In the meantime, here’s what Marshall had to say about how he became an author and what you should keep in mind if you’d like to do the same:

On How he Became a Novelist…

“I started writing novels when I was eleven, but it wasn’t until years later that it finally dawned on me that I was creating novels only for myself and wasn’t truly thinking about publishers’ and readers’ needs. So I started from scratch, cold-bloodedly studied the market, targeted a genre in which editors were aggressively buying, and came up with a fresh angle. These were my Jane Stuart and Winky mysteries–cozies featuring an amateur sleuth no one had done before: a literary agent. I created a proposal and within a month had a three-book contract. I’m currently at work on my tenth novel, which will be published in late 2010.”

On Needing Specialized Education or Experience Before Starting…

“I’m constantly reading cozy mysteries to see what’s being done and what isn’t. That’s the most important kind of education–knowing the market inside and out. Experience helps, of course (I based my first series on my own experience as an agent), but thorough research can take the place of experience. My current series, the Hidden Manhattan Mysteries, feature a New York Sanitation Department supervisor. I’ve had a ball researching–touring SDNY garages, interviewing personnel, and so on.”

On How Writers can get Started in Novel Writing…

“At any given time it’s important to find out the genres in which editors are currently actively buying. Of course, the genre also needs to appeal to you. Right now, for example, paranormal is huge, so fresh ideas in this genre are welcome.”

On Things Prospective Novelists Should Know Up Front…

“1. You will probably not be able to make a living solely from your writing any time soon, if ever.

2. It takes a while to build a readership, so you must be patient and keep at it.

3. There may be times when you have to change course–start a new series, change your name, change publishers. It’s how this business goes.”

On Evan Marshall…

Evan Marshall is the author of a number of popular mystery novels; recently released in his Hidden Manhattan mystery series are Death is Disposable and Evil Justice; coming in March 2010 is Dark Alley. Learn more about Evan’s mysteries at http://www.evanmarshallmysteries.com. He is president of the Evan Marshall Agency, a literary management firm specializing in fiction, and is a former book editor and packager. Evan is also the author of the bestselling Marshall Plan® writers’ guides. Recently he and coauthor Martha Jewett released The Marshall Plan® Novel Writing Software, based on this series. Visit http://www.writeanovelfast.com and download Evan’s free 77-page Fiction Makeover guide, packed with tips and ideas for writing a great novel.

Marshall’s latest novel is called Evil Justice, a book in The Hidden Manhattan Mysteries series. He not only writes novels, but his Marshall Plan books are designed to help others outline and draft their own stories (I used his plan in 2004 to outline the novel I’m currently, slowly, drafting and I wholeheartedly recommend giving it a shot if you haven’t developed a system of your own yet.) He also blogs–and being able to adapt readily from one style to the next successfully is certainly promising for freelancers looking to pursue other avenues for their writing in the future.

See what this author / blogger / literary agent / former book editor has to say to freelance writers and aspiring novelists in our interview below:

What originally drew you into writing fiction?

As a teenager I was a voracious fiction reader and dreamed of one day publishing a story that would magically move and entertain people as books had done for me. One especially inspirational moment was when I met the late Pearl Schiff, bestselling author of the blockbuster Schollay Square, who I discovered lived around the corner from me in Sharon, Massachusetts. She gave me tea and said that if I never gave up and never stopped learning, I would succeed. She was right.

Many freelance writers dream of someday writing a novel, although much of freelancing involves writing short pieces of nonfiction. As someone who has published novels, nonfiction books, and who even blogs, how difficult is it to move from one format and style to another?

I find it surprisingly easy to move from fiction to nonfiction to article-length blogs. They all use different mindsets. For nonfiction I’m most concerned with helping people, imparting all the valuable information I can. For fiction I’m most concerned with giving people a great time. And for blogs I want to quickly give them a useful or entertaining “nugget” of some kind they can take away. I confess my favorite form of writing is fiction.

As someone who helps new novelists get off on the right foot with your Marshall Plan, what are some of the biggest challenges you see writers face when working on their first novel?

• Coming up with something fresh and new within the constraints of their target genre.
• Doing the work to learn what kinds of novels in their target genre editors are buying.
• Structuring a novel successfully.
• Learning to actually write well—the nitty gritty of the words themselves.
• Getting out their own way. By this I mean developing the ability to look at their own work objectively. This is the hardest one.

With freelancers often having to squeeze their novel writing ambition in around other full-time work, what advice would you give them about sticking it with it? While things probably vary from writer to writer, do you think it would generally be easier to stick with novel writing part-time writing a little bit every day, writing for longer stretches on days off, or some combination?

Definitely some combination. Most of us have “day jobs” and personal commitments that make it hard to get those long stretches. So most writing gets done in little pieces stuck in between things. Stretches are a bonus but you can’t wait for them or you’ll getting nothing done.

If you could offer first-time novelists one piece of advice on getting started on that novel they dream of writing, what would you tell them? Where should they start?

Narrowly target a specific genre of novel (ideally one you love to read) that editors are currently looking for. Sounds simple but most writers don’t do it. That’s the easiest way to make that first sale.

To learn more about Evan Marshall, The Marshall Plan, Evil Justice, or check out the novel writing blog of Marshall and Martha Jewett, you can visit WriteANovelFast.com.