Today we’d like to introduce you to Dylan West.

Hi Dylan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

The book Salamandastron, by Brian Jacques, turned me into a reader and writer when I was in the 8th grade. This was the first book I read purely for fun, not for a grade. That summer, I wrote a 400 page novel on wide-ruled notebook paper with a number 2 pencil. And though the book was terrible, it gave me valuable experience, which led me to write another novel I wouldn’t publish. But novel number three was Scribes’ Descent, my first published work.

I learned to write novels by reading books on writing craft, writing and revising drafts, getting and giving critiques in various author communities, reading the critiques of others, and acting on feedback.

If I knew then what I know now, I would have joined critique groups much sooner, given more critiques earlier on, and read the critiques of others. I had little trouble writing drafts. The sticking point has always been revising effectively. No matter how many craft books I read and how much practice I did, I needed someone else to point out my writing and storytelling weaknesses. Some think that critique groups make you spend too much time critiquing the work of others, but I often learned more by doing that than I did from the critiques I received. Something about seeing the flaws in writing I’m not emotionally invested in makes it much easier to see them in my own writing later.

My biggest obstacle was finding good critique groups. I eventually found a home at scribophile.com and at local, in-person critique groups in my area via Facebook. If I had spent more time searching for such groups earlier, I could have started publishing novels about 2 decades earlier.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

My biggest struggle was getting chapter one “just right” in Scribes’ Descent. I rewrote that chapter about 105 times over a 6 year period. I joke with people that chapter one was harder than the rest of the novel combined. There were times I wondered if I could ever get it right. As a writer, there are a million ways to mess up a work. If you fix one flaw just to create a new one, it can get discouraging fast. Luckily, something in me just wouldn’t stop fixing problems, making new ones, and fixing those too. I even wrote over 500,000 words of critique of other works as part of these writing communities. All that editorial mileage has utterly transformed my writing. My main critique partner of over 12 years tells me that my first drafts are better now than my latest drafts when I got started.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?

I write Christian-based, young adult sci-fi and fantasy novels. I’m known for massive world building and including hard science and engineering into the story without overwhelming readers. I’m most proud of the attention to details that I pour into each book and for giving readers something they can’t find in other books. I create new sapient creatures–I don’t use trolls, dragons, orcs, dwarves–any of the familiar fare. Readers come to my work for a completely new experience. I draw from 8 years of experience as a nuclear operator and electrician in the US Navy to make the science as detailed and realistic as I can. Reviews often cite my writing as clean, smooth, and easy-to-read. I believe the hundreds of critiques I get for my books and the hundreds of hours I spend focusing on readability gives the readers a good experience. I’m one of the only authors who writes Christian sci-fi and who has built a related video game, too.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?

About 3 years ago, I told my long-term critique partner I was planning to finally publish Scribes’ Descent, but that I didn’t have the cash on-hand to do so. He asked me how much I needed. I gave him an itemized breakdown of all my initial expenses, which came to $1,500. He mailed me a check for $2,500 that same week! With that money in hand, I sprang into action, setting up the LLC, buying the ISBNs, hiring the book formatter, then ordering the initial shipment of author copies. Though my friend considers this a gift, I promised to pay him back over the next few years. So far, I’ve paid back $500 and have another $500 set aside for when I see him again later this month. This financial risk, small as it was, has proved well worth it. In the past 3 years, I’ve sold over 2,800 copies of my books! My total revenues are up to $31,600, and I have more than enough profit to replace the author copies I sell along with the cash to publish additional titles as I get them ready.

On a smaller scale, each event I sell at is a risk. I spend a full day and anywhere from $20 to $50 for a vendor fee with no guarantee that I’ll sell enough to cover those costs. And yet… I always do 🙂 I don’t view myself as a big risk-taker, but I will take small ones. I won’t spend money unless I see a direct tie to book sales.

I also pay for Amazon Ads, and I think I’ve been losing a bit of money on that each month. I haven’t yet decided if that loss is worth it for the extra exposure my books get. Maybe I’ll get around to tweaking the ads or book blurb to see if I can raise my conversion rates.

Pricing:

• Scribes’ Descent paperback $9.99 on Amazon
• Scribes’ Descent kindle $2.99
• Scribes Aflame paperback $12.99 on Amazon
• Scribes Aflame kindle $3.99
• Emolecipation kindle $0.99

Contact Info:

• Website: https://dylanwestauthor.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dylanwestauthor/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100078540828516
• Twitter: https://x.com/DylanWestAuthor

Image Credits

Terrific Tomorrows cover art by Kelsie Brumet
Dreams, Doubts, and Determination cover art by Valerie Fay