Special Guest: Paul Rega, author of How To Find A Job: When There Are No Jobs

Today's special guest is Paul Rega, author of "How To Find A Job: When There Are No Jobs." Paul, welcome to The Write Type ~ Multi-Author Musings. Today I'd like you to share just a bit about your book.

Paul: I want to take a moment to thank Cheryl, for inviting me to share some information regarding my career book on this great blog. It's quite an honor to be here.

Cheryl: You're very welcome. We're happy to have you here. So tell us, Paul, what motivated you to write your book, and how long did it take you to write it?

Paul: My book, "How To Find A Job: When There Are No Jobs," is as many are discovering, much more than a job search book. The book took me nearly 14 years to write. I simply wanted to share the knowledge that I had gained as an executive recruiter with the public. It depicts a journey through life that we are all on, or soon shall be.

The book was the result of merging my knowledge of the employment field over the past 27 years, with the circumstances occurring in my own life. A recurring theme throughout the book is that, "As your life changes, so often does your career." I think it is because of this unique combination that the book is resonating with many people currently suffering in this economy.

The book was published in December 2011, and was an instant success, hitting #1 on Amazon's bestseller list for job hunting books in March 2012.

Cheryl: We wish you every success with your book. I am sure it will help many people.

Paul's Bio:

Paul Rega began his writing career while attending Western Illinois University as a staff reporter for the Western Courier. Upon graduating from WIU with a degree in biology and journalism, he spent the next thirty years in business having started his own executive search firm in 1984.

His passion for writing stayed with him throughout his business life and he started writing his first book in 1994. He published, "How To Find A Job: When There Are No Jobs" in December 2011. The book was an instant success and hit #1 on Amazon's bestseller list for job hunting books in March 2012.

Paul currently lives in a small town along the Gulf Coast of Florida where he is working on his next book.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0056PFONW

Twitter: https://twitter.com/paulregabooks

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Paul-Rega/1636494613

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/paulrega

Amazon Author Page: www.amazon.com/author/paulrega

Website: http://www.howtofindajobwhentherearenojobs.com

Book Recommendations for Writers

When you’ve been writing as long as I have, you start to build quite a collection of how-to books for writers. In fact, I still have a stack waiting to be read, but here are just a few favorites that I’ve read cover to cover. Since I’ve been working on mystery novels for several years, many of them focus on this genre.

For Mystery/Thriller Writers

Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel by Hallie Ephron
Fiction (The Art and Craft of Writing and Getting Published) by Michael Seidman
Writing the Mystery by G. Miki Hayden
How to Write Best Selling Fiction by Dean Koontz
Writing the Novel by Lawrence Block
The Writers Digest series including (Deadly Doses: a Writer’s Guide to Poisons, Body Trauma, Scene of the Crime, Armed and Dangerous, and several others)
Forensics for Dummies by D.P. Lyle, MD (he also writes a great forensics blog)
Bones: A Forensic Detective’s Casebook by Dr. Douglas Ubelaker and Henry Scammell
Writing the Modern Mystery by Barbara Norville

On Editing/Writing

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Rennie Browne and Dave King
The Elements of Style by Strunk and White
Eat, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss
The Art of Fiction by John Gardner
Breathing the Page by Betsy Warland
Writing the Natural Way by Gabriele Lusser Rico
Becoming a Writer by Dorothea Brande

I have more, but this is a good start. Now, let me know what your recommendations are!

THE OPPOSITE OF DARK, http://bit.ly/i983XE, Chapters/Indigo http://bit.ly/gtFSFw
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n

Benefiting From How-To Books

Although I’m a fan of how-to writing manuals, I don’t read them voraciously. In fact, a number of books are still on my to-be-read pile and have been for a long time. I used to subscribe to Writer’s Digest and bought a number of books related to mystery writing. I have about of dozen titles, and one of my favorites is Deadly Doses: a writer’s guide to poisons. I’ve also read a number of good how-to books including ones by Dean Koontz and Michael Seidman.

Three years ago, I was at the Surrey International Writers’ Conference and attended a workshop on point of view by journalist and mystery writer, Hallie Ephron. She too had written a how-to book called Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel. I bought the book because I enjoyed the workshop so much, but I didn’t get around to reading it until last week. The reason is that I’ve discovered the benefit of going through a how-to book whenever I’m working on a new novel, and that doesn’t happen often. I’m now working on my sixth mystery, and as I started reading Ephron’s book, ideas were already flowing for my book before I’d finished the introductory chapter.

I don’t know if this happens to other writers, but I find how-to books completely inspiring. The ideas flow so fast that I wind up using two notebooks: one for making notes I want to remember about mysteries in general, and a second for specific notes regarding my current WIP. All these notes slow down the reading process a fair bit, but it’s worth it. Ephron’s book is geared toward those who are planning to write their first mystery and while I already knew a lot of her tips, there’s some great stuff I learned and need to remember when incorporating my own red herrings and plot twists. If you’re interested in writing mysteries, I recommend this book, but regardless of what you write, pick up a how-to book and see if it brings inspiration as well as knowledge.

My amateur sleuth, Vancouver-based, Alex Bellamy mysteries can be purchased at
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n