Fantha Tracks Editor-In-Chief Mark Newbold has sat down with YourMoneyGeek to discuss what is involved in becoming a successful writer, and what it is like contributing to publications about your beloved fandoms.
Here is an extract:
How did you get started writing?
I’d been writing fanfiction since the early 1980s and that got me very much tuned in to Star Wars and anything Lucasfilm related. As a subscriber to Bantha Tracks, my main goal was to somehow be published in the pages of the fan club magazine.
While I didn’t manage that I did eventually start writing for its successor, The Star Wars Insider, back in 2006. Before then I’d written for Model and Collectors Martand Film and TV Magazine here in the UK, and after Insider I moved on to Geeky Monkey, Starburst, The Metro and Star Trek: The Official Magazine.
What does a typical day look like?
There isn’t a typical day! As well as being a writer, I look after my wife who is disabled, and I also work part-time as a stocktaker. Great work that’s surprisingly fun and very flexible, so it fits in with my writing demands.
I try to be up and about by 7 am (I usually fail) eat, boot up the PC and start on the websites around 9 am. Depending on the demands of the day I will often be up and still writing well after midnight.
What is one thing you have learned from being successful?
In my own small circle, I guess I’ve done pretty well, but the one thing I have learned is that it’s all relative. I’ve now got a good amount of writing behind me, but I’m still hustling for new projects and work all the time, and I take nothing for granted.
For example, a misunderstanding meant I was off The Insider for a year or so, and despite the issue being rectified and apologies made to me, I quickly learned that nothing is a given – no one owes me anything. Geeky Monkey, which was a fantastic magazine I wrote for a couple of years, folded suddenly. Not resting on my laurels.
Be sure to take the link below to read the rest of the interview.
