Donnie Masters FAQ About Writing
What order did you write your books in?
Mattress Buying 101 was the first piece I had ever worked on. It was originally published in 2016.
Start Winning with Money was released in 2017.
Good Debt Bad Debt was released in 2017.
The Quick Start Credit Repair Guide was released in 2018.
Tempting Ginger is due out in May of 2019.
What’s the deal with all the different subjects in each book?
I simply write about what I know. The first book, Mattress Buying 101, was about my experiences in mattress sales. The second book, Start Winning With Money, came about when I changed careers and began working full time in accounting and finance for a local business. I have real world, practical experience in both areas, so I write about it for other people to enjoy. Both mattresses and money are quite practical things that people should know about. You have to sleep every night. You have to earn and spend money.
For the record, let me state that I have been blessed that people actually want to read the comtent that I produce, and are willing to spend their hard earned money on my books.
Mattress Buying 101 was the first piece I had ever worked on. It was originally published in 2016.
Start Winning with Money was released in 2017.
Good Debt Bad Debt was released in 2017.
The Quick Start Credit Repair Guide was released in 2018.
Tempting Ginger is due out in May of 2019.
What’s the deal with all the different subjects in each book?
I simply write about what I know. The first book, Mattress Buying 101, was about my experiences in mattress sales. The second book, Start Winning With Money, came about when I changed careers and began working full time in accounting and finance for a local business. I have real world, practical experience in both areas, so I write about it for other people to enjoy. Both mattresses and money are quite practical things that people should know about. You have to sleep every night. You have to earn and spend money.
For the record, let me state that I have been blessed that people actually want to read the comtent that I produce, and are willing to spend their hard earned money on my books.
Are you going to write a sequel to “XXX” book?
Maybe. I really don't know.
The crazy truth about writing is that as you write more and more stuff, the ideas and opportunities you decide that you want to explore continue to expand as well. At this point, I am exploring the world of fiction, so sequels might become a real possibility.
Do you answer your own e-mail?
Yes, for now. I certainly have less time to respond lately.
Email me: mastersinvestmentgroupllc at gmail dot com
Maybe. I really don't know.
The crazy truth about writing is that as you write more and more stuff, the ideas and opportunities you decide that you want to explore continue to expand as well. At this point, I am exploring the world of fiction, so sequels might become a real possibility.
Do you answer your own e-mail?
Yes, for now. I certainly have less time to respond lately.
Email me: mastersinvestmentgroupllc at gmail dot com
Do you have a Facebook page, Twitter account, etc?
www.facebook.com/realdonniemasters
Twitter: @realdonniem
Can I order autographed books?
No. I tried to offer that at first through donniemasters.com, but I can't keep up with it anymore. It simply took too much time away from writing and other personal obligations.
Keep your eyes on book giveaways through Goodreads and Amazon though. I would like to do this for my fans.
Can I send a book to you and have it signed?
No, sorry.
Who is your favorite author? Are there other authors that have influenced what you do?
My favorite author of all time is Stephen King. I have never had the pleasure of meeting him in person, but I have read so many great books of his over the years. They are everything you want in a fiction book. The Talisman (Stephen King & Peter Straub) changed my life as a young man. After reading that book, I knew I wanted to write a book someday that would entertain people as much as that book entertained me.
I also love reading John Grisham, David Baldacci, Brad Meltzer, David McCullough and many, many more. All of these guys do an amazing job bringing the characters to life and making you feel a wide range of emotions as you read their books. There are some excellent reads from each of them.
What are you reading right this second?
Nothing. I am busy writing.
Do you have any advice/wisdom for a budding writer?
1) Write a lot and frequently.
2) Don't try to write a novel. Just start writing some text and see where it goes.
There are a lot of ideas that I started working on and the story went absolutely nowhere. I go back to some of my old works from time to time and see if there is anything to work with, but usually the idea died because it wasn't a very good idea to start with. Sometimes, especially when you write a lot, a piece of something else you were working on will add to another project in a meaningful way. That's when awesomeness happens!
More than anything else, remember that Ideas continue to generate more ideas. That's how books come together at the end of the day; ideas and lots of bad writing. : )
Where do you get your ideas from?
Anywhere and everywhere. Usually my idea starts when someone asks me a question about something I do, or they make a comment about something they have personally seen or dealt with. Then, the light bulb goes off inside my brain and away we go.
Do you have any say in what goes in your book/on your cover/on your back cover descriptions?
Yes. I am completely self-published through my company, the Masters Investment Group. That includes writing the back covers, picking cover art designs, and formatting the book for both digital distribution and print distribution. I then have to write all of the inside content. I also edit and rewrite a lot as the book progresses.
You work full time and write. Can you describe your typical day?
I work 9-5 Monday through Friday as an accountant for a local small business. I do not watch much TV, so I spend most of my evenings writing or involved in social activities. Sometimes I sit and write for hours at a time, sometimes it is just a few minutes each day. My writing schedule is fairly cosistent as I try to write something every day.
How long does it take to write a book?
That's a tough question. I spent almost 15 months on Mattress Buying 101 because I had no idea what I was doing and stopped along the way several times since I thought it wasn't good enough to publish. I talked openly about this at the end of the book.
Start Winning With Money came together in about 12 months total and contains a lot more content than Mattress Buying 101 does. Of course, I had a lot of the editing and book distribution issues figured out by that point, so that reduced the time between finished concept and publish date. I also found the right format for print and eBook so I could spend more time writing and spend a lot less time making it look good on the screen.
On a side note, a lot of well known authors use “research specialists” that bring together the raw data for them so they don't have to slow down the actual writing process. The writers focus on writing the actual story, the research team then puts the content into small, usable pieces that they can reference as they go along in the book. For example, if I were writing a book based on skydiving, I would have to stop writing the story and devote a lot of time to researching planes and proper skydiving techniques in order to make the whole thing believable.
Do you do a lot of rewriting and changing?
Yes. All the time. I like to make my content easy to read, so I am constantly adding content and deleting poor sentences and overall bad grammar. I literally read something the other day were one sentence made up the entire paragraph. Stuff like that drives me crazy as a reader!
Do you outline what you are writing about?
Always. For me I have to know where I am going to go with the book ahead of time. I outline what each chapter is about first. Then I make sure that the content in each chapter goes into enough detail on each subject by keeping lists of what needs covered within that chapter of text. Sometimes I have to re-write and edit large sections of the book in order to get my thoughts from brain to computer screen in an organized way.
What do you do outside of working and writing?
A lot. I am a socially active person so I have friends and family that never see me enough. I love to go fishing when I can get it in. I also like to spend as much time with the family as possible since I essentially work 2 jobs most of the time. We go hiking, fishing, to amusement parks, and a lot of day trips. I never want for things to do, but for time to do them all. My latest craze is gardening.
When did you start writing seriously for publication?
After I left the mattress business in 2015. I was able to get my education completed while working for Sleepy's and so I ended up changing jobs and my schedule changed drastically. That opened up my life so that I had more time focus on things I had put on the back burner for years.
Are you married? Do you have children?
Yes, married to my wife Jennifer (she is awesome). We each have one son from our first marriage, so we have 2 boys.
What are you working on next/now?
Depending on the day, I am always working on 2 or 3 different ideas.
www.facebook.com/realdonniemasters
Twitter: @realdonniem
Can I order autographed books?
No. I tried to offer that at first through donniemasters.com, but I can't keep up with it anymore. It simply took too much time away from writing and other personal obligations.
Keep your eyes on book giveaways through Goodreads and Amazon though. I would like to do this for my fans.
Can I send a book to you and have it signed?
No, sorry.
Who is your favorite author? Are there other authors that have influenced what you do?
My favorite author of all time is Stephen King. I have never had the pleasure of meeting him in person, but I have read so many great books of his over the years. They are everything you want in a fiction book. The Talisman (Stephen King & Peter Straub) changed my life as a young man. After reading that book, I knew I wanted to write a book someday that would entertain people as much as that book entertained me.
I also love reading John Grisham, David Baldacci, Brad Meltzer, David McCullough and many, many more. All of these guys do an amazing job bringing the characters to life and making you feel a wide range of emotions as you read their books. There are some excellent reads from each of them.
What are you reading right this second?
Nothing. I am busy writing.
Do you have any advice/wisdom for a budding writer?
1) Write a lot and frequently.
2) Don't try to write a novel. Just start writing some text and see where it goes.
There are a lot of ideas that I started working on and the story went absolutely nowhere. I go back to some of my old works from time to time and see if there is anything to work with, but usually the idea died because it wasn't a very good idea to start with. Sometimes, especially when you write a lot, a piece of something else you were working on will add to another project in a meaningful way. That's when awesomeness happens!
More than anything else, remember that Ideas continue to generate more ideas. That's how books come together at the end of the day; ideas and lots of bad writing. : )
Where do you get your ideas from?
Anywhere and everywhere. Usually my idea starts when someone asks me a question about something I do, or they make a comment about something they have personally seen or dealt with. Then, the light bulb goes off inside my brain and away we go.
Do you have any say in what goes in your book/on your cover/on your back cover descriptions?
Yes. I am completely self-published through my company, the Masters Investment Group. That includes writing the back covers, picking cover art designs, and formatting the book for both digital distribution and print distribution. I then have to write all of the inside content. I also edit and rewrite a lot as the book progresses.
You work full time and write. Can you describe your typical day?
I work 9-5 Monday through Friday as an accountant for a local small business. I do not watch much TV, so I spend most of my evenings writing or involved in social activities. Sometimes I sit and write for hours at a time, sometimes it is just a few minutes each day. My writing schedule is fairly cosistent as I try to write something every day.
How long does it take to write a book?
That's a tough question. I spent almost 15 months on Mattress Buying 101 because I had no idea what I was doing and stopped along the way several times since I thought it wasn't good enough to publish. I talked openly about this at the end of the book.
Start Winning With Money came together in about 12 months total and contains a lot more content than Mattress Buying 101 does. Of course, I had a lot of the editing and book distribution issues figured out by that point, so that reduced the time between finished concept and publish date. I also found the right format for print and eBook so I could spend more time writing and spend a lot less time making it look good on the screen.
On a side note, a lot of well known authors use “research specialists” that bring together the raw data for them so they don't have to slow down the actual writing process. The writers focus on writing the actual story, the research team then puts the content into small, usable pieces that they can reference as they go along in the book. For example, if I were writing a book based on skydiving, I would have to stop writing the story and devote a lot of time to researching planes and proper skydiving techniques in order to make the whole thing believable.
Do you do a lot of rewriting and changing?
Yes. All the time. I like to make my content easy to read, so I am constantly adding content and deleting poor sentences and overall bad grammar. I literally read something the other day were one sentence made up the entire paragraph. Stuff like that drives me crazy as a reader!
Do you outline what you are writing about?
Always. For me I have to know where I am going to go with the book ahead of time. I outline what each chapter is about first. Then I make sure that the content in each chapter goes into enough detail on each subject by keeping lists of what needs covered within that chapter of text. Sometimes I have to re-write and edit large sections of the book in order to get my thoughts from brain to computer screen in an organized way.
What do you do outside of working and writing?
A lot. I am a socially active person so I have friends and family that never see me enough. I love to go fishing when I can get it in. I also like to spend as much time with the family as possible since I essentially work 2 jobs most of the time. We go hiking, fishing, to amusement parks, and a lot of day trips. I never want for things to do, but for time to do them all. My latest craze is gardening.
When did you start writing seriously for publication?
After I left the mattress business in 2015. I was able to get my education completed while working for Sleepy's and so I ended up changing jobs and my schedule changed drastically. That opened up my life so that I had more time focus on things I had put on the back burner for years.
Are you married? Do you have children?
Yes, married to my wife Jennifer (she is awesome). We each have one son from our first marriage, so we have 2 boys.
What are you working on next/now?
Depending on the day, I am always working on 2 or 3 different ideas.