SFA 085 – Staying Motivated, Productivity, Flow State, and Writing to Market in 2021

Our guest this week is the prolific science fiction, fantasy, and non-fiction author Chris Fox. He’s known in the author community for his Write Faster, Write Smarter series, and has spoken all over the country about writing to market, making your writing a habit, and quitting your day job to become an author.

Here are the questions we asked him:

• For those who are new to you, would you tell us how you got started in writing and indie publishing?
• You’ve moved and become a father since last we interviewed you. Have you faced any challenges and had to adapt your writing schedule? 
• I’m intrigued by the concept of writing 5k words an hour. Can you talk about that a bit?
• I remember from previous interviews that you reached your 5K an hour through dictation. Do you have any suggestions on getting into flow state and rocking it for people who aren’t interested in dictation and maybe don’t type that quickly? 
• When we talk about super high creative output, is this something that’s intended to be sustained, or the result of a carefully planned sprint. How does one stay motivated for such high output? And more generally, how does one stay motivated at all? It seems like the last few years have been perfectly concocted to sap motivation and enthusiasm.
• How does one avoid burnout? It seems like setting too strenuous a pace is a sure recipe to hit a wall.
• I know you’re working towards hitting a million words this year. How are you keeping track of that, which words are you counting (final revision vs initial rough draft), and do you have any tips for someone who’d like to make (and reach) that sort of a goal?
• Would you explain for new listeners what writing to market is?
• There are different kinds of markets. Things like romance, thrillers, and such have evergreen markets, while other markets can emerge due to trends and new niches. If someone is interested in writing to market, is there a type of market that is better to target?
• How do you know if it’s a good and profitable market?
• I know from your YouTube Channel that you’re working on a new epic fantasy series. Is this a passion project, or did you apply your write-to-market methodology to choose it?
• Could you talk about any research you did on the market and how you’re approaching the launch? 
• How can one succeed at writing to market or just launching a new career as a non-fiction author?
• I think you’ve scrapped it, but at one point I believe you were thinking of writing a Writing to Market 2 book. Have things changed? Are there any new challenges authors should be aware of in 2021? 
• You were doing an anonymous pen name at one point. If you’re open to talking about it, how did that go, and did you learn anything from it? 
• As your backlist continues to grow, how are you handling promoting it and making sure readers are still discovering it?
• You’re currently all in with Amazon KDP Select and Kindle Unlimited. Would you give your thoughts on the state of KU?
• Do you think epic fantasy is a natural fit with a tendency toward longer word counts? 

If you want more, Chris has also been on previous episodes of the old Science Fiction and Fantasy Marketing Podcast:

• Selling More by Writing to Market + A Novel in 21 Days with Chris Fox
• Finding Success with a Cross-Genre Book Launch with Chris Fox
• Launching Books to Stick, Amazon Algorithms, and When Advertising Is Worth it with Chris Fox
• Writing 5,000 Words an Hour and Selling Zombies and Werewolves with Chris Fox

He also maintains a YouTube channel for authors.

He recommended his video Marketing is Farming, Not Hunting.

For more, and to check out his books, please visit Chris’s website.

Thank you for listening, and thank you to Joshua Pearson for producing the show!

Six Figure Authors

SFA 085 - Staying Motivated, Productivity, Flow State, and Writing to Market in 2021

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