Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a mainly self-taught guitar player with nearly 20 years of experience with my instrument. I started taking lessons at the age of 13 but got quickly discouraged by the not-so-inspiring methods of my guitar teacher. As a result, I stopped taking lessons altogether and gave up playing completely for a while. Later, I picked up the guitar again and started learning on my own terms, doing what inspired me. I started with fingerstyle guitar, but I’ve been focusing on the rock guitar for at least five years now. My mission is to help all aspiring and beginning guitar players out there, regardless of age, background and experience. I want to help them get a better start at playing the greatest instrument of all.
I’m a qualified language teacher, and have lived and travelled the world. I guess meeting so many people around the world in different circumstances has made me realize that music truly is universal and brings everyone together even if you don’t have a common language. That’s why I want to help spread the love by sharing my knowledge.
I just published my first book and I’m currently in the process of working on the sequels of the same series as well as several other books.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest, and also my first, book is the first part in my Mastering the Rock Guitar series. The title of the book is Guitar: Mastering the Rock Essentials – Practical Skills for the Complete Beginner.
I started learning the guitar as a teenager with a guitar instructor but I found his methods extremely boring and not inspiring. Now, after nearly twenty years of teaching myself to play, I decided to share what I have learned along the way to help others get a better start than I did. It may have taken me twenty years to get to where I am now as a player, but you can learn the same things in just a fraction of that time because I’m showing you all the right things in my books. That’ll save you a lot of time and frustration.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really, I do pretty much the same thing as most writers: grab my laptop and go get a latte at my favorite coffee shop. 🙂
What authors, or books have influenced you?
As I’m writing instructional non-fiction content for guitar learners, I can’t really say that there’s much influence to be seen in that particular area. However, I’m a big fan of John Grisham, so if I ever venture into fiction, I’m sure he’ll have a big influence on me.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on the next part of my Mastering the Rock Guitar series. As I always present the practical techniques and the theory in different books, I’m actually working on two books at the moment.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m pretty new at this but so far I’ve found out that social media is a great tool for promoting your books. Awesome Gang seems legit too. 🙂
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just get started! Consistency is key, because you don’t write a book in a day. Start a habit of writing 30 minutes a day and you’ll see some amazing results. It gets easier with time but if you never start, you never get better.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Consistency is key in everything. In writing, working out, life in general, everything. Consistency.
What are you reading now?
John Grisham’s The Brethren
What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to finish my Mastering the Rock Guitar series and that way help as many aspiring guitarists as I can. After that, I’ll probably try my wings as a fiction writer… 😉
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?
Street Lawyer by John Grisham, The Big Questions – The Universe by Stuart Clark and A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
Author Websites and Profiles
Edward Van Houten Amazon Profile
Edward Van Houten’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account