Meet Jonathan Fesmire

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jonathan Fesmire and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jonathan, what habits do you feel helped you succeed?
I like this question, because understanding how to form good habits do important to being productive.

As an author, I have a drive to tell stories, but the world has many distractions, especially now, with social media and the daily bombardment of crazy news. Plus, we all need to make a living, and our day jobs take a chunk of our energy. We have relationships to navigate, chores, and so much more. So, as much as one might feel driven to create, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and to put the work off.

It gets easier when you’re able to develop those habits. The trick is to do the thing–such as working on a book–when you have the time, whether you feel up to it. If you can set aside a certain time every day, that helps even more.

Over the years, I’ve developed certain behaviors this way that have become habit. I write every day in my journal. I work on whatever my current book project is almost every day. If I don’t feel up to writing or editing, I’ll take notes.

I also love to learn. I suppose you could call that a habit, and I’m in the habit of refining my craft to continue improving my fiction and getting my books out quickly. I’m still trying to publish one book a year.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
In the early days of my writing career, getting published at all was tough. Independent publishing as it exists today wasn’t a possibility. So, you either had to get lucky and get picked up by one of the major publishers, or keep struggling.

I had some successes, including a lot of short stories and a few articles published in semi-pro magazines, both print and online, in the late 90s. I sold one short story to Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Fantasy Magazine, which counted as a professional sale. I also had a couple of agents who loved one of my fantasy novels, but no publisher ever picked it up.

With indie publishing opening up, I learned a few things. First, that it has many advantages over traditional publishing for the author, especially greater creative control and higher royalties. Second, that even traditionally published authors have to do almost all of their own marketing, and that if a writer’s first novel doesn’t sell well, the publisher is unlikely to publish their next book. Third, that traditional publishers can take a long time to respond even to an agent, and years to finally publish a book once accepted. All that suggested to me that becoming an indie author was the way to go.

That said, it’s an indie author’s responsibility to ensure their books are as good as or better than, and look at least as professional as, those that are traditionally published.

I have a fantastic editor, KH Koehler, I format my books based on a professional template and they look incredible in print and epub formats, and I use professional, artistic covers that reflect a western aesthetic with science-fiction elements.

As for what I want people to know about my brand of story, that’s a good question! My weird western novels blend steampunk, a little horror, and the wild west. While I’m not the only weird western author, my steampunk elements aren’t as flashy as you’ll see in many steampunk cosplays or other stories. You won’t find objects covered in non-functional gears, for example. I think my steampunk elements feel more grounded.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Disneyland, of course! I know, it may seem like a common response, but I live near the Magic Kingdom and go there often with my son. There’s so much to do, and we love it.

Also, though I’d take them to the Anaheim GardenWalk, There are a lot of great places to eat there, plus a movie theater and a magic shop. Card magic is one of my hobbies. The Anaheim Packing District has dining and shopping, including kitchen goods and various artistic products.

If they have kids, the Discovery Cube in Santa Ana is a fun place to visit, which includes a science center and various other displays that change over the year.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’m lucky that my parents let my siblings and me know we could become whatever we wanted. All of us do work that we enjoy. I wanted to be a writer since I was about ten years old, and I made that happen. Their support was essential.

Website: https://www.jonathanfesmire.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-fesmire-29b27512/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonfesmire/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jonathanfesmiresteampunkau6983

Other: https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanfesmire.bsky.social
https://substack.com/@jonathanfesmire