Dale Brown – Taking Flight with a Bestselling Author
Dale Brown has had thirteen New York Times bestsellers to his name.
His books are easily identifiable. They are those aviation techno-thriller novels you see at the bookshop. His books have been published in 11 languages and distributed to over 70 countries. In all, over 10 million copies of his books, audio books and computer games have been produced.
In recent years he has expanded his writing and works with another author, Jim DeFelice, to continue his bestselling crusade. In this interview, Dale spoke about, not just writing that novel you’ve always wanted to write, but the importance of always planning and thinking about the next book. And the next.
Darrell - You have been writing from a young age. Can you describe how you went from a 'part time' writer to creating your first successful novel?
Dale - I have wanted to write since I was in middle school. I'm not sure where the urge to write fiction came from, because I always wanted to write non-fiction. (computer reviews, military base articles, etc.) I had a column in the college newspaper at Penn State and wrote computer software and hardware reviews for several magazines. I started writing columns at Penn State when I wrote a critical opinion to another columnist and the editor asked me "Do you think you can do better?" I said "Yes" and I wrote for two years at PSU at the Daily Collegian.
I started writing "Flight of the Old Dog" in 1983 when I was flying B-52Gs in the Air Force and I really enjoyed the freedom and creative range with fiction. My focus always was writing real-world events in a fictional setting.
I was always amazed when I wrote articles about military flying exercises we'd do and folks on the military bases had no idea what we'd do. Dozens of aircraft would leave the base in the middle of the night and no one had any idea what they were doing until I described it. I knew that's what I wanted to write about.
Darrell - Can you describe a typical day of writing?
Dale - A typical day of writing is sitting down at the desk and reading, re-writing, and writing. I try to make myself available for my son when he's out of school but otherwise I'm at the desk working. Being a writer is a rather boring job: your job is to sit at the desk and create. Your life exists in the universe between your ears. That's what your fans want to experience. Your job is to translate the world you create into words that others can experience.
Darrell - Airplanes are obviously your first love and many of your earlier books feature your hero Patrick McLanahan. Some of your more recent books seem to be more 'land based' than 'air based'. Is there any particular reason for this?
Dale - Patrick has been around for a number of years and even die-hard fans might be getting a little tired of him. My job is to create a new evolving universe with new characters and new plots that expand and enhance the universe I've already created. I'll always be air-power-centric but I'll explore and enhance new technology to stay on the cutting edge. Patrick is the centre of my universe but others are stepping up to take centre stage, like Patrick's son Bradley.
Darrell - You've teamed up with Jim DeFelice to co-author a number of books. What's it like working with another author and how does this work in practical terms?
Dale - Jim DeFelice is an incredible writing and idea machine. He's taken my ideas and plots and taken them to extraordinary dimensions. I'm fortunate to be linking up with an incredible talent like Jim DeFelice and I hope to continue working with him for years to come.
Darrell - What do you think are the best ways a writer can market themselves?
Dale - Always operate outside your comfort zone. You have a novel ready for publication?--you should be in the bookstores EVERY DAY pushing your work. You should be on a lecture circuit, volunteering your time to speak in front of groups. Writing the book is one important phase, but MARKETING your book is the next important phase, and it's just as important as the writing part. Get out in front of the booksellers, social groups, organizations, etc. Are you shy? BREAK OUT. Learn about Twitter and Facebook and BE ACTIVE. Be proactive.
Darrell - What advice would you have for someone trying to get their first book published?
Dale - Be persistent. Be active. Writing your book is the most important ingredient, but GETTING IT SOLD is the second most important part, and it takes as much effort as writing. DON'T QUIT. Be positive. If you get negative feedback on you work, evaluate and act on it. SELL YOURSELF. Publishers buy IDEAS and PLOTS, so if you have a story to tell, SELL IT. NEVER GIVE UP. I have a scrapbook with over a HUNDRED rejection letters for "Flight of the Old Dog," and that's just the ones that answered back. DON'T QUIT. If you get a rejection, analyse it and apply it to your story, but DON'T STOP PITCHING. NEVER QUIT.
Beyond that: start working on the NEXT book. Publishers like authors that have lots of books in them. You want to be a writer--you better have lots of books in your belly ready to be released. Get busy. You want to be a writer--WRITE!
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