Working with a professional editor is essential for self-publishing. Any novel published by a press (large or small) will have an editor read through your work. Even self-published, your writing needs to be able to stand side by side with work that has had a professional’s stamp of approval.
Ian Strangway – 14 January 2018
The Back Flap
Gord is having a quarter-life crisis. The idea of working a nine-to-five job until the day he dies terrifies him, but unemployment and eventual death scare him even more. Gord wonders if everyone else is just as clueless as he is.
With the help of a red headed sex addict, a semi-famous author who can’t stop the characters in his head from harassing him, and a pregnancy faking ex-girlfriend, Gord realizes his friends really aren’t doing much better.
Following the hilarious and addictive misadventures of Gord and his friends, Quarter Aged combines rambling introspection, laser tag, and toxic relationships while asking the dreaded question, “now what?” Written for an ADD generation who skips to the good part of a 52 second YouTube video, Quarter Aged has brief chapters because we know you’ll be checking your phone every two minutes anyways.
About the book
What is the book about?
Quarter Aged is about a hopeless twenty-something, named Gord, who is having a quarter-life crisis. The idea of working a nine-to-five job until the day he dies terrifies him, but unemployment and eventual death scare him even more. Fearing existential fueled depression, Gord turns to his friends who aren’t doing any better. With the help of a narcissist who says little and does even less, a semi-famous author who can’t stop the characters in his head from harassing him, and a pregnancy faking ex-girlfriend, Gord realizes his friends suck at life too and feels much better about himself.
When did you start writing the book?
Almost two years ago now.
How long did it take you to write it?
Writing it was the easy part. Editing, rewriting, and tweaking until my eyes bled took forever. All said and done, the process took around a year.
Where did you get the idea from?
I was actually working on another novel at the time. I was rewriting and editing to the point that it felt like I was banging my head against a wall. Finally I decided to sit down and start something else. I binge wrote an early draft of Quarter Aged in under two weeks. My fingers were blistered by the time I finished. It was like I didn’t know I was pregnant, except it was a novel I didn’t realize I had in me. Without the weird food cravings, extra pounds, mood swings, and other joys of pregnancy. Actually… it was nothing like pregnancy.
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
Length. There are these preconceived expectations placed on how many pages we expect a novel to be. I had written my story and it was clocking in at around 200 pages. The plot was complete, the characters had finished their journey, and there was nothing more to say. It took me awhile to accept the novel was done, regardless of length, and stop struggling with adding pages for the sake of it.
What came easily?
Dialogue.
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
The real characters will recognize the fictitious ones.
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?
Absolutely. Joseph Heller’s non-linear structure in Catch-22 had a huge influence. Douglas Coupland’s Generation X showed me you really can have a novel about nothing but a group of people figuring their shit out.
Do you have a target reader?
The type of person who orders a low fat non-dairy venti Pumpkin Spice Latte on a Sunday afternoon and spends the day, rain or shine, sitting at the beach staring out into the ocean asking themselves if this is all there is while knitting tiny sweaters for animal shelter kittens. Short of that, people who like humor, I guess.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
Make time. I try to spend at least 35-40 hours a week writing. Doesn’t matter where I am, who I’m with, or if I’m wearing pants.
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
Depends entirely on the project. If there’s a story I need to tell, sometimes it’s easier to get everything on to the page and sift through scenes and nail down the structure after the fact. For screenwriting outlining is essential.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
I tend to read through what I wrote the day before and clean up typos/grammar here and there but the major edit doesn’t happen until the very end.
Did you hire a professional editor?
Yes. Working with a professional editor is essential for self-publishing. Any novel published by a press (large or small) will have an editor read through your work. Even self-published, your writing needs to be able to stand side by side with work that has had a professional’s stamp of approval.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
I like continuous background noise. If I’m writing at home I’ll deliberately run the dishwasher, washing machine or dryer – sometimes on repeat – in the background. Something about the mechanical cacophony is soothing. Landlord pays for electricity so… let’s hope they’re not reading this.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
No.
What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
This particular project is better suited as an independent release. Everything about it is non-traditional. The length, the subject matter, the target audience – it’s not the type of novel you see on shelves from a debut author. It’s just too weird and too risky. If I was a Big 5 publisher I wouldn’t take it on without proven success.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?
Professional. I know we’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but… people kind of do. Or at least I do. Does that make me a horrible person?
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
Oh, I have a plan. It’s a guerilla marketing strategy that would make Don Draper proud. It involves a swimsuit calendar of yours truly (I wish that was a joke. I’m selling out early here).
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
Believe in yourself and don’t be afraid to ask for help. Being an Indie author, you have to do everything: marketing, web design, social media, editing, graphic design, formatting, licensing, registration, accounting – it’s a lot of work beyond the page and it takes time to learn. Fortunately, authors love to write about their past experiences and there are lots of blogs out there from other Indie authors that are a great resource. My friends and family have also been instrumental in getting this far and I couldn’t do it without all their support, criticism, and skepticism (but mostly support).
End of Interview:
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