David Wake writes science fiction, adventure, comedy and, most recently, fantasy.  An advocate of indie publishing, he co-wrote Punk Publishing with Andy Conway on why and how to self-publish. He’s published 14 novels and has been a guest of honour at SF conventions.
More information: www.davidwake.com. Sign up to receive his latest news via his mailing list.

How do you discipline/motivate yourself to write and do you set daily targets?

It’s the other way around. I like writing, so it’s other things, real life stuff, that gets in the way. The trick is to make writing part of your lifestyle. You write, say, in the mornings, and always do that. Then writing is easy, part of your every day routine. I get twitchy if I’m not writing something.
I have, and do and will do in the future, set myself targets. Most successful writers I know, and I’ve read about, tend to write 1,000 words a day. But, if you set yourself a target, then you can feel a failure when you don’t reach that arbitrary number. But we shouldn’t. And maybe this chapter, that paragraph or whatever has to be written slowly.
So, make it part of your lifestyle.

What are the most important qualities required by a writer?

Perseverance. Bloody mindedness. Kindness.

How do you market yourself and your books?
I really don’t do enough and I should. I go to SF conventions and sell to fans there. I occasionally do Amazon Ads. I’m too English and hate blowing my own trumpet. It’s a problem for me. I’m great at turning readers into fans, but rubbish at turning strangers into readers.

Which writing resources have you found useful, e.g., books, courses, organisations, websites etc.?

Wikipedia for research, obviously. I did an MA in Creative Writing. There’s loads of stuff on YouTube, but a lot of it takes a lot of time to say nothing.
I’ve written a program to help me with a few admin things when writing. For example, it does an automatic word count for the target I shouldn’t be setting myself.
As for organisations, the best is New Street Authors (http://newstreetauthors.com/), which I co-founded and co-run. It’s a collective for independently published authors.
Andy Conway and I also co-wrote a book, Punk Publishing, on why and exactly how to self-publish. (http://punkpublishers.com/)

A top tip for other writers?

Just keep going. And work out how to use Word’s styles – fiddly, but worth it once you get them working for you, rather than against you, it really helps.
And be kind.

About The Jackdaw’s Choice (The Daughters of Égraine Book 1) – published November 2024

Mara dreams of peace and the return of Red Mill’s men from war, yearning for the day she can marry the blacksmith’s apprentice. But when a brutal goblin raid strikes her village, Mara must lead the women on a desperate journey into the unknown…
The Jackdaw’s Choice begins the spellbinding Daughters of Égraine trilogy.

The Jackdaw’s Choice is available from Amazon.