Author Interview: Brad Pauquette

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Today, I am interviewing Brad Pauquette, author of The Novel Matrix! His book released last month and I had the honor to be part of the release team, which was so much fun.

If you'd like to learn more about Brad, you can do so at bradpauquette.com, and if you're interested in reading TNM, you can look into that at novelmatrix.com. Until then, I hope you enjoy the interview!

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Welcome to my blog, Brad! Firstly, I'd love to have you introduce yourself.

My name is Brad Pauquette. I’m the director of The Company, where I lead our full-time writing and publishing apprenticeship for Christian writers, and the best-selling author of The Novel Matrix.

I grew up near Columbus, and I now live in Cambridge, Ohio with my wife and six kids. I guess you could say that my hobbies are home improvement projects and playing with my kids. 😊

Prior to founding The Company, I worked in the secular publishing industry, primarily specializing in new author development. I’ve developed and helped authors release hundreds of books, for all sorts of genres and audiences.

I wrote The Novel Matrix to share my knowledge and my unique approach to novel writing with more people. I can’t wait to see so many more stories make their way out of people’s heads and onto the page as they embrace these tools! The book is available from all major retailers and is now a #1 Best Seller on Amazon.

I also offer the first four chapters of the book on my website here if your readers would like to take it for a test drive: bradpauquette.com/novel-matrix-sample/

What first made you decide that you wanted to be an author?

That’s tough to say. I know I’ve always loved stories. One of my earliest memories is of my dad reading The Horse and His Boy by C. S. Lewis to my sister and me. I remember finding the story confusing, but I could picture all of the details in my mind.

From a young age, I was always creating stories.

I think the first story I ever really wrote was fan-fiction based on The Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl when I was about seven. When I was in the ninth grade, I read Of Mice and Men and that opened up a whole new world for me of what books are and what they can accomplish in someone’s heart.

Where do you think the idea for The Novel Matrix sparked from?

The idea sparked from story itself! I’ve always loved story, and at some point I noticed that I had a knack for figuring out why stories “worked” (or didn’t work). I became a careful observer of story, and started noticing things that all successful stories do. Then I noticed other things that only some successful stories do.

I was invited to teach my first class on novel writing in 2012 at the Columbus Idea Foundry. That’s when I first articulated some of the core ideas that would eventually become The Novel Matrix.

Over the years as a developmental editor, I taught these principles to many people. Now through The Company’s apprenticeship and other programs, I teach these concepts every day. I’ve had the privilege to see hundreds of people benefit from this unique way of approaching novel writing.

The Novel Matrix takes so much of what I give to my students every day, and packages it up for writers wherever they are. I wanted to create a resource that really meets you wherever you are in your journey as a writer, and one that will boost you toward your goals.

What was the easiest part of the writing process for you?

I’m a little bit odd in that I love the revision process! (This probably correlates to my natural role as an editor.) Once there’s something on the page to work with, it’s so easy for me to dig in and do the work.

I’m very passionate about the topic that I explore in The Novel Matrix and I talk about it as part of my job almost everyday. So for this book, the ideas also really came naturally.

What was the hardest part of the writing process for you?

The hardest part was identifying the specific mission of this book. I live in the world of writing and book publishing every day and there are so many things I would love to share, but it was important to me to keep this book on target.

My goal is to help writers develop, organize, and execute a great story. That meant that I had to leave a lot of my other writing advice off of the page for now. I think ultimately it came together as a solid, tight book that meets the need it sets out to address.

Do you have any tips for fellow writers who might be in the same place?

There are so many things I’d love to share! It’s my whole job to help writers who are in the same place, and we literally fill a two-year full-time curriculum with it! Haha

But as it relates to this book, know your “good enough.” No book is ever perfect. I’ve been professionally working with writers for fifteen years, but I’m still learning about stories. There’s always more I could add, and things I could make a little bit better. But with any project, at some point we have to call it “good enough,” trust that we’ve put our best into it, and release it.

My faith in God helps a lot with that. Ultimately, this isn’t my book, it’s His book. I’ve done my best to be obedient and write it with excellence, but now I put it into His hands. I can ask Him to do with it as He wills and trust that He’ll use it to help the right people. If that’s just one person, that’s OK. If it’s a lot of people, He knows what’s best. I’ll continue to work hard and do my part, but ultimately, He lets me help him, not the other way around!

Now, for a fun question: What are some of your favorite books?

Wow, I can go on and on about this. Some of my favorite authors I’ve already mentioned: John Steinbeck, Roald Dahl, and C. S. Lewis. I would add Kurt Vonnegut, Dean Koontz, and Zane Grey to that list off the top of my head.

When I wrote The Novel Matrix I was especially inspired by Donald Miller and Malcolm Gladwell. I love how Miller is so intentional about making his topics accessible, and just giving away all the secrets to empower his reader. I love how Gladwell treats every chapter like a groundbreaking discovery. I tried to incorporate both of those techniques.

Thank you so much for doing this interview! Where can my readers find you online?

I would love to connect with your readers!

My website is a great place to start: BradPauquette.com I regularly share advice for writing and book publishing, and I’d love it if you join my free newsletter there.

I’m also on socials:

Facebook: @bradpauquette

Twitter: @bradpauquette

YouTube: @bradpauquette

Instagram: @bpauquette

If you’re interested in The Company and the way we train writers here, please learn more at Writers.Company.

And if you’d like to connect with additional Novel Matrix resources, get started at NovelMatrix.com.

If you’re into podcasts, I also host the “90-Day Novel Challenge” podcast and “The Company Podcast with Brad Pauquette.”

Right now, I’m giving away the first four chapters of The Novel Matrix for free! You can grab yours at https://bradpauquette.com/novel-matrix-sample/ I just want your readers to be able to sample it first, and see if it’s a good fit for them.

Thank you for hosting me. It’s an honor to be included here.