Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a full-time writer, publisher and direct response copywriter. I work mostly with health clients, such as Agora Publishing, writing long-form sales letters and video sales letters. The Wealthy Health Copywriter is my first book.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I’ve been working as a direct response copywriter for over a decade – but when I first started, there was no book that covered health copywriting, and there still isn’t. So I decided to write it – and that’s how The Wealthy Health Copywriter was born. It contains everything I’ve learned as a direct response copywriter – and everything readers need to know about how to write great sales letters.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write early in the morning, from 6am onwards, I meditate at around 10am – I’ve been doing TM for several years, and the benefits it gives in terms of concentration, mental focus and energy are astounding. Then I continue writing afterwards. I use Scrivener for non-fiction books, but I use pen and note-pad for fiction. I need to feel the writing viscerally when I write fiction, whereas non-fiction is simply a pouring out of things in my brain that I already know – I don’t have to make them up. Somehow it helps that I use a notebook and pen when I have to make things up. I have a first novel in the works.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
For copywriting and marketing, the big ones are Bob Bly, Michael Masterson and Eugene Schwartz. When it comes to fiction, it’s Murakami, Grass, Auster and Kundera.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on a second book for freelance copywriters called ‘Profitable Copywriting: 7 Easy Steps to a Successful Copywriting Business.’ It’s about the business of copywriting – how to find a niche, how to find clients, how to build a portfolio, how to increase your fees, where to find lucrative copywriting gigs, and how to grow your copywriting business into new (and more lucrative) areas. I’m also working on a novel set in a military dictatorship in the 1970s.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
There are many. I’ve used Facebook advertising quite successfully.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write every day. Don’t stop writing. Make it a daily habit and get it done. Even if you’re sitting at your desk and can’t think of anything to write, don’t leave, stay there – simply being there will make you a better writer.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write what you want to write, not what you think others want to read. You WILL find your audience.
What are you reading now?
Gunter Grass, The Tin Drum. And ‘Great Leads’, a copywriting book by John Forde and Mark Ford, two copywriting legends.
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?
Kafka on the Shore. The Complete Works of Shakespeare. The Tin Drum.
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