Conner McCall

Writer

S3: E19 Part 1, 2 & 3

I began writing when I was very young, and started my first full-length novel in 7th grade. I finished it a year later at just less than 74k words. It was objectively a terrible book, but through it I discovered a love of writing I’ve been chasing ever since. I worked on various projects over the next few years and finished my next novel when I was a junior in high school. It was the start of a three-book trilogy, which I ended up self-publishing through Kindle Direct Publishing (Amazon) after my freshman year of college in 2014. I learned a lot about writing, authorship, the publishing process, and more through the experience. I don’t regret it at all, but I have recently un-published this trilogy. It has tons of problems, and I want to distance myself from it a bit before trying to break into the traditional publishing market.

After that trilogy, I spent time on a variety of projects and didn’t finish another book until early last year. I’m finishing up another round of revisions on it and hope to start submitting to agents soon.

1. What genre(s) do you write?

Sci-fi and fantasy; I’ve written dark, high, and modern fantasy so far

2. Are there any other social media links, websites, or other places to learn about you that we should add?

No, unfortunately

3. What is your favorite part of being a writer?

I love watching my creations take on a life of their own. It’s why I can’t outline; my outline is always wrong because my characters don’t do what I expect!

4. Are you going the self-publishing or traditional publishing route? And why?

I actually did self-publish once upon a time. It was a good (extremely educational) experience, and I’m open to self-publishing again, but I’d really prefer to go the traditional route this time. I want the publicity/marketing that comes with traditional publishing. Self-publishing can’t come close to it.

5. Are you a part of any writing communities?

Only my personal writing group. I follow the Novelry and The Shit No One Tells You About Writing, if that counts.

6. What one editing rule do you live by?

Don’t be afraid to chuck it out. This goes from the small things (like a metaphor I’m too fond of) all the way up to the big things (like a story concept I love but just can’t get to work). Worst case, cut and paste it somewhere I’ll remember it, and maybe I’ll find a way to recycle it somewhere down the line.

7. What are the benefits of being a beta reader/ having beta readers?

I cannot stress this enough: beta readers are invaluable for so many reasons. As the author, you need to know what is working or not working for your readers, and you need to know it before it’s published. You will reach a point in your manuscript where you cannot improve it any more on your own, and your beta readers will show you what needs to be fixed. Perhaps most importantly, my beta readers have forced me to hone my skills as a writer. I essentially try to preemptively fix issues my manuscript might have, based on the feedback my beta readers have given me in the past. They always find issues anyway, but that’s the whole point. As for being a beta reader, I’ve found it helps me critique my own work. By training my eye to actively look for problems in others’ writing, I get better at finding it in my own writing. I also think it’s just good to read what your peers are writing and to be supportive of them.

8. If you could give any advice to a new writer/author, what would it be?

Just write. The hardest part is putting the pencil on the paper, and you have all the excuses not to, but you just need to start. The most common excuse I hear is, “I just don’t want my book to be bad.” Well, the truth is, your first book probably will be bad (just like everyone else’s, except for the extremely rare outlier). The only way to get better is to do it. A lot. So write!