The Five Scribes are pleased to present: Margie Lawson's How-to Author Interview Series, featuring today's How-to Guest, Bob Mayer
Wednesday, May 27th
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The Novel Writer's Toolkit
or
A Lecture Packet from me ... Margie Lawson!!
FACTOIDS:
New York Times Bestseller
-- And other Bestseller lists too: Wall Street Journal, Publisher's Weekly, USA Today
39 books Published
West Point Graduate
Served in the Infantry and Special Forces
Instructor at the JFK Special Warfare Center
FUNTOIDS:
Master Parachutist/Jumpmaster Qualified
Earned a Black Belt while living in the Orient
Taught martial arts
Graduate of the International Mountain Climbing School
Completed 14 marathons -- including qualifying for the Boston Marathon
Website: www.BobMayer.org
Reviews for THE NOVEL WRITER'S TOOL KIT:
"Something for every writer, from neophyte to old hand. My hat is off to Bob." ~ Elizabeth George.
An invaluable resource for beginning and seasoned writers alike. Don't miss out." ~ Terry Brooks.
Review for WHO DARES WINS:
"Bob Mayer gives us a unique and valuable window into the shadowy world of our country's elite fighting forces and [demonstrates] how you can apply many of the concepts and strategies they use for success in your own life and organization." ~ Jack Canfield, creator of the Chicken Soup book series.
Upcoming Releases:
WHO DARES WINS – A book on leadership and communication
M.L: On June 2, 2009 you have a new non-fiction book coming out. WHO DARES WINS: The
B.M. I’ve been writing this book for almost 20 years. I’ve been living it for 32. It combines everything I learned about being a warrior and evolved that into being an artist, starting in 1977 during Beast Barracks at West Point, through my time in the Infantry and most importantly, my time in the Special Forces, where I commanded an A-Team, was a battalion operations officer coordinating the deployment of 15 Special Forces Team worldwide, and was as an instructor at the J.F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center & School at Ft. Bragg, where new Green Berets are trained.
I added to the book every year. I actually have a much longer version covering individuals and team building, but I’ve decided to break that into two books, and the one coming out now is the one for individuals. Later this year I will write one for team building, based on the A-Team model, the most successful team in the world.
M.L.: Why this book? Why now?
B.M.: Fear is ruling a lot of people’s lives. I was talking to a CEO several years ago in
M.L.: How can WHO DARES WINS help the average person? The business person? The Writer?
B.M.: It works strategically and tactically: i.e., the big picture in changing your overall life and with specifics for improving day-to-day living. There are three areas: Who, Dares, Wins. In each area are three one-word Special “Forces”. To make it even easier to follow, the words in each area start with the same letter.
We begin with Wins and the three forces are:
- WHAT do you want to achieve?
- WHY do you want to achieve those goals?
- WHERE will you be achieving those goals?
Then we move on to Who:
- Assess your CHARACTER, both strengths and weaknesses.
- Learn what real CHANGE is and how to achieve it.
- Move out of your comfort zone and into your COURAGE zone.
Finally, we move into Dares:
- COMMUNICATE your change to the world.
- Take COMMAND of your life.
- COMPLETE the Circle of Success.
And then you start over again, building on what you’ve done. So it’s a circular program, not a linear one, which actually makes it more attractive to women as they tend to be less linear than men.
Who Dares Wins can help in business because it’s a combination of the Warrior-Artist: Discipline and Creativity.For an artist it gives you the Warrior’s Path to Creativity. Writers workshops tend to focus on the writing and not the writer. Maybe it’s not the writing that needs to change, but the writer. I’ve taught thousands of writers over the years, and the largest obstacle is not their writing, but their approach to writing. Who Dares Wins helps examine that in detail and learn how to change.
Seventy-eight (78%) percent of Americans say they want to write a novel. Yet only a very few ever make it to the level of getting published. Because Who Dares Wins focuses on the 5% of people who can achieve sustained action using their own motivation, learning its techniques can help writers achieve their goals.
M.L.: Has writing this book changed the way you think? Or approach things?
B.M.: I’ve published a lot of books, but I’ve changed over the years. I apply these principles to myself.
M.L: You do workshops across the country based on the principles in WHO DARES WINS. Who would benefit from taking this workshop and why? What would someone get out of the workshop?
B.M.: As noted above, it forces you to examine everything about the way you approach writing. All the lessons learned in the workshop also work two ways: for you as the writer, and for the actual writing. For example, under WHAT we pinpoint what your goal is with your writing, and we also pinpoint what exactly your book is about. Both in one sentence each.
M.L.: You also do workshops based on your NOVEL WRITER’S TOOLKIT. How has writing WHO DARES WINS changed this workshop over the years?
B.M: I’m more interactive and more emotional. I always presented great content, but I’ve learned that people want to participate and also they want to be emotionally engaged. My Writers Presentation now has a workbook to go along with the Novel Writers Toolkit. I use examples from people participating. I put more of my passion into them because I’ve learned to open up more about how I feel about the subject matter. I care about what I teach but I was a bit reserved in the past.
M.L.: You have written under your own name, and various pen names. Why?
B.M.: Business reasons. Once you’re under contract, the publisher owns the option on your next book. To avoid that option, you can use a pen name. Also, most publishers want just one book a year and I was writing three a year.
M.L: You have written in many different genres. How did you decide which genre you wanted to write, and how or why did you move into other genres?
B.M.: I started in military thrillers, slid over to science thrillers with my Area 51 and Atlantis series for many years. I actually call them techno-myth books. Technology and mythology mixed together. I wrote romantic suspense with Jennifer Crusie—WILD RIDE is coming out next year and that’s actually paranormal romance. I’m focusing now on thrillers and non-fiction.
M.L: Your Area 51 series has done well over the years and all nine books are still in print. Staying power is hard in this business. What makes these books stand the test of time?
B.M.: The series is intriguing. But, honestly, title. The original title for the first book was Dreamland and we changed it to Area 51. I believe the same book with that old title would not be in its 16th printing and sold over a quarter million copies, and the series a million copies overall. Title is very, very important. It has to invite readers into the book and give them an idea what the book is about.
M.L: How do you think your writing has changed over the years? From book to book.
B.M.: I focus more and more on character. I’m actually toning down the plot of my current work-in progress, THE JEFFERSON ALLEGIANCE, and focusing much more on character.
M.L: Do you have a favorite book or series that you have written?
B.M.: I think for most writers, the next book is always the one they love. AREA 51 has been the most consistent and the best seller, but my collaborations with Jennifer Crusie are very fun books.
M.L: I heard you say many times that it’s important to study the craft, learn and be open. How do you study and learn?
B.M.: I talk to other writers. My friend Elizabeth George read my latest manuscript and gave me a lot of feedback. I think it’s important to be willing to listen to and accept feedback. I actually go to classes at conferences, rather than just teach. I learned a lot in
M.L.: What advice do you have for the new unpublished writer?
B.M.: Write a lot. Read a lot. Learn the craft. Too many people spend too much time on marketing rather than writing. The only thing we writers truly control is the quality of the writing.
M.L: What advice do you have for the newly published author?
B.M.: Find a mentor who is published in your field. Ask for help. There is so much agents and editors won’t tell you. Most writers are pretty open to answering questions. Don’t expect anyone else to give you your career. You have to make it yourself. Thus the first Force in WDW is WHAT—you have to specify your goals right up front and then use the other Forces to pursue them.
M.L.: What is next for Bob Mayer? What are you working on now?
B.M.: Rewriting The Jefferson Allegiance and starting a new dual book concept—where one is a novel and the other is non-fiction but connected to the novel.
M.L.: Where can people interested in what is going on in your world, specifically Cool Gus, find you? For those interested in any of the above mentioned workshops, or hearing you speak, how can they find out more information, or where you will be over the next year?
Everything is on my web site: www.bobmayer.org I also twitter at WhoDaresWins
M.L.: One final question – Did Cool Gus take to kayaking?
B.M: Cool Gus likes the water. He’s got his life jacket now and I’ll be taking him down to the Sound shortly.
Margie, thanks for bringing Bob to us today and, Bob, thank you for being here on Five Scribes. Readers: Questions or Comments?
40 comments:
Very interesting interview! Bob, you mention fear...how can a writer deal with the fear of not being good enough? Many times I'll sit down to write a scene I'm excited about only to freeze up because I'm afraid I won't be able to translate what's in my head to the paper. Any tips?
Thanks!
OK, did I miss something? Who's Cool Gus. I don't think I skipped anything, but who knows - I might have. Bob, I haven't read all your books, but so far I like Don't Look Down, and Agnes and the Hit Man the best. The humor is great in those books.
I love the combination of gritty action and fun. The sex is good too, but laughing when I read is the best.
Shane and Agnes - I wish I'd thought of them.
WDW sounds like a great concept, but many of us are back sliders and don't live up to our own expectations - to say nothing of the expectations of those who have achieved so much more. (Do you like the way I slipped into the plural there instead of owning up to my own stuff?) Will WDW help us get past our own resistance to change?
Love your novels with Jennifer Crusie, very fun. Looking forward to the next one.
I've got to have this book -- right away.
Thanks.
Count me in as well!
As a professional speaker & author of a goal-setting & leadership book, I can tell you that Bob is spot-on with his observation. Fear stops more people from achieving success than any other force in the world!
L. Diane Wolfe
www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com
www.spunkonastick.net
www.thecircleoffriends.net
Bob,
I will definitely have to get your new book. Fear is the main reason I stopped working on a book last year. The storyline got far too close to reality in an area where I had set the book. I felt it was too risky at the time to continue that storyline. I ended up changing to one that works almost as well, but I need to figure out why I felt that I couldn't go on with the previous book. I'm sure your new book will give me some guidance on that.
Darlene
Fear is a writer's constant companion. Hate to say it,t you just have to sit down and do the writing and not worry about what it feels like sometimes.
One key of WDW is to find out what you really fear-- your blind spot. It's usually not what we think we fear. Often, our fear is rooted in what we think is the strongest part of our personality-- we've developed our strongest defense around our greatest weakness.
Another thing to do is to do catastrophe planning: you prepare for the worst case for three reasons: one, to keep it from happening. Two, to deal with it if it does happening. And three, and most important, to reduce our anxiety and fear since we know we have a catastrophe plan so we can focus our energies on succeeding.
Cool Gus is a six month old yellow Lab. I write about him on my blog.
Bob, congratulations on WhoDaresWins. It never occurred to me to be afraid when I sat down and wrote my first book. It was the events that came after that made me question every word. You nail it when you say it's not natural to jump out of a plane in pitch black darkness with 150 lb. gear. It's not natural for a storyteller to start on an empty page and 400 pages later write The End. Talk about flying blind. Identified hugely with the fear factor and your post. Thanks for being here!
I've used some of these techniques in distance running - the specifics of what and why - and the added level of discipline that came from communicating those goals. With a physical effort, it was fairly straightforward - did you do the miles or not?
But it's interesting to consider imposing that same rigor to a writing career. Good food for thought!
Bob, is there anything you haven't written about? (jk)How did you become so knowledgeable about the writing business? Just when I think I know enough, it turns out I'm not even close!
Margay
Great interview, Bob and Margie. I loved the comment about somthing that is upsetting telling a truth. I never thought about it in that way and realized there's a lot to that statement.
Hey Bob! Shouldn't you be boarding a plane to Dallas pretty soon? Don't you be standing me up for the WDW workshop that I worked so hard for — OK, so I was the lucky raffle winner at the Dreamin' in Dallas conference. (...maybe I worked really hard to rig the raffle) Looking forward to seeing you there and I know fear has stopped me in my tracks, well, forever. And now you're gonna fix it for me — all right!
Hi Margie and Bob
Many thanks for the interesting interview. I was especially interested in the comments about facing your fears as the protagonist in my WIP has to learn to do just this.
Best wishes
Ruth Dell
ruthdell[at]mweb[dot]co[dot]za
Great interview! I have doubts, which I think is a lesser form of fear, but I go forward anyway. Even so, WHO DARES WINS sounds like a great book! Love the title!
Bob -
You must have been a psychologist in a previous life time. :-)
I'm impressed with what I've read about WHO DARES WINS. It's on my BUY ASAP list.
Thanks for taking the time to respond to questions.
All smiles.........Margie
HELLO EVERYONE!
Bob will respond to all questions posted by 5:00PM Mountain Time.
Post a comment or question, and you may win THE NOVEL WRITER'S TOOLKIT, or a Lecture Packet from me. ;-)
I'll post the WINNERS at 9PM Mountain Time.
Thanks for dropping by!
All smiles.........Margie
Hi Bob - I found it interesting you suggest once published to partner with other published authors. I'm not afraid fo the writing, that's a joy for me. As an unpublished author I'm afraid of having to deal with a big publishing house (and I'm positive my time will come) that has you at their mercy. Any tips on how to deal with that first phone call.
Bronwen
The only thing we writers truly control is the quality of the writing.Excellent advice. I agree, also, that a thin-skinned reaction is information you should pay attention to.
Of course, there's healthy fear (like jumping out of the back of an airplane) and then there's fear that holds you back from pursuing dreams (like fear of rejection). Does Who Dares Wins address the latter type of fear as information that can help you overcome an obstacle?
Hi Bob, Welcome to Five Scribes. Love this quote fo yours:
"One of the things I teach in Who Dares Wins is that when something you experience upsets you, to focus on it. Because it’s telling you a truth that you are resisting."
And for me it usually means facing a fear of some sort. As we grow up fear creeps into our lives...I'd like to rid myself of some of it...alot of it :)
Great post, can't wait to get and read both books.
We need a workshop in Denver/Boulder/Colo Spgs area, wouldn't you say?
And thanks Margie!!
Ciao,
LA
A lot of interesting comments.
Ok. Let's see. How did I become knowledgeable about writing? I reinvented myself a half-dozen times. I'm reinventing myself as a writer right now. I spent the past weekend reading writers I love. And finally, finally, finally, something I'd been struggling with for my entire career and for over 40 manuscripts fell into place: Voice. I won't post on it here as I need to think it through, but I will blog about it on my Tuesday blog. If you're not willing to learn you won't last long in this business. I've had lots of people giving me advice over the years. Recently Elizabeth George read a manuscript of mine and gave me great advice. I've watched Susan Wiggs career from the time we first taught at Maui a decade ago and respect what she's done.
I also wrote my Novel Writers Toolkit over the course of ten years. First draft was 11 pages long. I'd update it every six months. I think writing things down-- a tenet of Who Dares Wins-- helps you learn. So does teaching.
I'm starting a new program in the next couple of weeks: The Warrior-Writer. It's focused on the author not the writing. I've taught thousands of writers over the years and I think it's more important to focus on the author than what they write. in the same way when I teach leadership in the corporate world I make leaders examine themselves before worrying about their subordinates.
You do have to know yourself before you can write strong characters. Remember, about fear-- your protagonist in your book should have to face their greatest fear as they arc through the novel. Indiana Jones is afraid of? What doe he have to face?
Publishers having you at their mercy? I used to be a Type A personality. Publishing broke me of that. You can't make anyone: Agent, editor, PR rep, etc. do anything they aren't going to do. But they are not the enemy. They want your book to succeed. They just have more than your book on their plate.
Focus on the writing. Don't worry about the publisher.
Rejection is a normal part of a writers life. I just got five rejections on what I thought was my best manuscript. But I read what the editors said and realized they were right-- my story was too big and too dark. I wrote it in a bad time after the death of my stepson, so of course it was dark. But I wasn't being aware of what I was doing. I'm rewriting the book now and not necessarily making it much lighter, but making it much better and more character oriented.
Rejection will happen. Move on. I used to get upset when I got negative emails from readers-- 1 out of 100 will be negative. Now when I see a nasty one I smile, thinking they must have really been affected by the book to be so upset, and also hit delete and forget about them. Let go of toxic people.
A Boulder, Denver, CO Springs workshop? I lived in Boulder five years.
Yes. I'm planning one. Don't have the date yet, but it will most likely be in Denver and at Colorado Free University where I used to teach. The same format as the workshop as what I'm running in Dallas this weekend. The key is I need a point PR person on the ground there to promote things. So if someone would like to volunteer email me at bob@bobmayer.org
I'm also planning to do the same thing in San Diego, Atlanta, and early next year for Central New York Romance Writers, so check my web site.
I'm having real computer problems as I had to send my main computer in for repair and this one is very slow, but I'll try to answer any more questions
Hi Bob,
One of those spots! I live in Boulder, so I'm partial.
Great news about the workshop! We'll find a front PR person for you!
~LA of Five Scribes
Reinventing myself! Yes! That's what I'm doing. What a wonderful phrase. After thinking about it, I've reinvented myself many, many times.
There just seems to be so much to learn. I want it all and I want it now. LOL! I know that can't happen since some things can't be learned before you've figured something else out. Still...
Great interview.
I'm resistent to writing goals---for my characters and for myself. (Yet I manage to get out of bed every day, accomplish pretty much what I think is important during the day---including writing almost daily, and maintain a social and family network). Is there a takeaway from WDW for me (and others like me, because I am NOT alone in the universe as a non-goal setter).
OBTW, I finish the novels I start writing and two of them have been pubbed.
I think everyone already asked the questions I would have asked.
There is a lot of great information in this interview. Thanks.
I like the ideas mentioned in Who Dares Wins. I've found that the hardest fear to overcome, for an unpubbed, fear of failure is less a problem than fear of success (at least, it seems that way after many discussions with other wannabes.) With a sale comes expectations--something the still "dreaming" writer need not confront but about which he or she is bound to ruminate. Can I do it again? What if I can't? Who will I disappoint other than myself? And the list goes on.
Facing fear is difficult enough when the fear is in your face (as in facing the open ramp and stepping from that perfectly good aircraft), but when it must wait for something else to happen, it tends to morph into a gargantuan inevitablity. How would you address something like this? Writers are masters of the "What if" question, but as in this instance, it can be a double edged sword.
Great interview! I'm one of those that sits at the keyboard and fear immediately takes over...fear of disappointing a reader, or missing some fact. I appreciate your comments and look forward to reading your book.
Another great interview, Margie.
WDW definitely on my to-read list.
Thank you both for food for thought!
One of the big problems with publishing is that there is a large degree of luck involved. No matter what anyone says, it's true.
So what you have to really do is focus on the things you do control. Have a back up plan. but also have this weird, deep, faith in yourself that you can achieve your goals. First, though, make sure you know what they are. Also, network and be willing to ask for help and to help others.
Then walk in a Barnes & Noble, look at all the new hardcovers from people you never heard of and say "Who the hell are these people? Heck, I can be one of them."
Thanks for the great post. And thanks for your twitter address. I'm going to follow you...warning, I am not a stalker. LOL
http://twitter.com/Iwhodareswins
is the Twitter address...
Thanks again Bob.
A weird, deep faith. Cool. Would that I could package the faith others have; nothing would be impossible. That is, however, touching upon fantasy's realm. Still, the concept is intriguing. How deep must one dig to find it? Well, we shall see. Thanks.
My son and I are both big fans of the Area 51 series!
Bob --
Thank you for sharing your time, your expertise, and your passion.
We appreciate you.
I'm betting WHO DARES WINS will be blogged and buzzed and tweeted.
I'll see you on June 5th and 6th -- when we both present full day Master Classes in Boise. That's coming up soon. :-))
Thanks again.
All smiles........Margie
HELLO EVERYONE!
The WINNER of THE NOVEL WRITER'S TOOLKIT is: Donna Caubarreaux!
The winner of one of my Lecture Packets, is Bronwen!
Donna and Bronwen - Please contact me: margie@margielawson.com.
A big THANK YOU to the Five Scribes for hosting the How-to Author Series!
All smiles...........Margie
www.MargieLawson.com
Bob, you sound like a wise man. (And you're a good writer, too.
Good interview Margie. Leave it to you to ask the good questions.
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