don’t booty your dog for a walk. Don’t accept to podcasts or music unless you are application it to tune out the world. (I like to accept to Miles Davis’ admixture annal because they’re aerial activity and there’s an about complete abridgement of melody to abstract me.) Aloof get up and go. Sometimes it alone takes a few dozen accomplish afore I’ve apparent the problem.
If you’re still stuck, try autograph a accidental arena with your characters set in the best absurd ambience possible. Autograph a amplitude opera? Accept your characters go bowling. Autograph a romance? Accept your characters ball laser tag. Accept your villain and hero go to the supermarket, or ball Twister. You’ll be afraid at how this exercise can accord you a ton of new account about this project, admonition you accept your characters better, or alike accord you an abstraction for a new book. Best importantly, this exercise will get you to accept fun autograph again, which is the best important thing.
Solomon: Any added admonition for added writers?
As banal as this may be, my best admonition is to not accord up and to accumulate aggravating and testing out new things. I’ve consistently accepted I capital to be a writer, and over the years I accept approved my duke at autograph aggregate except a cookbook. I’ve approved poetry, songs, journalism, account ball . . . you name it. It never occurred to me to try children’s books until I had kids of my own, and alike afterwards aggravating my duke at it, it still took me a few years until I begin my voice. And alike afterwards publishing my aboriginal books, I still had my ups and downs. But I kept activity and acquirements and I kept aggravating new approaches to writing, and today I am a full-time author, and I wouldn’t barter it for the world.
How Long Does It Take To Write A Novel – How Long Does It Take To Write A Novel
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