Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 116 - Taking the Short Tack with Matty Dalrymple

Mark has a conversation with Matty Dalrymple about her new collaborative book project.

Matty is the author of the Lizzy Ballard Thrillers and the Ann Kinear Suspense Novels. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, and the Brandywine Valley Writers Group. She lives with her husband Wade and their three loveable puppies in Chester County, Pennsylvania, which is the setting for two of her Lizzy Ballard Thrillers.

Prior to the interview Mark shares comments from recent episodes and reminds listeners of the chance to win prizes for leaving comments on recent episodes thanks to his amazing patrons. Then he shares a word from this episode's corporate 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.

In their conversation, Mark and Matty talk about:

• How and why they both got into writing short fiction
• Their experiences with collaboration (which includes Matty admitting she never thought she would collaborate with another author, at least not for a fiction project
• How they connected and the way that their new book project came about
• After several minutes about teasing the mention, Matty and Mark reveal the name of their new book, coming Feb 2020: Taking the Short Tack: Creating Income and Connecting with Readers Using Short Fiction
• The origin of the imprint for the book "William Kingsfield Publishers"
• Mark's consistent DIY approach to publishing, which started when working at his high school newspaper
• The importance of actually asking for something when you have an idea (ie, in the case of an idea for a book and a collaboration)
• The way that they collaborated and the tools they used along the way
• The discipline and organization that Matty brought into Mark's work process for this project
• The process of the writing of the book and the back-and-forth communication of the changes, and how they smoothed the differences in writing style
• The possibility of future collaborations now that they have learned one another's styles
• The origin of the title and the references to sailing inherent in the term "the short tack"
• The importance of focusing on building relationships rather than just selling a book
• Who the book is for, and how it can be used by authors in different ways
• The importance of a contract for two authors who are collaborating
• Why they decided to publish the book through Draft2Digital via a beta program that allows for payment splitting
• The great learning experience that this project was for both Matty and Mark

After the conversation Mark reflects on one of the nautical concepts that Matty referenced and how it relates to authors.

Links of Interest:

• Matty Dalrymple
• The Indy Author
• Taking the Short Tack
• Adam Croft's Online Mini Courses (Affiliate Link)
  • (Be sure to use "STARK" coupon code to save 50%)
• Episode 113 - Productivity for Authors: A Panel Discussion
• Episode 114 - Thanks for the Inspiration Neil Peart
• Episode 115 - Embracing the Indie Author Mindset with Adam Croft
• Findaway Voices
• Patreon for Stark Reflections

Matty Dalrymple is the author of the Lizzy Ballard Thrillers Rock Paper Scissors, Snakes and Ladders, and The Iron Ring; the Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels The Sense of Death and The Sense of Reckoning; and the Ann Kinnear Suspense Shorts, including Close These Eyes and Write in Water. Matty lives with her husband, Wade Walton, their two Labrador Retrievers (Juno and Sophie), and their terrier (Griffin) in Chester County, Pennsylvania, which is the setting for much of the action in The Sense of Death and Rock Paper Scissors. They enjoy vacationing on Mt. Desert Island, Maine, where The Sense of Reckoning and Close These Eyes take place, and Sedona, Arizona, the setting for much of Snakes and Ladders​ and The Iron Ring.

Matty is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, and the Brandywine Valley Writers Group.

The 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