[NOTE: this post is still under construction. Last edit: 20 Jan 2025]
TIMELINE
These days it’s so easy to lose yourself in the weeds and to never take the time to look back and see how far you’ve come. One day you’re a nervous writer staring painfully at a blank page. The next? Well the paths you can take are limitless…
Quite early on in my author journey, I learned to take the time each year to reflect and look back at my achievements from the previous year. Each year I update my personal timeline of my author journey for a couple of purposes: 1) It reminds me of my journey and how much I have accomplished, and 2) I share in the hopes of helping others realise that becoming published creative is a long journey, and comes with its own seasons and challenges.
Here are the key moments along my author journey, from struggling writer to becoming an author of almost 100 books.
(For a full graphic of my works published, scroll to the bottom of the post).
2014
November
My son was born and triggered the unavoidable existential questions: “How can I be the best Dad possible?” “Am I living the kind of life that sets the best example?” “Do I want to be doing this for the rest of my life?” At the time, I was barely rubbing pennies together, freelance editing for an academic publisher. I began to think about how to move my love for publishing in a better direction.
December
I received a book of short stories, “Everything’s Eventual” by Stephen King, from a work colleague. My love of reading fiction reignited as I was bowled over by the craft and the diversity of the stories.
2015
May
Inspired by an advert I found online, I uploaded my first book to Kindle Direct Publishing (or, what was then “CreateSpace”). Fascinated by the process of formatting a book, I used a playscript I had written for university, and a piece of artwork borrowed from a friend (Joe Mclean) just to see if I could make it happen. The book landed in my lap and I smiled. I started writing my own fiction the next day.
September
Went back to corporate dayjob to support my ex-partner and son. Started reading non-fiction and listening to self-development podcasts to help build stronger writing habits.
October
After months of failing to write a fantasy novel, I penned my first horror novella—“Sins of Smoke“. It was short, it was sweet, and it was free to download on Amazon. The book soared to the top of the free charts over Halloween, sparking the courage to continue to the next book.
December
I was introduced to the newly formed Hawk & Cleaver story studio and was invited to join. We spoke on a shaky Skype signal and concocted plans to write short stories together. On this call, we formed the basis of what would soon become The Other Stories podcast.
2016
April 2016
The Other Stories podcast launched its first ever episode, “Alien” by Matt Butcher. Little did we know then what a beast this podcast engine would become.
August 2016
Interested in connecting with other authors and creatives, I joined forces with Luke Kondor to co-host “The Story Studio” podcast—a weekly show filled with interviews and updates from the creative community.
The Other Stories podcast celebrates 50,000 downloads.
September 2016
The Other Stories celebrates 100,000 downloads—like… what?!
October 2016
I attended my first ever con (The Linc Con) as a seller with Hawk & Cleaver boys, running a stall and selling our books—or the first time feeling like a “real” author.
2017
January 2017
Published my first ever fiction novel, a post-apocalyptic novel called “They Rot,” co-written with Luke Kondor.
June 2017
The Other Stories celebrates 500,000 downloads—seriously, what is going on here?
November
The Other Stories celebrates ONE MILLION DOWNLOADS. (We must be doing something right).
Created and launched my first ever Kickstarter—a short, sci-fi audio drama titled “Cypher.” The Kickstarter failed at 50% funding. Back to the drawing board.
2018
February
Attended my first ever writers conference (20Books to 50k: London). I was lost, out of place, and nervous, but managed to connect with some amazing authors and meet many friends I’m still lucky to know to this day.
June
After 50 episodes, Luke and I recorded our final episode of “The Story Studio” before taking (what became) a permanent break.
October
Published my first major collaboration and commercial success, co-written with Michael Anderle. “The Caitlin Chronicles” was also my first attempt at a published series, and is something I’m remarkably proud of to this day.
2019
April
With the success of the Caitlin Chronicles, and an offer to pick up ghostwriting contracts for a major client, I left my dayjob and became a full-time creative. I finished on a Friday at 5pm, rode the top of a double decker bus home, and launched my creative Limited Company, Devil’s Rock Publishing.
July
I launched my first ever solo podcast, “Great Writers Share,” taking what I’d learned from The Story Studio and bringing it into a whole new format.
Attended the “20Books to 50k: Edinburgh” writer conference, levelling up my craft, meeting some more amazing writers, and having one of the best long-weekend experiences of my writerly career.
2020
Word of the year: Productivity
April
Joined forces with the indomitable Sacha Black to launch the “Next Level Authors” podcast, a weekly accountability show in which writer lessons are shared as we work to level up our creative careers.
June
Saw the publication of my first non-fiction book, “Collaboration for Authors,” taking the lessons learned from co-writing with authors for over five years, and featuring interviews with experts in the field.
October
After putting out the call for my first horror fiction anthology, I received hundreds of submissions and collected the final tales to compile into “The Other Side,” anthology.
November
Wanting to help writers achieve their own writing dreams, I launched my first 50k Writing Camp, guiding a group of 17 writers from 0 words on their WIP to writing 50,000 words by the end of November. The month consisted of WhatsApp motivational messages, regular Zoom accountability sprints, and a whole lot of fun and caffeine.
December
By popular request, the 50k Writing Camp authors demanded the group continue, seeing the formation of the weekly “Willcocks Writers” community.
After several years of nominations, we ended the year winning our first award. “The Other Stories” was voted as This Is Horror’s “Fiction Podcast of the Year” winner
2021
January
United with the Willcocks Writers online group to do an all-day writing session, hitting my highest word counts written in a single day: 14,503 words.
2022
January
Great Writers Share upgraded to reflect the new brand and name of my online community, and so the “Activated Authors Podcast” was launched alongside the brand new Activated Authors community.
March
Sam Frost (MastressofNone) and I launched and completed the Activated Author’s #WritersforUkraine challenge. Hundreds of writers from across the globe heeded the call to collectively write over a million words while raising awareness and collecting donations for the British Ukrainian Aid foundation to assist in the Ukrainian refugee crisis. In total we raised £14,018, with over 2million words written from 360+ authors from over 25 countries worldwide, receiving donations from some of the biggest names and businesses in the publishing sphere.
May
I was invited to sit on my first author panel at the Horror Writers’ Association’s “Chillercon” in Scarborough, UK. Little did I know I’d sit alongside the directorial horror legend, Mick Garris.
December
The Other Stories celebrates 10 million downloads!
2023
Word of the year: Publish
February
Activated Authors ran its first #FlashFictionFebruary challenge, setting out prompts every day throughout February for authors to write flash fiction and submit for entry in an anthology.
June
Attended the Horror Writers’ Association’s “Stokercon” conference in Pittsburgh, US. Spent the weekend with some of the greatest horror writers in the world, met my writer hero in person, and attended the 2023 Stokercon awards.
October
Wrote, produced, and released The Other Stories’ 2024 Halloween special, “Dream“—H.P. Lovecraft meets Lewis Carroll in a re-telling of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”
2024
Word of the year: Recover
April
After a long fight with burnout and major issues with personal circumstances, the Activated Authors community was closed.
June
The “Bolts of Fiction” anthology was published, sharing some of the top stories from the #FlashFictionFebruary challenge.
September
My short story, “A Very Special Boy” was successfully submitted into my first major horror publication, “Fear of Clowns: A Horror Anthology” alongside the likes of Bev Vincent, Adam Cesare, Rachel Harrison, and more.
2025
Phrase of the year: “Just start“
To be continued…
Dan’s Visual Author Timeline
[To be updated]
