Self Published Sunday: Interview with Tom Evans
Today we welcome , author of The Zone
We know intuitively when we are in the zone. We know all too frustratingly when we are out of the zone. What we don’t often know is where this mythical zone is. Sometimes we end up there more by accident than design. When we’re out of it, there’s no map to get us back there.
The Zone is that map that shows us that there is not just one zone but many. We have Doing Zones and Being Zones. We can even get trapped in Danger Zones. It explores where the boundaries of the Zone lie and how to get past Border Control without a passport.
The aim is to end up in the Magic Zone. This is a place where we can live a charmed and enchanting life. It’s a place where we go with the flow and we stop pushing water uphill.
If you perform live as a sports person or on stage as a singer, musician or presenter, you will find much here to help you keep at your peak. If you work in the creative sphere where you are performing too but off line, this book will show you how to deliver high quality output consistently. If you are in business, there is much here you can use to give you a competitive edge.
When you are fully immersed in The Zone, life becomes a breeze and takes on a magical quality.
What or who inspired you to become a writer?
I wrote my first book by accident at 35,000ft over the Atlantic in a 747. It was called 100 Years of Ermintrude and tells the life story of a centenarian in just 33 poetic stanzas. As a result of writing it, I ended up walking around London in a bra for 26 miles, for Walk the Walk, and becoming an author’s mentor and a specialist at clearing writer’s block.
What is your writing process? (i.e., do you follow a regular routine?)
I write from 8:30 to 11am most days but only after meditation and either Mind Mapping or doodling around the subject I am about to write about. This tunes me into my Muse and gets the left and right brains working in sync.
What prompted you to self publish?
The last book I had traditionally published took them a year after getting my final edited draft. I wrote the sequel just after completing it and was able to publish the sequel 9 months ahead of its prequel by using CompletelyNovel.
Tell us a bit about your self-publishing journey – just how did you do it?
After publishing my first three books with traditional publishers, I had just finished the last chapter of my fourth book, opened up my emails and there was an email from CompletelyNovel. I uploaded the draft that day and got a printed copy back in a week (which makes proof reading so much easier). So it’s fair to say that self-publishing found me, not the other way around. Now it’s my first choice for speed and control.
Can you tell us about the challenges and the achievements you have experienced in your writing and self-publishing journey?
The only challenge I face, common with other writers, is spreading the word about my books. I found, though, that having a publisher made no real difference. What is great these days is that authors support each other and social media gives us global reach.
We hear a lot about collaboration in self-publishing – do you work with other people (editors, marketers, publicists etc) when publishing your works?
Yes, I have an online TV vodcast and audio podcast channel, and I interview other authors where there is overlap between our works. This promotes both of us.
How do you get feedback on your work? How valuable is it to read the comments and reviews of others?
I love all reviews. Good ones make my day. Not so good ones make me a better writer. I had a 1 star review the other day in a sea of 5 stars. It was really clever and funny and made me laugh and not take myself too seriously.
Have you considered traditional publishing?
Yes, I’ve done it three times and was not impressed. If the right publisher came along who was serious about marketing and taking a 21st century approach, I’d be open to having a chat though.
Do you have any advice for aspiring writers? Would you recommend self-publishing?
My advice is to write something every day, no matter how small, as this exercises our linguistic neurological centres. Then share it via blogs, ebooks and in print. Only by sticking our heads above the parapet will we learn, and the doors it opens for us will amaze and astound us. I got my second publishing deal within 24 hours from a single blog and tweet that had nothing to do with the book. Just making connections allows serendipity to flow.
Just for Fun:
If your book was made in to a film which actor(s), past or present, do you envision in the lead role(s)?
My last but one book, This We Know, would be a TV documentary and be narrated and fronted by Stephen Fry.
If your book had a soundtrack which artists would feature on it?
It would have incidental music by Moby and an opening song by Ed Sheeran.
Tea or Coffee?
I’m a tea man. No sugar but an accompanying digestive biscuit is my reward after each writing session.
Write at home or outside?
Both, I am mobile.
Pen or PC?
Tablet – my iPad is used for all first drafts, Mind Mapping and even cover design
Email or letter/postcard?
Email
And the all-controversial: print book or ebook?
Both but with ebook first to test the market and get reviews then an audiobook as this is the best way ever to proof read followed by print.
Tom Evans is an author, author’s mentor and wizard of light bulb moments.
He has spent 30 years in the cutting edge of product development in the broadcast and Internet industries. He has a knack for explaining complex concepts in simple terms. More recently has been researching the psychology and physiology behind inspiration and is lifting the lid on the mystery of where ideas, and thought, come from.
He has written three books on the creative process. Blocks explores what stops us being creative. The Art and Science of Light Bulb Moments is all about those special types of thought that appear in less than a second, yet change our world forever. Flavours of Thought is an exploration of the different types of thought that appear in our heads.
His books, Planes of Being and This We Know, are philosophical explorations into what it means to be human and where we might be going as a species.
His latest book, The Zone, explores how to get into that creative space where our productivity soars and we get things done in ‘no time at all’.
For more information visit Tom’s Website (here) or his his facebook page (here), alternatively you can converse with him on Twitter (here)
