Author/ Writer Helper Guy Dennis Cass ~ Interviewed

Dennis Cass is a writer whose work has appeared in the New York Times, GQ, Mother Jones, and the online journal Slate. His first book, HEAD CASE: How I Almost Lost My Mind Trying to Understand My Brain, is now out in paperback.

What is your current project? Tell us about it.

I have several projects going right now, including my next book and a TV pilot I’m writing with a collaborator, but I’m most excited about my writing/career advice site Dennis Cass Wants You To Be More Awesome.

What mistakes have you made while seeking publication?

I’ve made too many mistakes to count, but probably the biggest was not recognizing soon enough the importance of building an audience. For years I worked on the “better mousetrap” theory, until I learned that the world doesn’t beat a path to you door. Readers need an invitation, and once they arrive they need (and deserve) a compelling reason to stay.

What's the best or worst advice (or both) you've heard on writing/publication?

“Write what you know” is probably the worst, because it misleads you into believing that the magic is already inside you and you just need to dig it out. The magic is not inside you; it’s out in the world. “Write what you’re most interested in learning about, challenging yourself with, and inhabiting for an extended period of time” would be better advice, but boy is it clunky.

How about sharing some tips from Dennis Cass, Writing Helper Guy.

The work I do over at the Awesome blog comes out of my experiences as a writer, book doctor, writing teacher and former literary agent, and my best tip is this: tips won’t help you.

The problem with tips is that they assume that if you follow them you’ll get a specific outcome. But every writer is different; every project is different, and the culture is a moving target. How could something as flimsy as a tip counter all that chaos?

Instead, I encourage writers to adopt a mindset that balances risk and respect. As an artist you have to take big personal, emotional and creative risks in order to do great work. But you also have to balance that risk with the utmost respect for your audience, who is busy and harried and overwhelmed with choices. They will follow your grand vision wherever it leads, but they also need an anchor.

What is your favorite source for finding story ideas?

I don’t put too much stock in ideas. You could give a terrible idea to a good artist and she’ll be able to make something out of it. You can give a great idea to a hack and he’ll ruin it forever.

There’s another thing about ideas that you have to be careful about. Creative inspiration feels good. There is that immediate, undeniable, physiological reward to the Eureka! moment. Writing, on the other hand, doesn’t feel good. It’s satisfying to finish a piece and know that you did it up right, but the heavens don’t part like they do during that initial surge of creativity.

If I were to pick one thing that trips writers up more than anything, it’s that we chase that first feeling of inspiration long past its usefulness. Let it go. It’s never coming back. Spare yourself the disappointment and learn to find satisfaction in the slow, small pleasures of a job well done. You’ll find yourself to be more productive (and less frustrated) than ever before.

What marketing have you done in the past that has been most effective and what are you hoping to try in the future? Any advice in this area?

My take on marketing and promotion is that you should treat it with the same creativity and care that you gave to your book. If you wage war against cliché in your work, why settle for the same old same old when you try to connect with an audience?

I’m very pleased with how the marketing went for HEAD CASE, even though I didn’t sell a ton of books. For the hardcover I did a funny PowerPoint presentation instead of a standard bookstore reading. For the paperback I made book launch 2.0, which reached more people that I ever dreamed it would.

The best part about both cases is that I feel like I made some strong connections with people. So even if I didn’t climb the bestseller lists this time, I hope that my next book will be greeted with just that much more enthusiasm. People often talk about how our culture is based on a star system, but you can’t have stars without fans.