Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a SWM humor writer from Chicago, who loves moonlit walks along the Chicago Lake Front and all that jazz, who only recently figured out why his career hasn’t taken off in forty years. I never got married! If I had, I would have had an endless supply of comic material. So if you are single and will never be satisfied with my performance in bed, have friends and parents who will always think I’m the worst decision you’ve ever made, and have kids who will constantly drive me nuts, and live in Chicago, please, contact me.
I have written 3 books, but I’ve only epublished one.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The book is There’s an App for That book 1.0 and I feel that humor is a spiritual quest to see the world in a unique way. It’s about finding “comic perspectives,” and when you finally figure out how to do that, so many things you read or see on TV become material, that can be used to turn that perspective into a story.
And the new world of New Media, social networks and mobile devises gave me an opportunity to explore every aspect of life, that non-writers don’t get to explore. And because of that, I actually get to say something about the painful truths of life, love and the human condition, which is what humor is really based on.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Compared to all the humor writers I’m met and read about, I do one hell of a lot of “research.” For instance, for “Mr and Ms. Right,” I have a word processor database of 59,500 words. And when it’s time to write, the first thing I do is turn it into a brainstorming tool, and when it came time to structure it, it turned into “Mr. & Ms. Right Apps Stories,” back to back male and female stores, where apps are being pitched for every aspect of the dating process, from what to do if you’ve given up on love to how to make the first date perfect.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
This is an unusual answer: sketch writers. When done right – which is hard to do – sketch is the most concentrated form of writing. A whole story has to be told in 1500 words. The reader has to feel that the piece is something that sparks their imagination, as something worth sticking around for, to see how I explore that topic. The readers have to identify with the characters in the piece, or see themselves, in the characters. The conflict in the piece has to not only escalate and raise the stakes on the point-of-view character, it has to take the readers further and further into a comic world. And finally, it has to have a funny ending. And advanced sketch is like writing scenes you’d love to see in comic movies.
Soooo, the book that has influenced me the most is The Comic Toolbox, by John Vorhaus.
What are you working on now?
There’s an App for That book 2.0
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m just getting into this, so don’t have a good answer to that yet. But in the end, since I write humor, it’s all about “performing” my stuff. I can do about a third as solo sketch (storytelling stand up), all can be done as podcasts and marketed to radio stations, and acted out for a series suitable for Funny or Die and other sites.
The problem is that I have the perfect, introverted personality as a writer. Being an extrovert is hard, Hard, HARD. But in the last few years, I’ve produced 3 sketch revues in Chicago, wrote, directed and did the video for a webseries (http://skirmishes.us) and got my feet wet at solo sketch at the Chicago Sketchfest.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
No one likes to hear this, but you have to put in your 10,000 hours “practicing” the craft – not reading about it. The greatest tragedy in the world is that it takes that much work to get the human brain wired right, so that it’s capable to doing what we so desperately want it to do – NOW – to be happy and give our lives meaning. But it facts are that it’s taken me 20 years to finally become happy with what I’ve written.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Writing is rewriting. Just call the first draft a “rough out.” It’s a discovery draft.
What are you reading now?
Right now? Right now, I’m up to my ass in this great new world of book promotions that didn’t even exist five years ago.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Again, it’s on to performing my work, getting ready to do interviews concerning the humorous side of this new world of New Media, social networks and mobile devices.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
How to Become Irresistible to the Woman You’re Stranded on a Desert Island With.
Beside Sex, What Else Can You Do When You’re in a Relationship
What the Love of Your Life is saying when She Screams at You, “If You really Loved Me, You’d Know What I’m Mad about.”
Author Websites and Profiles
Ed Toolis Website
Ed Toolis Amazon Profile
Ed Toolis’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile