I first started writing in elementary school. We often had to complete short stories and assignments. I always enjoyed writing these little stories but never enjoyed the fact that I felt like I "had" to do it. As I grew up, I continued writing - all for school. During college, I had to write several paged papers. Practically one every week.

I was naturally a pretty good writer and all of the practice helped. Eventually, I had to write a report on a scientific experiment I conducted for my undergraduate psychology major. This was the first time I wrote something with the intention of publishing it.

Once that article was published something major happened. I experienced a thrill and sense of satisfaction that can't really be explained. This drove me to continue writing and not simply writing but writing with the intent to publish. I was motivated to share the things I had learned with others and this motivation still fuels my writing today.

A Guide To Deception was the first book I wrote. It started out as a project for my senior course in psychology. After recently publishing my experiment, I wanted to publish this as well. I contacted several journals but since I didn't conduct any data analysis no one would publish it. At that point, I started contacting other outlets. Places like magazines, bulletins, et cetera.

Eventually, the Reader's Digest agreed to publish it as a series of articles over a six month period. I re-wrote the paper and sectioned it off to accommodate their formatting requests. Unfortunately, space was continually limited and they didn't publish it. After that, I contacted the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin and worked out a potential deal with them. I informed them of the previous Reader's Digest agreement and they thought it would be a good idea to publish one article a month for six months as well. Time went on, and nothing happened.

After a couple years of trying and trying to get it published, I finally decided to convert it into a book and publish it myself. The six articles became six chapters and all I had to do was write some extra material to tie everything together. After six months the book was published and in print!

Rejection.

After working hard to get my content published in "traditional" places and realizing that they never had the time to publish unsolicited manuscripts I turned to self-publication.

Eventually, I wrote another book that I really was excited about. I decided that it would be best to have it published by a "traditional" publisher. I spent months contacting literary agents and publishers trying to get my manuscript published. After over two-hundred rejections and non-responses, I started looking at named publishers. Many of them were fee-for-service.

They wanted me to pay them to have my book published with their name. I decided this would be a good idea because I thought it would help the odds of making my book a success. Unfortunately, things didn't work out that way. Instead of selling more copies I sold less.

Therefore, I went back to self-publishing and now publish everything through many different indie channels. In my opinion, it is the best way to publish. You have complete control over distribution and pricing. Not only that, but it is very inexpensive!

My greatest joy in writing is the result. I love it when people write a review or post a comment telling me that what I wrote helped them with something. When that happens, it is my greatest joy.

This is exactly why I write. I hope to help other people accomplish and learn things at a much quicker rate than if they tried it on their own. Every time someone enjoys my writing or benefits from something, I consider it to be a great success!

My fans mean the world to me. Without them, I'd be nothing. If fans don't read my writing and learn from what I've experienced then no one will.

I write everything for my fans. I write for anyone and everyone.

Readers don't have to be my fans. As long as they learn something or can accomplish something then that is great! I sincerely hope that they will continue to follow my writing and read my works. However, whether or not they do is up to them.

I'm always learning to do things for my fans and help them in any way I can. I love it when they comment on my Steemit posts or YouTube videos and I always try to reply as soon as possible.

I'm always working on something. Sometimes it may be too much. However, the main things that I work on are YouTube videos, blog posts, and podcasts.

I create YouTube videos to help educate people about many different online things. Plugin and software reviews along with social media how to's and online hints and tips are the main focus. I've also created some videos dedicated entirely to Steemit, which is an online blogging platform where you can earn money for writing content.

I write blog posts to share free information with my fans and anyone who wants to read them. My hope is that people enjoy and learn from them. In addition, I also hope they'll help drive traffic and establish credibility for my books.

I create podcasts to reach an audience that print doesn't reach. It's a lot of work and editing but I think people will learn a lot from them. In addition, I believe it will help establish some credibility and awareness for my books.

Like many authors, reading is something I love and I did a lot more of it before I started writing.

I really enjoy fiction books. I've always liked Gary Paulsen's Hatchet and the Brain books. In addition, Will Weaver's Memory Boy is one of my favorites. The Series of Unfortunate Events books by Lemony Snicket are really good. The Jason Bourne novels are also books that I greatly enjoyed.

However, perhaps my favorite books of all time are the Sherlock Holmes books by Sir A Conan Doyle. I love them and the style of writing is like nothing else available. The Great Brain books by John D Fitzgerald are also amazing.

Regarding non-fiction, the Bible is my favorite. I like the Uncle Eric Books by Richard J Maybury. They are invaluable and I have learned so much from them. I firmly believe everyone should read those books. I also enjoy reading books about body language and deception. Psychology textbooks and philosophy books are also very interesting to me.

Well, at some point I have to get up to use the bathroom.

Haha, for real though, I think it is mostly the fact that I have started so many tasks and I have a determination to see them through. I have to write more books. I have to write blog posts, make videos, record podcast episodes, et cetera. I feel like there is so much information that I have and want to share that if I don't do it, literally no one else will. It's stuff that only I know. Of course, other people know it but everyone has their own way of sharing information. I want to share mine. That's why I get out of bed each day. My hope is that people will benefit from the information that I share.

My writing process is a simple one. Basically, I sit down and start writing. I've never been a fan of detailed outlining. I've always believed that if you are going to take the time to write an outline why not simply write the content. Of course, at times, it helps to write down some topic headings so you know what to write about next. Other than that, my process is to sit down and start writing.

Put in the time, write a paragraph at a time and sit back between each paragraph to stretch and gather my thoughts. The longer I can stay leaning forward and at the desk the more I can write. Once you start taking breaks the writing process is significantly hindered.

Cover design is a huge process. It is probably the most important part of book marketing. No matter what people think, a book is always judged by its cover. If people don't like the cover then they won't buy the book. It's as simple as that.

That being said, when designing a cover. I always try to make the cover fit the book. I think about how I can best represent the contents of the book with an image or series of images. Then I design the cover. I want it to be simple so that people will remember it. I also want it to be detailed enough so they will be interested in it.

There's so much more to think about. The best thing to do would probably be to hire a professional. However, you have to be able to afford that. With time, practice, and research, my covers will keep getting better and better. And if I have to change them, I will.

You can never have only five favorite books. Many of my favorites are contained within a series. Therefore, here are my five favorite book series.

The Bible
Sherlock Holmes
The Great Brain
The Uncle Eric Books
A Series Of Unfortunate Events

I prefer reading things on my iPhone. That's mostly because I don't have any other devices. Still, the great thing about iPhones is that you can read PDF, Mobi, Epub and more!