Authors? What Type Do You Inspire to Be?

Just like the books they publish, authors come in all shorts of flavors. From those who crank out a new book every year to those who changed the way we look at the writing world. Every successful author has something about them that makes them remarkable. As writers who are working towards authorship, it is a good idea to look at the authors that we love, the ones we hate, the ones that are outside of our genre and see what makes them so influential, remember-able, or overall successful. Here are my five authors that I look to for inspiration on what I want my future path to be like.

J. K. Rowling 

J. K. Rowling is the author that people want to be. Love her, hate her, indifferent? That's alright, but the fact of the matter is that she is the first person to become a billionaire, you read that right, billionaire from writing. When it comes to success, no one has topped her. Thousands, if not millions of people have become engrossed into the Magical World. From her seven books, to the nine movies, to the Pottermore site, her success with Harry Potter has grown into a world wide phenomenon.

"You were my childhood" have been some of the most honoring words Ms. Rowling has claimed has been said to her and I can say that she was a part of mine as well. She is the author of a generation and has been an inspiration for her fans. Those who grew up reading her books have even been found to be more accepting of other people (members of the LGBT community, immigrants, Muslim, disabled, and more). She has created a place where people can be themselves and find those who will accept them for being themselves. Thousands of fans look to her as a beckon of hope and fantasize about the day they'll receive their own Hogwarts letter. And in all honest, many of her fans show more pride for the Hogwarts house they were sorted in than they do for the high-school they went to. Myself included. Proud Slytherin here.

From her twitter account, her website, her Facebook page, and more, there are plenty of ways to keep up on what she is doing and where she is going with her own career. She is a very active person who interacts with her fans on a regular basis. For me, she is the ultimate goal any writer can set. She has changed the world and who wouldn't want their writing to do that? 

And if you ever need some inspiration, in anything you do, you should check out her speech on the Benefits of Failure here. You'll be glad you did.

Stephen King 

 

When it comes to Horror, no name is more well known as Stephen King. Another author of a generation, this man has been titled as the King of Horror. His career has been one of the longest running careers in the writing world. With 54 novels, including seven under the pen names Richard Bachman, and six nonfiction novels, and nearly 200 short stories, this man is a workaholic with a fiction addiction. The man pushes out books like its nothing and I wish I could write as fast as he does. He's also won plenty of awards and for older and newer generations the name Stephen King incredibly well known.

For me, he is an inspiration because not only with how his career has went but also with the advice he has given out to those who want to be better at the craft. I know I've mentioned it before, but his book On Writing has been an invaluable asset to me for improving my craft. If you don't have it, I recommend picking up a copy.

Now, if you're not a horror fan, that's fine. Following him on his Facebook and Twitter is surprisingly hilarious. The King of Horror is a joker and always is posting pictures of The Thing Of Evil, A.K.A Molly his pet corgi. He is a self proclaimed smart ass and the man takes no shift from anyone. But hell, the man is six-nine. He doesn't have time to put up with anyone's petty crap.

 Luke Romyn

Luke Romyn is an author from the land down-under who started his career as a self-published author. Of all the authors I have encountered, he has been one of the most interesting. Also known as the Paperback Bouncer, Luke also maintains a career as a bouncer in Australia's most dangerous bars. A self-proclaimed smart ass, a social media joker, and over-all tough, animal loving Aussie; Luke has displayed a more playful side that not many authors are happy to show.

Starting his career back in 2011 when he released his first novel, The Dark Path, Luke has now released 12 novels in the fantasy/action genre. With his experience in dealing with the underworld of society in Australia he has been able to write from a perspective that not many people can say they can. Now he has over 400,000 twitter followers and an ever-growing Facebook page, he maintains a very causal relationship with his fans and interacts with them on a regular basis.

Now after gain over 500,000 readers, he has shown that taking a self publishing path does pay off. In early February Luke announced that he has been picked up  by Italia Gandolfo of Gandolfo, Helin, Foundation Literary Management. Now he is being re-branded (I believe) under their company and his reach will grow. He has also announced that they are already talking about making a few of his books into movies, which is really exciting for any author.

 Leigh Bardugo

Leigh Bardugo is one of the newest authors that I have had the pleasure to stumble upon. She is a relatively new author with her first book, Shadow and Bone being released in 2012. Five years and twelve books later, she has made a name for herself. Publishing into the world of fantasy, she has been changing how people are looking at the genre with her in-depth worlds and interesting characters.

The thing I admire about her is the way she writes. I finished her novel Six of Crows recently and I found it incredibly entertaining. The thing she does is each chapter is done through the eyes of a different character. With Six of Crows it was a rotating narrative between five characters. I've seen this done before, but it failed horribly. She accepted the challenge and did it right. Each chapter, each character, are completely different. Though they are part of the same story, their own narratives are so unique that at times I wanted to have the whole book done just through one character's point of view.

For any authors who are looking into using multiple character narratives, Ms. Bardugo is an author that should be looked at. She has perfected her craft and is growing in popularity. Her work is one that I'm going to be keeping an eye on.

Stephenie Meyer

Now this is an author that has probably had the biggest split in popularity that I have ever seen. Oh the Twilight series, how you plague the literary world. Stephenie Meyer is the author that entranced the world with the story of Bella and her vampire lover Edward, selling thousands if not millions of books that had everyone from adolescent girls to soccer moms going crazy over this love story. Well, the story is shit and any proud author will take it as an insult if you compare their works to hers.

Now the reason why I'm writing about her isn't because of her writing craft. No, this woman has the best marketing skill on the planet. She has the innate ability on how to sell her story and hook a reader regardless of how good the books really are. Just recently she released the gender-swapped version of Twilight and she made a killing. I couldn't get passed the first page of the book, it hurt me, but she still was able to get the thing sold. People loved it. I don't know if she made a deal with the devil or something, but I do admire how well she is able to market and sell her work to the world. She is still a relevant author and is still making plenty of money from her work. I hope that I'll be able to do the same. Catch the reader and have them keep coming back no matter what I publish.


Well these are the five authors that I am looking to as inspiration for my own path. I have the greatest of the great and then I have one who English majors hate. Every author has something to be admired and you have to follow the great to be great. Or that's what I think.

Who are the authors you're following? Any you think I need to follow? Let me know,
Dakota