Every young writer embarks on a unique journey, filled with highs that can further fuel their passion or lows that can discourage them and test their resolve, making them hesitant to share their imaginative ideas and compelling characters with the rest of the world. Despite this common struggle, there exist countless other young writers whose journey of writing their first publication lights the way for others. One such writer is Tom Prater, the author behind the dark yet thrilling world of Grimm’s Puppets.
Early Writing Journey
At a very young age, Tom started writing, mentioning that he mostly stuck to writing Sherlock Holmes and detective stories. Soon, he became hooked because he found writing to be a brilliant outlet for his ideas and emotions, and he continued doing so until now because his characters gave people something to relate to. Furthermore, the feeling of a plot coming together from ideas he’s created is always incredible for him! Although, it wasn’t until he was 18 years old that he wrote his first screenplay, which led him to decide to write and publish his first book.
Grimm's Puppets
Six brothers found hanging from Hollyhead's billboard dressed in white, flowing gowns in the autumn of 1968, with their killer left unidentified, became the foundation of Grimm's Puppet's storyline. Readers follow the story of the psychic author, Will Metlocke, as he returns to his hometown after 12 whole years–per his father's pleas–to solve the murders as another murder had just occurred. However keen Will is to investigate the case, he has been diagnosed with cancer he refuses to treat. Indeed, Tom's debut novel is a massive call back to his roots of writing Sherlock Holmes and other detective stories. Readers who enjoy crime, mystery, and romance will find Grimm's Puppets worthwhile.
Tom's greatest inspiration for Grimm's Puppets were Stephen King's 11.22.63 and David Fincher’s Seven. The latter of which gave him an insight into serial killer patterns. Initially, the book was completely different, with King's concept of time-traveling used much more heavily. However, as with any story, the plot evolved and grew, creating plot holes and paradoxes that eventually led to the book as we know it. And when asked about the most confusing part to write, he responded that he had to maintain consistency in the time period, given that the story is set in the 80s, and to pay attention to the differences between American and British English.
Challenges
Just like every writer, he also faces challenges in establishing himself and writing stories. When asked about what struggles he faced, Tom shared that finding an audience for his work was a big challenge. He started posting about books and general interests on Instagram and TikTok, where he has since then found a community that supports him, but also explains that it is difficult to find a widespread audience age-wise from social media alone, as these platforms are instead formed from younger consumers as opposed to older ones.
His current struggle revolves around whether to write a sequel to his book or go in a different direction altogether. Tom fears that a sequel may not live up to the first and be seen as uninspired while branching into a different genre might make his current readers lose interest in his writing. With that said, he is leaning towards the latter as he thinks an unnecessary sequel is the most damaging thing to a story or character. "Characters go through an arc during a story, and sometimes that doesn’t need to be extended across multiple books," Tom says. He feels satisfied with the way Will's story ended and doesn't find it fit for him to be involved in another murder case, as this was never his purpose as a character. As far as his plans for future writing go, Tom wants to develop all three of the ideas he has currently in mind and choose to continue with the one that picks his interest.
Triumphs & Writing Style
Tom is thrilled by the public's overwhelmingly positive reaction to his debut novel. Eight months after its publication, he still feels impressed that people took the time and risk to read something from an unknown author. A reason for that is the careful mix of dialogue and description in his book, which was not only noticed by us, but has also been mentioned by readers on Amazon reviews. Some of the 5-star reviews characterize the book as; "Hauntingly beautiful," "A beautifully witty, suspenseful, edge-of-your-seat read," and "The kind of book you can't just put down."
Tom explains that his writing has evolved from what he enjoys reading himself. Since he quickly gets bored of heavy descriptions in books, he wanted to let the narrative flow easily between chunks of dialogue. He says that the fact that his readers connect with his style, even though it is challenging to balance the pace with the need for easy visualization, makes him even more pleased.
As mentioned above, Tom gets inspiration from his favorite author, Stephen King. So, getting compared to him in reviews always leaves him very pleased "It feels like a close relative of a Stephen King novel, so I fully recommend giving it a read if you’re into that sort of thing". Avoiding King's trademark fleshed-out descriptions and tangents, knowing that, as a debut author, it's complicated to convey those appealingly to the reader, he instead studied the core elements that made King's writing so compelling and incorporated those into his work.
According to the Q&A in his Instagram highlights, Tom started with a chapter outline before going into the first drafts. When asked if this was his usual procedure, he replied, "Originally, I wrote out individual scenes that were the most crucial to the story. These were also the most enjoyable so it improved the pace of writing!" Tom believes that if you have a general idea of how your story ends, then you can write however you feel comfortable with doing so!
The Publication & Marketing Journey
That said, Tom describes his publication journey as ‘long and often disappointing’. He struggled to find an agent to represent him, so he chose to self-publish instead, which meant he had to hire a cover designer and do the editing, formatting, and not to mention, advertising on his own.
Advertising was also a whole different journey for Tom, especially since he was self-publishing. It always went above just showing people his book; he also needed to tell his audience about himself and his hobbies. For instance, many of Tom’s TikTok videos involve films and shows he likes, related skits, recommendations, and more. However, Tom has mentioned that he also has gripes on advertising. Initially, he realized that creating TikToks and reels was one of the best parts of the marketing process. Creating aesthetics and character profiles increased sales, and a community was formed. However, he also mentioned that recycling content and still pumping out those videos felt stale. “You never know which video will go viral and bring new readers in, so it is a necessary evil of the process and one that can become tiring,” Tom says. Despite this, he mentions that he feels very fortunate that he was able to befriend a lot of his TikTok followers. Currently, Tom’s TikTok account has amassed almost 22,000 followers.
Ultimately, the highs and lows of Tom’s journey towards publishing and advertising his debut novel bore an experience like no other, equipping him with new knowledge for, perhaps, his next publishing journey. Tom advises aspiring young writers, “Write what you enjoy! The first draft just needs to exist. Don’t worry too much about going back and changing the story while it is still in the process of being written. This will slow you down and make it a tiring journey. There will be issues with the first draft, but the hardest part will be over! Give it a break for a month or two, and then go back with fresh eyes. You won’t regret it! If you are self-publishing, find someone who can create you a stunning cover. You have spent a long time writing your dream story, don’t sell yourself short with a generic and dull cover. Be proud of your work!”
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