We recently connected with Ed Davis and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ed, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I learned to write by writing. The first million words are where I found my voice and figured out what I wanted to say and why. But the learning never stops. Editors have been, and still are, some of my best teachers, and the lessons reach beyond the page. Learning how to balance my ego with my desire to make the work as meaningful as possible. Learning when to accept suggested changes, when to resist them, and when to take ownership of what I’ve written. If there is a shortcut to this process, I don’t know it.

Ed, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I began my writing career over forty years ago, pausing in boxcars, under street lamps, and in hobo jungles to capture the beats and rhythms of the road as I caught freight trains and vagabonded around the Pacific Northwest and Canada.My latest novel, The Last Professional was born on the rails. My short stories have appeared in numerous literary journals. My novella, In All Things, and my collection of travel pieces, Road Stories, have both been Amazon Top Ten bestsellers. My death row thriller, A Matter of Time, was written in real time, twenty-four hours, as the last day of the hero’s life unfolds. My work has appeared in Gris-Gris, New English Review, and The Penman Review among others.

The Last Professional, which was forty years in the making. has garnered awards in contests including the American Book Fest, the NYC Big Book Award, and the New Mexico / Arizona Book Awards.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

In the early 1980’s, with a dwindling bank account and our first child on the way, I convinced myself that I could “crack the formula” for writing a commercially successful novel. I studied all of the current bestsellers, broke them down into their component parts, identified the elements that they all shared in common, and set to work. Three months later I had 60,000 words (the bestsellers mostly shared that approximate length) that were technically spot on, but completely missed the mark. The elements that I “forgot” to include were passion and commitment on the part of the author. I lacked both, and as a result the words never came alive. I have the greatest respect for writers who routinely craft top-notch commercial fiction, their craftmanship and output is astounding. I also have to believe that they care about what they are doing, on a level that has nothing to do with marketability. So the lession I learned is that, even if there is a formula, it will fail unless passion is at its core.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

A single quote, from the screenwriter William Goldman, has served as a guidepost for me since the first time I read it. The quote reads: “Nobody knows anything…… Not one person in the entire motion picture field (or publishing industry—my addition) knows for a certainty what’s going to work. Every time out it’s a guess and, if you’re lucky, an educated one.”

We want to turn to people for answers, for guarantees, because we are sure they must have them—and frequently they will try to convince us that they do—often for a fee. But the truth is, the best they can do is guess. They may know what HAS worked. They don’t know, with certainty, what WILL work. That doesn’t mean you shoudn’t seek advice, and even pay for it. But know it for what it is. Editors, agents, and publishers are not magicians. Their crystal balls may be a “little” less cloudy than yours, but mostly they are full of fog.

Contact Info:

• Website: www,eddavisbooks.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eddavisauthor/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eddavisauthor/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9hgM6OEXCU5TwrHSsuLauA