The Storytellers (Part XI) – An Interview with “Storyman” David Estes . . .

Author David Estes: "First copy of The Moon Dwellers - this is me holding the very first copy of The Moon Dwellers, the book that changed my life!" (Photo permission and courtesy of David Estes. Credit: Photo by Adele Estes, July 15, 2012, taken on the North Shore of Hawaii).

It’s been great speaking to your wife, and she has only had amazing things to say about your book. I am always more than happy to help new Indie authors navigate the ever–changing world of self–publishing. A little about me: I was an accountant at one of the Big Four for almost ten years, before my wife (who was also an accountant), convinced me to start writing, something I always wanted to do. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. After eighteen months, we quit our day jobs and made it a full–time gig. I’ve been writing and publishing for a little over five years and I am proud to say that it supports us in full, which is a dream come true. I have more than 20 books out thus far, and have improved my craft with each one. I primarily write in the Science Fiction and Fantasy realms, like you.

        — David Estes (email message to me, Tue., May 17, 2016 at 3:34 p.m.)

 

[Please note: This posting is the first of two with David Estes.]

About a month ago, my wife Carolyn started reading the literary work of David Estes. She raved to me about the power of his writing, the intensity of the stories he was telling, how well she identified with the characters he created and the intriguing and confounding twists and turns of his plot lines.

Not being simply satisfied in being a distant fan, she emailed him her thoughts about how much she enjoyed reading his books.  She also mentioned to him that I had just finished my own story, and that it was in a similar vein of storytelling as David’s.

Much to her delight and surprise, he immediately emailed her back and they have continued to correspond with one another.

Both of them, also, encouraged me to contact him.

Two days ago, I sent an initial inquiry to him and shared with him what I had written and the struggles and challenges in writing I am currently facing, especially in the areas of generating good story ideas, in writing about them and of going through a steep incline in learning about self–publishing.

As with Carolyn, David responded forthwith, providing me with a detailed outline of self–publishing strategies.

He did something that not many people do, particularly those who dwell within this particular industry. First, he didn’t sugarcoat the information he gave me. He didn’t “showboat”, either. His response was kind, direct and to the point.  These qualities of sharing information in such a manner are deeply appreciated because for the past three years of my investigating this field, I have discovered that there are a disturbing number of people who are feathering their nests in it. It is to the point that you can get lost in the labyrinth of detail, that each one offers, most of which seems at cross purposes with what a beginning writer is trying to accomplish. You can also spend a tremendous amount of money in following the breadcrumb trail of self–publishing advice.

Such folks then set up shop, put out an expert sign, with a coaching sign alongside it, and then proceed to use a variety of relational and sundry marketing strategies to reel you in, and at very stiff prices.

David neither went into, nor even looked at, that direction. In about 600 words, he gave me a critically attuned appraisal of what I could do in successfully getting my story out to the world at large.

From this brief, but intense experience with an author who is just about on the verge of becoming internationally famous, I can easily see why his journey in storytelling has brought him to this incredible junction.

Instead of my writing my weekly blog on Wednesday evening, I delayed doing so because David was kind enough to let me Skype and talk with him about his adventures in writing.

What follows here is a portion of what he had to say.

What brought you to the blank page?

Adele Estes reading to son Beau. (Photo permission and courtesy of David Estes. Credit: David Estes, March 3, 2016, Honolulu, Hawaii.)

David said that his love of reading was a major force in his love of being immersed in a great story. He talked about how he and his wife Adele regularly read to their young son Beau every day. He believes that this literary exposure to his son is of vital importance.

“It’s important because most of a child’s education comes from the home.  It is what my mother did for me. I became an avid reader ever since the time when my mother read to me when I was a young child.”

David stressed the importance this act of love on his mother’s part for him was, and how it also instilled a love of writing in him. His love of reading and writing stories continues to grow even more strongly in him now in his 35^th year.

This legacy of the importance of children’s literature has extended to his writing the Nikki Powergloves Series. He has written six stories in this series so far.

He makes it a point to visit as many schools as he can to talk about his writing with students.  He has also used modern technology, effectively Skyping with schools, for example, in Maine, South Dakota and Georgia.

“It all comes back to the journey in one’s life, and I’m not sure how I got there. But I worked in accounting for ten years. I worked, first, at Price Waterhouse and they gave me the opportunity to go to Australia where I met my wife.”

Referring to the frustrations he was encountering with his day job, he said, “She saw that I wasn’t being fulfilled.  She was the one who encouraged me to write.  She saw that I was a huge reader and knew my passion and frustration about writing on my own.”

“Starting to write was so difficult because I didn’t believe I had any good ideas; talent. I was not yet put to the test.  I knew I should just put fears to the side. And just write. Still, I thought, I don’t have a big idea.

David mentioned an online interview he had given to The Fussy Librarian. It seemed to spark a further insight into his answering my first question.

“Do I actually have something to offer? I have plans to do so, but I’m not sure. Am I doing the right thing?  In the midst of all of this struggling, something clicked and I found my stride.”

I think many writers go through periods of self–doubt, especially when things aren’t going as well as they’d hoped. If I were to ONLY read my negative reviews (1 and 2 star reviews), I would likely be having these awful thoughts all the time. Likewise, if I were only to read my many glowing 5–star reviews, I would think I was the best writer in the world—which I’m not by a long shot. The true quality of my books and writing, however, is somewhere in the middle. That is reality. That is truth. That is what I need to focus on.

 — David Estes, “My Books Suck, My Writing Sucks, I Suck” (Saturday, 5 September 2015)

David Estes with his son Beau: Library talk with Kahuku High School students. (Photo permission and courtesy of David Estes. Credit: Adele Estes, May 1, 2016,  North Shore, Hawaii.)

Yet, self–doubt still plagued him. One of his favorite authors, Dean Koontz, “wrote under a number of pen names before he was a success. I struggled with that, too, with my first book, especially.

“This is a journey; a trajectory I’ve made. I had to set the doubts and fears all aside.

“I had to say to myself,” Don’t worry about all that—see where it takes you.

“I went to Australia in 2009. At the beginning of 2010, I met Adele. We were engaged to one another three months later.  We were married six months after first being engaged.”

At that time, they lived near Sydney on Manly Beach.  With Adele’s encouragement, he began writing every day, despite the fact that he was working five days a week. He started the day writing before he left home for work. He again took the opportunity to do so while taking the ferry to the Central Business District [CBD] in downtown Sydney. Breaking for lunch also gave him a chance to write, and he resumed it on the way back home to Manly Beach. Weekends provided him with an uninterrupted space of precious time to write some more.

“I was writing 2,000 words a day.”

Ironically, this target number of daily written words was the same amount as Stephen King had set for himself as well.

I shared with David what Steve had explained to me, to which David agreed.  David said that this schedule of writing put him on a path to creating 28 books in five–and–a–half years.

His confirmation about the effectiveness of this schedule of writing was a simple declarative sentence:

“I don’t believe in living in regret.”

Does that mean I’ve reached the pinnacle of my writing ability? NO! I’ve got a long way to go before I can even hope to emulate my writing idols, like Patrick Ness, Neal Shusterman, Libba Bray, and Dean Koontz. But I’m going to keep going, keep working, keep improving. That’s a promise.

So if you’re a writer having self–doubts . . . stop . . . breathe . . . remember:

YOU are the master of your own destiny. YOU have the capability inside of you. YOU have something to say.

No, my books DON’T suck, my writing DOESN’T suck, and I DON’T suck. I’m simply a work in progress, as a writer, as a husband, and as a person. And that’s okay.

 — David Estes, “My Books Suck, My Writing Sucks, I Suck” (Saturday, 5 September 2015)

It was a pleasure, and a true honor, to talk with David. Despite his full schedule, he took the time to speak with me. We spent an hour and forty minutes of quality time together discussing storytelling, writing and self–publishing. I obtained so much great information from him, I had to divide it into two separate posts.

Next week, I will be blogging more about his thoughts on inspiration, some of the literary characters he has created and his most recent thoughts and ideas about his next series . . .

Related Links:

Links to David Estes’ Storytelling:

https://www.facebook.com/Davidestesbooks/

http://www.amazon.com/David-Estes/e/B007R75PEU/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/70863-david-estes-fans-and-ya-book-lovers-unite

https://twitter.com/davidestesbooks

Links to Libba Bray’s Storytelling:

http://libbabray.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Libba-Bray/e/B001IGQHL6

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2526.Libba_Bray

https://www.facebook.com/LibbaBrayAuthor

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libba_Bray

Links to Dean Koontz’ Storytelling:

http://www.deankoontz.com/

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9355.Dean_Koontz

https://www.facebook.com/deankoontzofficial/

https://twitter.com/deankoontz

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Koontz

Links to Patrick Ness’ Storytelling:

http://patrickness.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Patrick-Ness/e/B001JSDMK2

https://www.goodreads.com/user/sign_in?returnurl=%2Fauthor%2Fshow%2F370361.Patrick_Ness

https://twitter.com/Patrick_Ness

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Ness

Links to Neil Shusterman’s Storytelling:

http://www.storyman.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Neal-Shusterman/e/B000APTN0I

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19564.Neal_Shusterman

http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Neal-Shusterman/1531698

https://www.facebook.com/nealshusterman

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neal_Shusterman

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products or services that I have mentioned here. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

© 19 May 2016 by A. Keith Carreiro

For information about my series, The Immortality Wars, please go to my home page: https://immortalitywars.com/