Max Elliot Anderson grew up as a struggling reader. After surveying the market, he sensed the need for action-adventures and mysteries for readers 8 – 13, especially boys.
Using his extensive experience in the production of dramatic motion pictures, videos, and television commercials, Mr. Anderson brings that same visual excitement and heart-pounding action to his stories. Each book has different characters, setting, and plot.
Several books are published, with an additional twenty-nine manuscripts completed. Young readers have reported that reading one of his books is like actually being in an exciting movie.
Books for Boys Blog: http://booksandboys.blogspot.com
Author Web Site: http://www.maxbooks.9k.com/index_1.html
My Youtube Videos http://www.youtube.com/user/Maxbooks100
Below, Max shares how he became a published author
How many complete novels have you written so far? I’ve completed 36 manuscripts of adventures & mysteries for readers 8 – 13.
How many of those have been published? 8 have been published so far.
Years you've been writing: 10
First thing you ever had published: The book, “Newspaper Caper”
In a paragraph or two, describe what the road to novel/book publication was like for you. I began writing after the events of 9/11 radically reduced my client base for producing promotional and marketing video programs. Originally I had 6 books published, and that publisher went bankrupt, so I had to start all over again. But I think it’s my dramatic film production background that finds its way onto the pages of my books. Kids say that the stories are like being in an exciting or scary movie. I think that spirit is also detected by publishers who are interested in attracting young readers who will be the adult readers of tomorrow.
Do you have an agent? How did you acquire him/her? Yes, Terry Burns of Hartline Literary is my agent. We met online when he had two of his grandchildren read a couple of my earlier books in order to give comments for the back covers. Since he was familiar with my work, when I asked about representation, the process went well.
Describe the first time you got "The Call." Most of my“calls” have come by email, but it doesn’t matter, it’s always a great feeling. The only real call I’ve had was from Guideposts, informing me that a story would be published in one of their magazines.
Are you a fan of writing contests? Why or why not? That depends a lot on the contest. Right now I have a short story entered in a contest at Writer’s Digest. Doing well at that level would help my author’s platform. This is also the first contest I’ve entered. But I’m not a fan of contests where the writer has to drum up votes from friends in order to win.
What do you know now that you wish you knew when you were first starting out? I only wish that I’d started writing ten years earlier than I did. So much has changed so fast, it would have been nice to have gotten better established sooner. The publishing process takes a very long time to develop for most writers.
Three books on writing/publishing you'd recommend: I frequently find myself inside the covers of Children’s Writers & Illustrators Market, Writer’s Market, and Christian Writers’ Market
How is being published different than you thought it would be? The promotion and marketing side is quite demanding. At times it tends to overshadow the writing side.
What are two pieces of advice you would give to writers who are desperately seeking publication? Don’t be desperate. That’s when you make hasty decisions and mistakes. Remember that writing is the easy part of the equation. It’s what comes next that represents the truly hard work.
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