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In this episode, Mark interviews Michael W. Lucas about he books he has written which range range from crime and SF thrillers to arcane tomes on how to build your own Verizon. They also chat quite a bit about Michael’s latest book: Cash Flow for Creators.
In the opening of the episode, Mark shares some comments from recent episodes, as well as a word from this episode’s sponsor, Findaway Voices.
You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.
Immediately prior to the interview Mark shares a personal update about his recent appearance on the overnight radio program Coast to Coast with George Noory, and all the positive results that came from that.
In their conversation, Michael and Mark talk about:
- How writing for Michael started when he was about 4 and realized that books were created by human beings and this was something people could grow up to do
- The evolution of getting to full time writer via rejection notices, selling more and more things, and working on the craft
- Michael’s start in writing writing for table top games
- The styles of fiction that Michael writes and where his heart is in writing
- The many “what ifs” that Michael enjoys, such as “What if there were Orcs in 1927 Detroit running booze across the border?”
- What happened to make leaving the full-time role as a writer possible, which involved a lot of watching
- Michael’s new book for writers called CALL FLOW FOR CREATORS and why it was written out of self-defense
- The reality that making a living is about cashflow
- How evening out cashflow helps reduce the highs and lows of the typical cycle of a writer’s income
- The importance of looking at one’s lifestyle, where they live, how they want to live, when making decisions regarding the amount of money they need to make, the expenses they are willing to live with, etc
- The special editions that Michael does of some of his books, made specifically for his readers
- How, if you can do something special that speaks to your people, how Michael would encourage you to give it a try
- The way that Michael does his crowd-funding a little differently, using disintermediation, rather than using IndieGoGo or Kickstarter
- How not only are all of Michael’s books published wide everywhere, but that they are all also available for sale direct
- The sponsorships that Michael does that includes surprises, such as a gift he will send you upon the book’s publication
- And more . . .
After the interview, Mark reflects on a few things that Michael spoke about, including when you know your fans, you can feed them the right things that they value, and how people will support you and they WANT you to succeed – if you treat your readers well.
Mark then shares details about how listeners can win a copy of Michael’s book Cashflow for Creators.
Links of Interest:
- Michael’s Website
- Episode 137 – Action Sequences and Sex Scenes with Joshua Essoe
- Joshua’s Kickstarter Project: Essoe’s Guide to Writing: Action Sequences and Sex Scenes!
- Coast to Coast AM with George Noory (June 5, 2020)
- Submissions for Demonic Dolls, Screaming Skulls, and other Haunted Objects
- Submissions for Weird Waterloo
- Patreon for Stark Reflections
Michael W Lucas is a full-time writer who has written 30-odd books, ranging from crime and SF thrillers to arcane tomes on how to build your own Verizon.
His latest book is “Cash Flow for Creators.” He lives in Detroit, Michigan.
The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
another awesome interview Mark and one more book to add to the to-be-read stack. I just developed some sinking funds for my publishing. I almost feel silly that it took my so long to realize to do it, but generally each month I had enough to cover all the writing related expenses. This year I’m having 2 books come out in a relatively close amount of time so needing double what I usually need wasn’t working. So now I’m setting a little aside each month for these future expenses.
Awesome episode! Before I went full-time, I had spent three years paying off debt as my writing income increased, developing a “burn rate” plan for my writing income, and most importantly, talking with my family about the plan so we were all on board with what this new career was going to mean for us.
We’re fortunate to own our home and have relatively consistent household costs, but know the budget was vital.
Something J. Thorn has mentioned a couple times is that he attends (pre-Covid) a coffee group for small business owners. I think this is a great idea. I’ve learned a lot from real estate agents. Their weekly/yearly business rhythm and income are similar to writing.
Just picked up Michael’s book and look forward to checking it out fully.
Thanks for your conversation!
Good interview Mark Leslie. I find budgeting is the way to make sure you aren’t getting yourself into a whole that you can’t write yourself out of.
Sure you can get a fully illustrated cover but at 2000 dollars for a first book cover it is a little over the top. It is like the person who gets a new fancy car right after they graduate college and get their first job. Rather than seeing how those student loans and non school subsidized rent is going to take a chunk out of that paycheck…not to mention taxes.
I really like his atypical crowd funding of the books he is writing. With a notion that they are going to get something but it is a surprise rather than something specific. I am really curious what his next surprise is going to be since it seems he doesn’t even know.
As a software developer I have always leaned on the offense of the cashflow side with my income being higher than my expenses, but I know that if I do want to just be a writer I will need to work on the defensive side and start to work on getting the household budget as tight as it can be.