About First Manuscript
When I got serious about writing novels, I found myself doing lots of research on proper techniques and gathering information related to developing my writing and storytelling skills. I developed a sizeable collection of notes for my personal use.
After a while, I realized others could benefit. I felt selfish in keeping this to myself, but I didn’t want to interrupt my writing to clean up my notes and transform them into something shareable.
Rather than share my old notes, I decided to create this website as a place to record my notes in a way that made them useful to others.
I don’t pretend to be an expert. For the most part, I’m sharing information I’ve gathered. When I do, I document the source. On some topics, I’ve formed strong opinions, which I’m not afraid to share.
I love it when others comment on my posts. So whether you like what I say, or you have a different point of view, please tell me. That way, we will all learn together.
Dax MacGregor
About Me
Writing Background
I’ve been a writer all my life. A few years back, my mother provided me with a box of memorabilia from my childhood. Inside, along with report cards and newspaper clippings, I found short stories, poems and songs I had written in elementary school.
For most of my adult life, I worked in Corporate America and raised a family. My creative juices sat on a shelf, bottled up. Occasionally, I would write a quick poem or pen a short story.
I had always intended to write short stories, until one of my stories kept growing. I couldn’t turn my brain off. Before long, I had an entire world created full of characters and subplots. I realized I had become a novelist.
My Name
When I launched First Manuscript in 2011, I published articles under the pen name of Newbie Author.
Why not my own name? I was worried that, when it came time to find an agent, my blogging would expose my lack of expertise and limit my potential for getting published. Later, I realized having a website with a sizeable audience would be a huge benefit in getting published.
I planned to publish using my real name, Thomas Greer. but then I discovered Thomas H. Greer had already published many books. A little more searching led to books authored by Thomas Greer, Tom Greer, Tom C. Greer, Thomas J. Greer PI, and Thomas Keister Greer.
That’s when I decided I needed a distinctive pen name, one that readers could easily remember. The process of selecting a pen name took months. With the help of other writers and editors, I selected Dax MacGregor.
Now, Dax is the owner of this website. He also has another website (daxmacgregor.com) as a placeholder for when he has books published. You can also find Dax on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
