AUTHOR SUCCESS INSIDER: MATT COST
Along with several historical novels, Matt Cost writes the Goff Langdon Mainely Mystery series, the Clay Wolfe/Port Essex mystery series, and the Brooklyn 8 Ballo mystery series. Cost was a history major at Trinity College. He owned a mystery bookstore, a video store, and a gym, before serving a ten-year sentence as a junior high school teacher. In 2014 he was released and began writing. And that’s what he does. He writes histories and mysteries. Cost now lives in Brunswick, Maine, with his wife, Harper. There are four grown children: Brittany, Pearson, Miranda, and Ryan. Four dogs round out the mix. He now spends his days at the computer, writing.
ON BIG BLEND RADIO: Author Matt Cost talks writing and shares his author success story. Watch here in the YouTube player or download the episode on Podbean.
So, what does it take to be successful as an author? Check out Matt Cost’s answers to our 10 Author Insider Questions about his writing career:
1. What led you to a career as a writer and author?
I was what you would call an overnight success story. I finished the first draft of I am Cuba in 1991 and 29 years later, in March of 2020, it was my first traditionally published book. Now, a little less than five years later, I have 16 published books.
2. What attributes do you have that make you a good fit for the lifestyle as an author?
Well, most importantly, I like to drink brown liquor. On top of that, I enjoy world-building, creating, editing, marketing, and promoting. In other words, I comfortably wear every hat of the writer.
3. Who or what inspires you?
Many writers inspire me to be better. Works by Michael Connelly, Bruce Robert Coffin, Michael Koryta, BJ Magnani, and James Lee Burke are just a few of the many.
4. Describe your ideal reader.
My ideal reader is one who likes my books. For my mysteries, it would be somebody who likes a rich setting, colorful characters, and a complicated plot. For my histories, you just need to like the subject I’m writing on and like to be entertained.
5. What is your pet peeve regarding the publishing/writing industry?
There are so many people taking a piece of the pie that there is very little left over for the host, that being the writer of the actual book. The bookstore, the distributor, and the publisher must get their cut, and then much of the marketing is left up to the writer, who doles out what little pittance they get to pay for ads, reviews, tours, newsletters, promo materials, and whatever other thing we can possibly think of to throw our money at.
6. What personal changes have you had to make to build your career as an author?
My commute is now ten seconds from bed to desk, but I do travel quite a bit for promotional opportunities. I write seven days a week, take longer dog walks plotting out the next chapter, and have become nuanced in every aspect of researching, editing, marketing, and promoting books.
7. What do you consider your biggest challenge?
Getting from the very crowded room of authors and wedging my foot into the adjoining room that is dramatically less busy with literary legends.
8. If you could invite any three people (alive or passed on) for a dinner party, who would they be?
Ernest Hemingway, Michael Koryta, and Michael Connelly. Three authors I greatly admire.
9. If you could switch careers for a day (just to learn something new), what would you choose?
I guess I’d have to go with Santa Claus.
10. What is the most important tip you would pass on to someone just getting started in the world of being a writer or author?
There are many aspects to being successful, but the key component is to write. Sit down and write. Just write. Write on!
Learn more at https://www.mattcost.net/
