Meet Jonas Saul

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jonas Saul. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jonas below.

Hi Jonas, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

There is a one-word answer to this question: discipline.

Early on, I learned that discipline was my friend. It would get me through, and it would show me the way.
So, I hunkered down and worked at my craft. As an author of over fifty full-length novels, I can tell you that discipline put me in my office chair, got my fingers on the keyboard, and helped me create millions of words.

Only hard work will get you moving along your committed path.
Discipline is a close cousin to resilience.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I’m the bestselling author of the Sarah Roberts Series—more than two million sold!—and have written and published over fifty thrillers. After signing several deals in Los Angeles, MadRiver Pictures optioned the Sarah Roberts Series—over forty books!—which is currently in development.

Over the past decade, I’ve often outranked Stephen King and Dean Koontz on Amazon. I’m regularly invited to be a guest speaker, teacher, or workshop presenter at international writing conferences and film festivals worldwide.

In addition, I host annual writing and reading retreats in Greece, where I’m currently living. We focus on how to get tension and emotion in every scene on every page.

I’m an author, teacher, and professional freelance editor. I edit for several publishers and offer private editing services to clients. My website features numerous testimonials from bestselling authors.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Rule #1 – Learn: To be a successful author, one of the most important skills is learning how to write. Anybody can write a story, but commercial fiction has certain guidelines. A new author starting out must take the time to read books on how to write, focus on removing word clutter, and avoid superfluous writing. Not just that, the industry is evolving. What worked twenty years ago does not work now. It’s important to stay current.

Rule #2 – Thick Skin: New authors must forge their way in a world that doesn’t hold back opinions. If readers love your work, you’ll hear about it. Conversely, you’ll hear about it if they don’t love your work. Criticism is not always constructive in this business. It’s often destructive. It’s your job to let these things deflect off you and keep grinding away at the keyboard.

Rule #3 – Get Out of Your Way: Remove doubt. Forget about imposter syndrome. Make the choice, then work at it. If you don’t believe in yourself, who will? Get out of your own way. Aristotle once said, “If you think someone stopped you from getting what you want, you’re right. It was you.” Don’t be that person.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

Book? As in singular? Hmmm …
I’d say there were a few:

1. A Writer’s Guide to Fiction by Elizabeth Lyon changed me as a writer.
2. The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass still impacts my writing today.
3. Dreyer’s English by Benjamin Dreyer helped me get it right on the page.

There were dozens more over the years, but these are my top three.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://imaginegreeceretreats.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonassaul
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonas-saul-652059159/
• Twitter: https://x.com/jonassaul
• Other: https://imaginegreeceretreats.wetravel.com/trips/writing-masterclass-with-jonas-saul-imagine-greece-retreats-88720356