We were lucky to catch up with Ryan Dalton recently and have shared our conversation below.
Ryan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?
I remember so clearly the first time I got paid real money to write. I was still years away from having any books published. In fact, I had only recently begun my first draft of what would become my first published novel, The Year of Lightning. I had spent the previous year or two working on my writing craft, learning everything I could, taking on any writing challenge that came around as a way to get more experience. Any kind of writing contributed, whether it was fiction or not, so I was open to pretty much anything. Around this time, I asked friends and family who wanted to sell something to let me create the ad for them, as it let me write stuff that was completely silly and fun and engaging, and at that point I had a 100% success rate with selling their items. Some buyers even specifically called out the ad for making them laugh and wanting them to buy the item even more.
One day, a family member asked me to help him sell two computers, so I went to work and wrote a thoroughly silly yet informative ad, and in no time we got a response. The local buyer purchased them quickly and asked specifically for the ad creator to deliver them, which I was happy to do. Upon arriving at the buyer’s office, I learned that she was the owner and president of a boutique advertising agency. She gushed about the ad and how she love it so much that she’d made everyone on her staff read it. Then she offered me a gig right then as a freelance ad copywriter. Unexpected to say the least, but exciting, and I immediately accepted. My first completed job for that agency led to the first real life check I was ever given for writing. This was a huge milestone for me. Not only was I making money doing what I loved, but I had tangible proof that I was capable of writing on a professional level. It gave a boost to my confidence, and directly contributed to my going all-in on writing novels. Now, over a decade later, I have four published novels and more on the way.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I mainly write children’s fiction, novels for teens and pre-teens. My first series, the Time Shift Trilogy, focused on twins Malcolm and Valentine as they face time-traveling villains and discover that they have time manipulation abilities of their own. While it’s mainly an action adventure series, there’s humor and a rich cast of engaging characters. The series has most often been highlighted for its dialogue and group dynamics.
Following that, my most recent novel is This Last Adventure, which follows young Archie as he uses storytelling and shared fantasies to help his grandfather contend with Alzheimer’s. This story, while largely fictional, contains elements based on my own family’s experience when my grandfather was diagnosed with the disease. My intention with the book was not to be depressing, but to write something that felt hopeful and optimistic in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges.
I also teach writing craft, sometimes as a part of writing or pop culture conventions, other times in a classroom setting. It’s a genuine pleasure to pass on what I’ve learned to the next wave of creative people who are passionate about writing, and so gratifying to see them grasp a new writing concept and put into practice with their own work. For select clients, I also offer editing services to help them get their story into shape and ready for submission to agents or editors.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
My first published novel, The Year of Lightning, was rejected over 100 times before publication. I tend to write stories that are unique mix of genres, so they’re rarely just one thing, which can make them a bit challenging to categorize. I’ve always loved stories like that, though, so I’ve never wanted to write any other way. My writing was praised by quite a few of those 100 agents, who enjoyed reading the book . . . but then rejected it. For many of them, the reason boiled down to being unsure how to sell it to publishers. The most frustrating part was their acknowledgment that the book was good enough to be published and their only reason for rejecting it was not wanting to risk rejection by publishers. Rather than take a chance on something creative, they only wanted to try selling what they felt like were sure thing. I understand that agents have to make a living, too, but it was extremely disheartening to hear, “The work is good, but no thanks.”
Still, I believed in the story, and I believed I was good enough to be a professional author. So I kept going.
Two years and over 100 rejection letters later, I finally found someone who understand what I was trying to do with The Year of Lightning, and who loved it and believed readers should be able to experience it. Eventually, this led to a publishing deal where I sold the entire trilogy at once, instead of just the first book, which is very rare for debut authors. That day, I began my career as a professional author, and while working in any creative industry involves rejection even for someone who’s published, I continue to write and sell more books and have a blast creating stories. All it took was one yes to get me in the game.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Buy books, leave reviews on Amazon, post about books you like on social media, tell your friends, give books as gifts. Note that three of those five things are free and only take a few minutes of your time.
Reject the notion that AI can replace artists of any kind. Algorithms cannot create art, they can only chop up what actual human artists created and remix it.
Try reading something outside of your favorite genres. I’ve bought and read a number of books that I normally wouldn’t have because I wanted to support my author friends, and that has led to discovering some of my favorite books in genres I never would have expected.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ryandaltonwrites.com
- Instagram: @RyanDalton
- Twitter: @iRyanDalton
Image Credits
Cover artist for the Time Shift Trilogy – Christopher Loke Cover artist for This Last Adventure – Chiara Fedele