Matt Posner -From Pen to Podcast "The School of Fiction"

Welcome back to In the Chair, folks. I know it's been a while but we're here with a special guest, Matt Posner, a writer who loves the process of writing, sharing his knowledge with others, and networking with the masses.

Matt Posner is a writer and amateur photographer from Queens, New York and a high school teacher in Brooklyn. Originally from Florida, Matt has lived in New York City since 1999. You can join Matt at his new school on YouTube, The School of Fiction where he chats with new and experienced authors. To ask questions, suggest topics, or arrange an appearance on the channel, or to hire Matt for personal appearances: send an email to: the.school.of.fiction@gmail.com

 Without taking up more time, let's get to it. Welcome , Matt. Tell us, When did you start writing, and what did you write about?

Hey, Ey, would you believe I did this interview with you around 2011 or 2012? 

We’ve known each other for that long – and so far as I know we agree about absolutely everything. You’re the best. Moving to the question, I began writing on an electric typewriter around the age of 10, and committed myself to be a writer in seventh grade, although in sixth grade I had already written a kind of Star Wars type space opera novel. I still remember the characters, too.

Wow, that should've been interesting. What is the difference in your perception between now and the time you started writing?

Well, I was eleven or twelve… I guess I felt very hopeful for the possibility of a career when I was a young man. The marketplace was very different then. Publishers bought more books and developed the midlist – a stable of authors who would sell moderately and build up readership over time. With the corporatization and conglomeration of book publishers into large media companies starting in the 90s, midlist author slots became fewer, and bestsellers were the goal. After Amazon and social media, authors are now supposed to market themselves also.

  True. The profession seems to have fallen away from promoting the  person and more into the profit line. Marketing,that's the hardest part of being an author, especially for the homebody, like me. 

So, tell us about the books you have published, and what brought you to publishing each one of them.

I wrote a series of YA urban fantasy magic books called the School of the Ages series, which I self-published. I just love that subject. It’s out of fashion now, but I started in 2001, even before 9/11. Begin with School of the Ages:  The Ghost in the Crystal, but please be kind – it is now fifteen years old… That series reached a decent stopping point at book IV, but maybe someday I will be able to get book V out, since a lot of it has been written.

 I also wrote a few nonfiction books, including a writer’s manual called How to Write Dialogue to which you contributed, Ey.

 And I also wrote Squared Circle Blues, a dark and profane literary novel about professional wrestling that sadly for me got its sales spiked by a very detailed bad review a few years ago.

Ultimately, I felt I wasn’t getting anywhere with this sort of career, so I decided to reinvent myself under a pseudonym as a romance writer, and I continued my career for a few years writing under the pseudonym MJ Post, initially with my author bestie, Mysti Parker, who mentored me, and then on my own for a while. Chef Showdown is my best book as MJ. Covid-19 killed that for me; I just couldn’t see writing romance when death was in the air. I suspect MJ will come back some time, but maybe I will show my real face and give my real name, since now I know that male romance writers exist and just need a different marketing style to succeed.

   That's so cool, writing all undercover. I do hope you get a chance to finish your series and put out a few romance stories as yourself. Tell us, what made you want to start a podcast and what do you see as the purpose for it? I, have truly enjoyed watching the videos and am learning quite a bit from your guests.

An author these days needs a social media platform. During the years since 2020, when I stopped self-publishing, I came to admire YouTubers more and more and wanted to be one. Whensoever I might return to self-publishing, it will only make sense if I have built an audience in some other way. There are no decent tools for selling books online in the oversaturated market with an audience highly resistant to advertising. As a YouTuber with a good following, however, and a good set of promotional partners like you, any books I release will be able to get some favorable attention.

5    How do you choose your guests?

I am looking for a variety of categories of expertise and life experience. I want to interview people I’ve known a long time, and senior writers, but I want to bring in young ones also who have very different perspectives than I have. The one requirement for an interview with me is being able to teach my audience something about fiction writing that you have practiced, or to teach my audience and me something about book marketing, which is a separate and super challenging task now equally important.

Tell me, how do you go about writing your books? Do the ideas just pop in your head or do you have to plot and plan?

I’ve been talking to a variety of other authors about this during their interviews. I’m a hybrid plotter-pantser, and I use music to trigger ideas and work through problems. I’ll save the rest for an upcoming video.

I’m having a bit of a hard time marketing my books. What are your techniques and do you feel they are working?

Sorry, I can’t market at all. All my sales as Matt came from the Amazon algorithm, and as MJ, they came from working with Mysti, who had a bigger platform. I’ll be inviting people to talk about this on my channel.

 No problem, your response in itself turns out to be a marketing idea, network with others. Where can the audience purchase your books? Give links

      I must say, the reviews are enticing. What hobbies or activity do you enjoy other than writing?

I’m a world traveler, focusing on Europe and sometimes Asia. Of course I can’t do that all the time! On weekends I’m a flower and macro photographer. 

My wife Julie encouraged me to develop an interest in photography when I had a period of writer’s block that ran from 2020 till last year (2024). She’s way better than me, though! But photography meant a lot to me when I needed to fight the hollowness that came from being unable to sit and tell stories.

 Ooooh, yes. I have seen your photos and your wife's on Instagram, they're beautiful. As are the places you've visited.

 To ask questions, suggest topics, or arrange an appearance on the channel, or to hire Matt for personal appearances, here's his contact information:

www.youtube.com/@TheSchoolofFiction

the.school.of.fiction@gmail.com

theschooloffiction@bsky.social

Instagram:  @theschooloffiction