A Conversation With Eric Wilder Author of Just East of Eden: Tales From The Blog .: Knowledge Base

Click Here To Purchase From Amazon Just East of Eden: Tales From The Blog

Today Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com is excited to have as our guest, Eric Wilder author of Just East of Eden: Tales From the Blog. Eric has also authored 8 other books as well as over 60 short stories.

Good day Eric and thanks for participating in our interview.

Norm:

When and why have you become interested in blogging?

Eric:

I began blogging in 2005, not really knowing where I was going with it but enjoying the experimentation.

Norm:

Why do you believe blogging has become so popular over the past few years?

Eric:

People have an innate need to communicate their thoughts and feelings to others. Blogging provides the perfect universal forum to do just that. It still amazes me when I receive a comment from someone in Brazil or Croatia telling me that one of my stories struck a very personal chord with them.

Norm:

What do you want your work to do? Amuse people? Provoke thinking?

Eric:

Like everyone else, my emotions range from happy to sad. I strive to communicate my feelings when I write and I hope my stories evoke similar feelings and emotions in those that read them.

Norm:

How do you come up with ideas for what you write? What's the most difficult thing for you about being a writer? How do you approach the work of writing?

Eric:

I approach blogging differently than when writing a short story or a novel. A novel or short story requires that a certain amount of planning must first be done. I’m not a big proponent of outlining, but I follow an inner outline that can change from chapter to chapter.

I always have a “mental payoff” when I finish writing a novel or short story, sometimes a work of a year or more. Blogging, for me, is usually an expression of how I feel at that moment. An article, or story, usually is regurgitated from my soul in an hour or less but provides the same “mental payoff” as a novel, sometimes even more so.

Norm:

What motivated you in publishing a book of some of your blogs?

Eric:

Blogging has become a passion for me. I also love to read and like the touch and feel of a book. In addition to enjoying a good story, I love the almost sensual delight when I heft a book and turn its pages. I wanted my readers to feel the same way about Just East of Eden, presented in book form.

Norm:

What do you think of the new Internet market for writers?

Eric:

I love it. As a geologist, I left the comfortable arms of a major oil company to become an independent oil man. I soon learned that I could put a prospect together, drill a well and then produce it, just like a major oil company - sometimes even better. Publishing is no different.

With the opportunities afforded everyone because of the international access that the Internet provides, the aspiring writer no longer needs to rely on the stodgy old New York-based publishing industry to achieve success. Now, with the help of the Internet, they can conceive an idea, publish it themselves and then market it to the world - sometimes better than the major publishers.

Norm:

In fiction as well as in non-fiction, writers very often take liberties with their material to tell a good story or make a point. But how much is too much?

Eric:

People have been writing and reading for centuries but no one has yet devised a formula for penning a best seller. My advice is don’t set too many rules in your writing. Write from your heart and hope the emotion resonates with your reader.

Norm:

Do you feel that writers, regardless of genre owe something to readers, if not, why not, if so, why and what would that be?

Eric:

I have never met a writer that wasn’t also an avid reader. As a reader, I read for fun, for information, but most of all to be enlightened. As a writer, I strive to deliver what I myself so desire when I turn a page. Like the falling tree in the forest, would writers actually exist if there was no one there to read their words?

Norm:

Do you have a local writing community or fellow writers that you look to for support and advice?

Eric:

Yes. As well as the large Oklahoma Writer’s Federation, Inc., I am also a member of a small group called Writers of the Purple Page. My business partner and my next door neighbor are both writers. Writing is as much a craft as it is an art and I have learned more about the craft of writing from interacting with these other writers than from either book or seminar.

Norm:

What makes you write a new book?

Eric:

Writing a book, for me, is like watching an excellent movie. You are surprised by the twists and turns and never know exactly what’s going to happen until the ending. Beginning a new novel is difficult but becomes easier for me as my subconscious begins unfolding the plot in my mind. Despite all my planning and mental outlining, the story always takes unexpected twists and turns and I often don’t know how it will end until it does. The process, for me, is like a hallucinatory drug that I can’t live without.

Norm:

Can you tell us how you found representation for your books? Did you pitch it to an agent, or query publishers who would most likely publish these types of books? Any rejections? Did you self-publish?

Eric:

Saddened and humiliated when my oil company went “belly up” during the 80’s oil bust, I quickly penned my feelings, in the form of a novel, on the keyboard of an IBM AT. The novel was horrible but I realized that I loved to write.

I began reading everything that I could on the craft of writing. I also began attending writing conferences and seminars. I even attended a romance writer’s conference, and that is a story waiting to be told! I tried in vain to interest an agent in my second novel so I began writing short stories.

Anyone that has ever received a form rejection in the same SASE that you sent out has felt the pain of rejection. It feels like the deepest form of humiliation. Still, fourteen of my stories were published by various little magazines and I received many handwritten comments from editors encouraging me to continue writing. My novel Ghost of a Chance was accepted by Internet publisher Publish America and it is through their efforts that I learned how satisfying it is for someone to read your words and experience your innermost thoughts.

Since then, self-publishing has caught up with the rest of the world of publishing. Thanks to print-on-demand technology it is now possible for anyone to express themselves in print, and to have the fruits of their labor enjoyed by readers around the world. As an entrepreneur, it was only natural that I start my own tiny publishing house, Gondwana Press LLC. My plan is to publish other aspiring writers - someday.

Norm:

In the last year or so have you seen any changes in the way publishers publish and/or distribute books? Are there any emerging trends developing?

Eric:

Absolutely. A writer can literally publish his book and have it available for sale in less than an hour on Lulu.com. For a hundred bucks or so you can purchase a distribution package and make your book available on Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, and dozens of other web-based book stores both in this country and around the world. They are also available to brick and mortar bookstores. These books can compete favorably with the best of Stephen King and John Grissom, and often find an audience on fine websites such as yours.

Norm:

What's your advice to achieve success as a writer?

Eric:

One thing I have learned from attending so many writer’s conferences and seminars is that almost every writer, even the most famous, has a story to tell - how hard it was for them to be discovered. Most of us will never become famous but if you enjoy writing then don’t stop. Keep at it and keep putting your work out there for all to see. With blogging and the Internet, there is a world of opportunity available to practice your craft, along with a world of readers to enjoy it.

Norm:

Do you have anything else you'd like to share with our readers? What is next for Eric Wilder?

Eric:

I’m writing a novel featuring Buck McDivit, the protagonist from my first novel, Ghost of a Chance. Norm, thanks so much for providing me the opportunity to tell my story on your wonderful website.