Interview with Douglas Esper

Douglas Esper wrote his first story when he was five years old. It was about the Pickle family and a race against a chopping machine. When he's not busy working his day job to support his family, he is writing reviews for a blog, playing with his son, and dating his wife.

What was your path towards publication like?
With my picture book the first step was chance. I purchased a painting from a former school mate, named Jeffrey Fernengel, and thought the art would be perfect for a book. I approached him about it and he thought that was a great idea. We exchanged emails, as we live about three hours apart, and collaborated on the book.

With my novel I am still in the process of finding the right people to work with, so it is all up in the air. I have gone through dozens of re-writes and edits of the book, and have had some great people give me feedback along the way. Last spring I attended a writer's retreat with author Les Roberts and he really kick-started the editing process with his critique.


What was the first market you queried and why did you choose that market?
Again, with the picture book it was really a happy accident, and I am grateful that Jeffrey was willing to take a chance on me and provide his art for my story. I always wanted to release a picture book for children, but I always thought the novels and short stories would come first.

As a fifth grader I did a project to read a story by memory to the kindergartners, and now as an adult I find myself reading my own story to them!


What is your biggest obstacle when it comes to pitching yourself as a writer and what steps have you taken to overcome that obstacle?
In today's publishing world it is very hard to break into the field without a giant platform, so my biggest obstacle right now is establishing myself as an up-and-comer without anyone helping to open doors. Add to that, my family, a budget of zero, and very little time to devote to my passion of writing, and you can see some of what I am facing. Luckily, I have a very supportive wife who has helped overcome some of the obstacles by making sure I don't add additional roadblocks to my path.


Can you tell us a little bit about your latest book?
"Sammy's Birthday Surprise" is a picture book geared towards 0-4 year old readers. It follows Sammy, a tall purple creature, on a search to find his friends on his birthday.


If you could choose just one thing for your book to accomplish, what would it be?
For the Sammy picture books I already feel like I have accomplished much. Reading to kids at schools and events is fulfilling more than I ever thought it would be. I hope to complete at least three of these books and spread the word as far as I can about them.


How do you balance your life as a writer with your duties as a parent or spouse?
Bottom line is that if it were not for my wife I would not be writing this today. She has aided and supported me along the way and pushed me to continue when I thought it was getting to be too much. I work a job that has weird hours and on call shifts which cause a lot of problems and prevent me from ever having a normal schedule and groove, but I do my best to not let it be an excuse. The thought that I need to be doing more as a father, a husband, and a writer all at once is daunting, but I have found sacrificing many other aspects of my life has allowed me to pursue my passions.


What is your best advice for getting past writer's block?
If you are working on something in particular and you are not sure how to proceed I give you two bits of advice.

The first thing to try is to step away from the story and take a walk or do something to let your mind breath a bit. Think about what it is that is making you stuck. If it is a problem with the story you need to talk out the next steps of the book. If it a problem with distractions you need to find somewhere new to write or find another way to eliminate the distractions.

Another thing you may try is to start working on a totally different project to help clear your head until you're ready to get back to it. The second thing is that writer's block can be used as a crutch in so many ways.

If you are truly stuck see step one, but if you are just pushing off the writing because the work seems to daunting then you need to look inside and see if this is truly what you want to be doing and committing to. If you find that it is then you must eliminate each and every excuse you have and just start writing.

Still… the best advice I ever got was from my wife who told me, one day after I pissed and moaned about roadblocks, that I needed to just shut up and start writing. She told me to stop self-editing before I even write anything. Let the story happen, get it down on paper and then, when finished, then and only then is it time to edit. Since then I haven't stopped working and writing and I feel that I improve everyday.


What do you feel is the single most detrimental thing a writer could do to destroy his/her career as a writer?
This is easy, the single most detrimental thing a writer can do to destroy their career is: Stop writing.


What’s ahead for your writing?
Lots and lots more of it.

The follow book to my children's book, "Sammy's New Neighbor". It is a mystery concerning Sammy's friends and a few missing tomatoes.

I am also finishing my debut novel, "A LIFE OF INCHES". It is a coming of age love triangle story that follows two friends competing in everything they do even for the heart of the same woman.
Also, I am on the lookout for collaborators to work with on a short story mystery book revolving around the city of Cleveland, Ohio where I live. I think it would be very interesting and educational to gather 15-20 authors for something like this. So, if anyone is out there and interested in getting involved just drop me an email!

Visit Douglas Esper at http://www.sammysfriends.com/index.html

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This post was sponsored by The Dabbling Mum.

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