Words Written:
700,000
Publications:
13
Writing Gym Programs:
Writing Gym VIP Bootcamp, Publishing Mastermind, Novel Selling U, Paths to Pulitzer
Author Spotlight: Stephen Oliver
Stephen spent his career as a software engineer, but he always knew he was destined to become an author.
He had been a prolific reader since he could remember, and unlike many writers, writer’s block was not an issue for Stephen. He writes hundreds of words per day without falter, and has produced many anthologies’ worth of fiction over the years.
But despite his industriousness, not a page of this writing had succeeded in getting traditionally published.
Stephen couldn’t understand how someone who found such ease with writing couldn’t find the same ease with publishing. He grew frustrated. Publishing was a goal Stephen had dreamed of for many years.
He eventually tried self-publishing, as many frustrated writers do, and had some of his stories published in a local writer’s group anthology, but neither of these brought the success Stephen hoped for. He knew he wasn’t meeting his full potential to live the author lifestyle: to publish not just one of his books, but many of them and reach wide audiences, fans who loved his stories.
So why couldn’t Stephen get published?
He is in fact an excellent writer, capable of churning out original and promising manuscripts. The problem for Stephen was that he didn’t know how to revise his manuscripts to publishable, or how to find the right publication strategy.
After years of frustration, Stephen decided it was time to seek professional help–and that’s how he ended up on a phone call with me.
Stephen hard at work
When I began working with Stephen, I first helped him revise his short stories to meet publishing standards–standards that Stephen had never been aware of.
After a round of revision, I called an agent I knew, who immediately asked for a full manuscript. This was a step Stephen had never reached before. The agent loved Stephen’s work, and so we had a lengthy phone chat about Stephen’s publication strategy. By the end of the call, the literary agent and I had decided that Stephen was placing the wrong work first, and the agent suggested we submit another one of Stephen’s manuscripts instead.
So I worked with Stephen to revise his second manuscript, and called up a publisher I know who specializes in Stephen’s genre. The acquisitions editor requested a synopsis, and within an hour of receipt, requested the full manuscript.
Stephen is now not only on his way to publishing his first book traditionally, but to living the author lifestyle he longs for–all because of finding the right guidance–someone who could place two important phone calls, provide professional revision, and hone in on a successful publication strategy.
I see so many writers that have the same problem as Stephen–writing is no problem for them, but they can’t figure out how to achieve their dream of living the author lifestyle, to publish time and time again.
The issue for all of these writers is they have no road map. Heck, they can barely see the destination clearly, let alone the road. Sure, they’ve read articles or attended conferences, but they’re lost when it comes to how this information applies to them–what to do with the information.
This is where I step in and give them the clarity of an executable plan that works to take them to their goals, a plan based on real-time information from industry professionals and decades of successful publication for myself and others.
If you’re interested in getting REAL results as Stephen Oliver did, you can drop yourself right into my calendar. I’d love to chat with you about where you are, where you’d like to go, and how you can get there.
