Meet Bobby Nash

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Bobby Nash. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Bobby, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
My work ethic definitely came from my parents. They were both hard workers who did their jobs well and made a living that allowed them to take care of their family. Seeing their dedication to that work ethic definitely rubbed off on me. I put that same devotion into my writing career. Now that I write full time, it helps me maintain my schedule, meet deadlines, and remain productive.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
My name is Bobby Nash. I’m an award-winning author of novels, short stories, comic books, graphic novels, audio dramas, screenplays, and more. I’m what’s called a hybrid author. I do work-for-hire gigs for publishers and also run my own indie press where I publish my own properties. My press is called BEN Books and you can visit it at www.ben-books.com

I started out wanting to be a comic book artist. Sadly, my artistic skills were not quite polished enough for that, but I started writing stories so I would have things to draw. After some trial and error, and a piece of helpful advice from a friend, I narrowed my focus to writing and that was the first step toward selling my first comic book script. Then, one day I decided to try my hand at a novel. I wrote a sci-fi story. It was awful, but I finished it. That spurred me to do another, this time a suspenseful thriller. That story became my first published novel, Evil Ways. Having that novel in my hands, I was able to show it around to other publishers, which garnered other writing opportunities for me. Finishing a project is very helpful when talking to publishers. They want to know you can finish what you start.

Since Evil Ways debuted in 2005, I’ve been steadily working. You can see all of my various projects at www.bobbynash.com

There are always new books/projects in the pipeline. Several completed books are in the hands of their respective publishers, waiting for a release date.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Having a plan helped me. It took me a while to learn this, but once I started mapping out a plan, my productivity improved and I sold more stories to publishers. I set attainable goals for myself, making sure to celebrate reaching each of them. Then, set more goals beyond that. Goals help keep me on track. Also, knowing the path helps me do projects that move me in the direction I want my career to go. This was a lesson I learned the hard way.

When I started writing full time, I realized that the only way I would be successful is to treat it like a job. When I wrote as a hobby or side gig, I could write when the muse struck, the urge hit me. That doesn’t work when writing as a career. I have to be in the office daily, working. That is the only way to get the work done. Scheduling helps keep me moving forward.

There’s more to being a writer than writing. This was another hard-learned lesson. Writing is my job, but part of writing is marketing, promotion, doing interviews, setting up appearances, working with cover illustrators, designers, editors, and the like. Writing for a living is like running a small business. There are a lot of moving parts. You have to learn how to do those functions, or be in a position to pay someone to do them for you.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
One of the biggest challenges facing independent creators is finding your audience. How do you get yours books (or music, film, art, etc.) in front of the people who want to buy it? That is an area I spend a lot of time working on. How do I let people know about my books? There’s no one correct answer. Some avenues work better than others. Some only work once, but not twice. Learning how to communicate, to talk up your work, to make those contacts, is not always easy, but it is necessary, if selling books is your goal. How do I find readers? How do I get them to take a chance on my books? These are the questions I wrestle with daily. I’m always trying new ways to promote my work.

The other big challenge I face is me. I’m probably my own worst enemy. There are days when I would rather do anything else than sit down and go to work. I can be easily distracted, especially by the internet. It’s human nature to try to avoid doing the things we know we should be doing. Learning how to push those tendencies aside and do the work is not easy, but it is one of the keys to success.

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