Donnie Masters FAQ About Writing
What order did you write your books in?
Mattress Buying 101 was my first published work. 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 was released in 2019.
Why do all of your books have different content?
I simply write about what I know. My first book, Mattress Buying 101, was about my experience as a salesperson, store manager, and district manager for Sleepy's. The second book, Start Winning With Money, came about when I changed careers and began working full time in accounting and finance. I have real world, practical experience in both areas, so I write about those subjects for other people to enjoy.
In 2018, I began working on my first, full-length novel. Currently, I am exclusively writing fiction.
For the record, let me state that I have been blessed beyond belief that people actually want to read the content that I produce, and are willing to spend their hard earned money on my work.
Mattress Buying 101 was my first published work. 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 was released in 2019.
Why do all of your books have different content?
I simply write about what I know. My first book, Mattress Buying 101, was about my experience as a salesperson, store manager, and district manager for Sleepy's. The second book, Start Winning With Money, came about when I changed careers and began working full time in accounting and finance. I have real world, practical experience in both areas, so I write about those subjects for other people to enjoy.
In 2018, I began working on my first, full-length novel. Currently, I am exclusively writing fiction.
For the record, let me state that I have been blessed beyond belief that people actually want to read the content that I produce, and are willing to spend their hard earned money on my work.
Are you going to write a sequel to “XXX” book?
No.
In my opinion, the best literary work is accomplished when you tell the story to the best of your ability, and then you let the reader's imagination take over after that.
Do you answer your own e-mail?
Yes, I do. I am busy however, so please don't expect a long or immediate response.
Email me: mastersinvestmentgroupllc at gmail dot com
No.
In my opinion, the best literary work is accomplished when you tell the story to the best of your ability, and then you let the reader's imagination take over after that.
Do you answer your own e-mail?
Yes, I do. I am busy however, so please don't expect a long or immediate response.
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 through donniemasters.com, but I can't keep up with the demand anymore. It simply took too much time away from writing and other personal obligations.
Make sure you pay attention to the "Events" page. I am doing more public appearances and book signings than ever.
Can I send a book to you and have it signed?
No.
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 great 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 characters to life and making you feel a wide range of emotions as you read. There are some excellent reads from each of them and I won't try to list all my favorites.
What are you reading right this second?
Nothing. I am busy writing. I don't even watch TV.
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; good ideas and lots of bad writing that eventually turns into a great story.
Where do you get your ideas from?
Anywhere and everywhere. Usually my idea starts when someone asks me a question about something, 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 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 consistent, however, as I try to write or edit something every single day.
How long does it take to write a book?
That's a tough question to answer. 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. I talk openly about that 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, by book number 2 I had a lot of the editing and book distribution issues figured out, so that reduced the time between finished concept and published 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 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.
An example of this is trying to write a book based on skydiving. For me, I would have to stop writing the story and devote a lot of time to researching airplanes and proper skydiving techniques so that the story was believable in the end.
Do you do a lot of rewriting and changing?
The short answer is yes, I rewrite and edit all the time. For my readers, I like to make the content I produce easy to read and fairly quick to get through. I am constantly adding content and background information, as well as deleting poorly written sentences and bad grammar. I literally read something the other day where one sentence made up the entire paragraph and contained 8 commas. Stuff like that drives me crazy!
Do you outline what you're writing about?
Always. I have to know where I'm going to go with the book ahead of time, so I outline what each chapter will be about first. Then, I make sure that the content in each chapter goes into enough detail by keeping a list of what needs covered within that chapter. Sometimes I have to rewrite 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?
Quite a bit, actually. I'm 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, 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 natural 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 through donniemasters.com, but I can't keep up with the demand anymore. It simply took too much time away from writing and other personal obligations.
Make sure you pay attention to the "Events" page. I am doing more public appearances and book signings than ever.
Can I send a book to you and have it signed?
No.
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 great 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 characters to life and making you feel a wide range of emotions as you read. There are some excellent reads from each of them and I won't try to list all my favorites.
What are you reading right this second?
Nothing. I am busy writing. I don't even watch TV.
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; good ideas and lots of bad writing that eventually turns into a great story.
Where do you get your ideas from?
Anywhere and everywhere. Usually my idea starts when someone asks me a question about something, 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 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 consistent, however, as I try to write or edit something every single day.
How long does it take to write a book?
That's a tough question to answer. 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. I talk openly about that 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, by book number 2 I had a lot of the editing and book distribution issues figured out, so that reduced the time between finished concept and published 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 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.
An example of this is trying to write a book based on skydiving. For me, I would have to stop writing the story and devote a lot of time to researching airplanes and proper skydiving techniques so that the story was believable in the end.
Do you do a lot of rewriting and changing?
The short answer is yes, I rewrite and edit all the time. For my readers, I like to make the content I produce easy to read and fairly quick to get through. I am constantly adding content and background information, as well as deleting poorly written sentences and bad grammar. I literally read something the other day where one sentence made up the entire paragraph and contained 8 commas. Stuff like that drives me crazy!
Do you outline what you're writing about?
Always. I have to know where I'm going to go with the book ahead of time, so I outline what each chapter will be about first. Then, I make sure that the content in each chapter goes into enough detail by keeping a list of what needs covered within that chapter. Sometimes I have to rewrite 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?
Quite a bit, actually. I'm 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, 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 natural 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.