Jeff O’Connell, NYT Best-Selling Author, Talks About His Writing Process

By Aneya Fernando 

Jeff-O'Connell-ArticleJeff O’Connell  began his career as an editor at fitness magazines like Men’s Health and Muscle & Fitness. His writing soon earned him recognition in The Best American Sports Writing and The Best American Science & Nature Writing anthologies. It wasn’t long before O’Connell claimed the title all writers seek: New York Times best-selling author.

The book, Platinum Workout, was a collaboration with LL Cool J. O’Connell later worked with 50 Cent (on Formula 50) and in 2011 released his own book, Sugar Nation. Here, O’Connell shares his tips for writers and aspiring authors:

To me, writing is mostly about re-writing. I wish I was somebody that could sit down and bang out 1,000 or 2,000 perfect words, but I’m not. A lot times I can be a perfectionist, and that can be really paralyzing, so I think that it’s important to just get something down on the screen or the page and realize that you’re going to work it over multiple times anyway, so you might as well get started. And then it’s important to find a niche that’s well calibrated to your interests, but also to your talent.

To hear more from O’Connell, including his experience co-writing with celebrities, read: So What Do You Do, Jeff O’Connell, Award-Winning Writer and Editor-In-Chief of Bodybuilding.com?