Kyle Waller has been writing since he was six years old. His first story was a melting pot of Sailor Moon, TimeSplitters 2, Star Wars, Army Men, and Star Trek. He is a self-taught writer from the San Francisco Bay Area whose dystopian novel WARD tackles mental illness as a central theme. He earned an award from the former President of the United States for National Service through his work in disaster relief, and is a survivor of severe depression.
Host: Richard Lowe | Guest: Kyle Waller
Interview Transcript
Richard: How did you start becoming a writer?
Kyle: It’s just something that happens. I think that goes for anybody who is an artist — it’s something you’re compelled to do. You may not understand why or how it’s all going to pan out, but it’s something you need to accomplish. You write because you don’t have a choice. It’s what wakes you up at three in the morning and makes you jot down an idea. I was just taking a shower and a whole scene was downloaded into my brain for my upcoming book. I had to get out early and write it all down.
The biggest reason I write is because we have so many problems in the world and people don’t seem to be paying attention. My novel WARD covers mental illness — a taboo subject that society still doesn’t like to address. We sweep it under the rug. I take a very uncomfortable subject and put it in front of your face, because there’s no other way for society to solve these problems.
From 400,000 Words to a Series
Kyle: The first novel I wrote was called The Radix Fable. I thought I’d written one novel — it turned out to be over 400,000 words and ballooned into about three books. That was my college equivalent experience. I haven’t gone to college. I’m self-taught — I sit down and do it because I know that’s what I’m meant to do. I took all the knowledge from that experience and applied it to WARD.
I started working on The Radix Fable thinking it was going to be the next big thing. I got rejection after rejection — and that’s if I heard anything back at all. So I started cutting the fat, got the first book down to about 95,000 words, sent it in again. More rejections. Then I decided to jump forward in the series, apply all my lessons, and write WARD. That’s what worked for me.
Why Self-Publish
Kyle: A couple of reasons. One, I hate writing query letters. Two, I want to retain creative control. I’ve never been a conformist — I’ve always been a deviant. My parents will tell you I’ve always been a handful. I want control over what I do.
Marketing Is Everything
Kyle: Develop your marketing plan first. If you don’t, you are sunk. Art is your passion, but it’s also a business. You’re an artistic entrepreneur. You can master the craft of writing, but if you can’t get that novel in front of your target audience, it doesn’t matter how great you write.
Identify your target audience. Know what genre you’re writing, who typically reads it, who your competition is. How can you market your novel in a way that stands out? Especially in self-publishing, a lot of books are poorly formatted, full of spelling errors, and don’t come across as professional. Narrow down your formatting first, then your marketing plan.
Facebook ads can be run for as little as a dollar a day. Secure as much free publicity as you possibly can. The biggest thing to identify: What is your story? What is unique about you? And why does the world need to see you right now?
Show, Don’t Tell
Kyle: Before you start writing, imagine the world you’re in. What does it look like? What does it feel like? Then compare that to things you’ve experienced. San Francisco at nighttime, when they release the sewage flow-throughs beneath the city — if you happen to be standing at the right opening, it reeks of death. I take that and ask, how did that make me feel? And I put that into my novel in a way people can relate to. People don’t want to be told a story — they want to follow along. They want to feel the character’s emotions and find a way to connect.
Advice for New Writers
Kyle: This is a marathon, not a sprint. Time and patience will be your best friends. Make sure you publish a great novel first — if you don’t, nothing you do afterward will matter. Pay a professional formatter. I paid about $60 for my ebook and it saved me five hours of headache.
Decide if this is something you really want to do, because it’s not an easy road. I don’t say this to discourage you — I say it to be honest. Family will try to stop you. Friends will tell you to get a regular job. Sit down deep within your soul and decide. Then commit to it without regrets.
My day job is disaster relief. When I was in the US Virgin Islands after the hurricanes, my computer died on me after seven years. You don’t know how hard it is to get a new computer shipped to the US Virgin Islands. I ended up typing on my phone for about a month and a half. You just keep going.
Kyle: This path is not meant for everybody. It’s going to be difficult. You may find yourself walking alone for a while. That’s entirely fine — it happens to all of us. Go forward without regrets.
Find Richard Lowe at TheWritingKing.com.
Video edited by Bonnie Dillabough.