We’re both a bit skeptical by nature, so we analyzed and picked holes in real self-help books to see what we could use as comedy. That was one of the most fun parts.
Phil Wall – 28 March 2017
The Back Flap
Most people would give anything to be as successful as Gary Speedwell is going to be. Now, in Gary’s Guide to Life, Gary puts that dream within your reach by unveiling the strategies that are going to lift him out of ordinariness and set him – and you – on course for phenomenal success.
Conventional wisdom holds that only people who have attained some measure of success are qualified to write self-help books, but Gary begs to differ. Brimming with self-belief despite mounting debt, tricky personal relationships and a life seemingly spiralling out of control, Gary is a self-help expert like no one who has gone before.
About the book
What is the book about?
It’s a novel masquerading as a self-help book. Probably not a common genre, but we think the combination of characters and plot, plus the satirical humour, carries it off! The protagonist, Gary, is English, but is heavily influenced by his hero, a (fictional) American self-help guru called Marshall Brewster. Gary is trying to emulate Marshall and rocket himself to stardom by writing what he hopes will be a best-selling self-help guide for an English audience. Self-help is a broad term, and Gary has a habit of seizing upon all the most dubious parts of the canon, and then further distorting them and misapplying them.
When did you start writing the book?
A few years ago. My co-author Michael and I had discussed writing something together for a while – we both felt we had a book in us, but needed some help dragging it out! Being able to bounce ideas off each other seemed a good way of doing it.
How long did it take you to write it?
A few years! We’ve both got children and full-time jobs, so life got in the way. We took a couple of complete breaks from it for quite a few months, but I think that helped to view what we’d written very objectively with a bit of distance.
Where did you get the idea from?
Michael came up with the basic idea after going into a bookshop and marveling at the amount of shelf space devoted to self-help books of questionable quality. We spent a while fleshing out the idea, then developing an outline plot and the other characters. By the time we got to the first draft we had a solid structure in place – we knew the key points of the story arc. We’re both a bit skeptical by nature, so we analyzed and picked holes in real self-help books to see what we could use as comedy. That was one of the most fun parts.
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
Not really. Tying everything neatly together at the end was the trickiest part to write, and credit to Michael for a great first draft of the final chapter that barely needed anything changing, but if there was a struggle it was more in us both finding the time to dedicate to it.
What came easily?
Building on each other’s ideas. The structured approach meant we could both draft sections of it with a good idea of where we wanted to get to in the narrative. Then we’d review each other’s work, make suggestions, trim any fat, sometimes even educate each other at the same time. Some of the comedy was definitely improved by having us critically appraise each other’s jokes and try and improve them – you can guarantee that at least one person other than the writer finds every joke in the final version funny!
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
There are inevitably little bits of people we know, and of ourselves, but definitely no whole character anyone could point to and say, “You based that on so-and-so.” The story is written first-person in Gary’s voice, so we both had to get in his head and view him in the same way, and I’m not sure we could have done that if he was based on a real person.
We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?
I think successful authors develop their own style over a long time. I couldn’t point to a particular author as an influence.
Do you have a target reader?
Anyone who wants to be amused.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
We’re both good planners. I think this is probably essential when writing with someone else. So the process took us from idea to the main character to outline, with lots of work fleshing out all the characters and working out a logical timeline. Gary gives the reader lessons from his whole life, so the timeline had to make sense.
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
Yes, as described, we made quite a detailed plan, so we knew what we wanted the story to achieve in each chapter.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
We split the chapters into sections and edited after each section. With two of us involved that was necessary. I find that I tend to edit as I go along anyway, from years of writing shorter pieces for magazines.
Did you hire a professional editor?
We paid for a review by a professional proofer to ensure consistency. We wanted to make it a book we could be proud of. Having two of us in the writing process anyway meant that we were editing ourselves and each other, but even so it’s very hard to spot everything in your own work.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
I used to listen to music a lot more, but now I prefer quiet when writing.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
No we didn’t.
What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
The digital book market developed tremendously during the time we were writing, so by the time we’d finished it had become easy to self-publish and keep control.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?
We paid for the cover. Again, we wanted it to be the best product it could be, and we’ve seen so many self-published books with terrible covers, which really give no confidence that the content will be worth reading.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
We’re trying different avenues to get noticed – reviews, social media posts, local bookshops and of course everyone we know. It’s definitely a learning process for first-time authors. We’re honoured to have been picked as a nomination for Novel of the Year on Underground Book Reviews.
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
Don’t put your work out there until it’s the best it can possibly be. Although you can do everything yourself, if you want to produce the best quality, you will need to get help with some aspects of a book. It’s extremely rare for one person to be able to produce something totally professional on their own.
End of Interview:
For more, visit Phil and Michael’s website.
Get your copy of Gary’s Guide to Life from Amazon US or Amazon UK.
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