Nathan Crockett

Author Pre-interview: I am 40 years old.  I am a self taught writer and have been doing so for about 20 years.  I love all types of stories but my mind often veers more towards the darkness.  I have theatre experience so I’m comfortable speaking and I’ve been told I can be pretty funny… Sometimes.

Author Interview:

1. What inspires you to write? 

Answer- What inspires me and gets me excited is finding a missed opportunity. Sometimes you’ll see an idea in a story that they don’t really explore or perhaps you just see a different direction to go that no one else has, or at least few have. Finding those missed opportunities inspires me to write them myself. 

2. What is your favorite genre? 

Answer- I like stories that have a dark edge. It doesn’t have to be horror. Something like The Crow which has a fantastic dark world or something like American Psycho which is really more dark commentary than horror. So stories like that are usually my favorite. 

3. Who is an author you admire if any and why? 

Answer- I would say JD Salenger because he had a very distinct voice and that’s something that’s very important to me to have my own distinct voice.

4. How do you overcome blank writing spells? 

Answer- I have a whole process. I actually never get writer's block. The short version is that I use an outline. If you want me to go more in depth during the interview I can but it would be a lot to write it all here. 

5. What legal publishing advice can you give? 

Answer- Have a solid marketing strategy before you release. And have that strategy try to get you at least 50 preferably 100 reviews. 

6. How many books have you written, are any best sellers yet? 

Answer- I have written two books. Only one is published. I want to hire an editor before I release the second one. Unfortunately the one I have released is not a best seller- yet.

7. If you had the opportunity to re-write one movie script what would it be and why? Answer- I would rewrite Tim Burton’s Batman from 1989. I love Batman and everything about the movie is great except the script. I think Michale Keaton is the best Batman, it has the best Gotham City, the best Batmobile, the best Batplane, and the best music. It just needs a better script. 

8. What are some of the difficulties you’ve experienced in your writing career, how do you handle book critique/ criticism? 

Answer- The only thing I really struggle with is the marketing. As far as criticism it depends on whether or not I agree. If I agree with the criticism I’ll make changes and if I don’t, I’ll consider it but ultimately if I disagree then I let it roll off my shoulder. 

9. What are your best experiences in your writing career? 

Answer- Anytime someone reads my story and is very impressed with it. My favorite was a friend of mine, had a sister who was an English teacher and overall very well read. Someone who has read at least 1,000 books in her life said she was so blown away she had read my book nine times. 

10. Do you prefer to write in silence and or have some sort of sound in the background? Answer- When I type on my typewriter I like to listen to the sound of the keys. But when I write later drafts on my computer I have to have my headphones in. And I mostly listen to non lyrical music such as orchestral music or movie scores.

11. What are some encouraging words you’d give an author? 

'Answer- A thesaurus is your best friend. If you want your writing to stand out and be uncommon you have to use uncommon words. Just try to make it so the sentence defines the word so people don’t have to stop reading to go look up a word. 

12. How did you decide pricing of your material, how did you go about promotion/ advertising and distribution of your work? 

Answer- The distribution is through Amazon. As far as pricing, I decided to go on the lower end because I wanted it to be as accessible as possible because my main focus right now is getting reviews. Whenever you see any product you’re interested in you immediately check the reviews. If they are bad or there isn’t very many, usually you will lose interest so my main marketing strategy right now is focused on reviews. 

13. Why should people read your book? 

Answer- The Devil is a character everyone is familiar with but this takes it in a very different direction and I think many people find that combination of familiar but still different very fun. Aside from the enjoyment there is a great moral about personal responsibility and the book is 

constantly diving into harsh and thought provoking themes. And this isn't just my opinion. Many very well read people have told me this is very unique both in my writing style and the way I challenge conventional perceptions. 

14. Did you have a book coach? 

Answer- No. I have self taught for a little over 20 years. 

15. What was your favorite subject in school? 

Answer- Ironically math. You would think English or History but that wasn’t the case. I didn’t become interested in writing until after school. 

16. Are you self-published or have an established publishing contract elsewhere?

Answer- I am self published and have no other representation or affiliations at this time.