Come & Meet Jim Musgrave

What is hardest – getting published, writing or marketing?

Marketing, by far, is the hardest. In fact, I almost fit into the Shirley Jackson School of Marketing. She was agoraphobic. I’m in charge of the creative work. Why should my physical essence figure into anything? The fact is, if you don’t market today, you don’t sell. Period.

Do you plan to publish more books?

I have four plots for my Pat O’Malley Historical Steampunk Mysteries in the making.

What else do you do to make money, other than write? It is rare today for writers to be full time…

I run an editing business in San Diego.

If you could study any subject at university what would you pick?

Sociology.

How do you write – lap top, pen, paper, in bed, at a desk?

Anywhere I can be connected to the Internet.

Where do you get support from? Do you have friends in the industry?

A fellow recovered alcoholic and successful indie author, Martin Crosbie, who got me started on the road to indie freedom. Also, Kim Mutch Emerson and the MasterKoda gang on Facebook. On the literary fiction side, a guy who liked my stuff (and has written blurbs to that effect) and has possibly won more short story contests than anybody in the world, Jacob M. Appel (he always wants the “M” in his name because there’s another famous Appel. Go figure!).

How much sleep do you need to be your best?

Eight hours.

Is there anyone you’d like to acknowledge and thank for their support?

My publicist and full-time “Madame,” (inside joke) Ms. Jennifer Perry.

Every writer has their own idea of what a successful career in writing is, what does success in writing look like to you?

It is vital to get exposure and target the right readers for your writing, tell us about your marketing campaign?

Tell us about your new book? What’s it about and why did you write it?

I wrote this trilogy because I wanted to get into the Steampunk genre. Therefore, the first three books in the Detective Pat O’Malley historical mysteries bring my sleuth ever closer to meeting the main adversaries, the Steam City Pirates. Technically, only the third novel, Jane the Grabber, features an authentic Steampunk villain, but all of the novels do feature elements present in the genre and aficionados will appreciate them as well. I hope my marketing campaign will introduce new readers to this interesting genre of fiction, so I can gain a following all my own. Please read my blog post on this topic.

Do you have an organized process or tips for writing well? Do you have a writing schedule?

Writers can watch for my daily “Sweet Writing Tweets.”

What do you hope people will take away from your writing? How will your words make them feel?

I hope my readers will enjoy learning about history as they are entertained. I spend many, many hours on historical research for accuracy. I weave it within the plot like a fine tapestry, and the result (hopefully) should be an overall feeling of satisfaction by the reader.

How do you think people perceive writers?

The Internet has caused a strange phenomenon: everybody think he/she is a writer! The respect for research and creativity has been bludgeoned by the blogosphere (no insult intended). For example, most of my students in college are great at getting information, but they are lousy at using it and applying it in effective and thought-provoking ways. They are not being taught to think critically and to analyze sources for credibility and/or real world application.

What’s your next project?

I’m working on The Steam City Pirates, mystery #4 in the Pat O’Malley Historical Steampunk Mysteries. I even have some “old salt submariners” who are advising me on the technical aspects of steam-powered submarines. This is an advantage of being a “Navy brat” and son to a WWII submariner and Pearl Harbor Survivor.