What Would you Give up to be a Writer?

Note from A.M. Khalifa, thriller writer, Google+

I am always inspired by how compelling the desire to write and be a writer is. Like an obsession, once it takes hold of you, there's no stopping it. Everywhere I go I meet writers who are juggling other successful careers, trying to "make it" so they could quit everything else and focus on being an author. Some of us go even further and take bolder risks. Like my friend A.D. Starrling who quit being a full time doctor in England after many years of studying and training to give writing a real shot. She'll tell you all about it as my guest blogger this week. Enjoy!

By A.D. Starrling 

I grew up on the tropical island of Mauritius, where academic prowess is highly regarded. I come from a family of scientists and from a very young age, I was expected to compete and do my best. For my father, that meant winning. Being second was not good enough. I had a pretty stellar school career. I majored in the sciences and landed a state-funded scholarship for a medical degree at a British university. I graduated in the top of my year, secured my first choice pediatric rotation, and passed my specialist exams within three years.

But throughout my training, I secretly indulged in another passion I had: Writing.

My father was an avid book collector and would take me to dusty old bookshops in the capital from when I was four. In addition to instilling in me the drive for success, he also taught me to love books. I started writing at twelve, and by the time I left the island at the age of twenty, I had written several short stories, two novels, and was a third of the way into my third novel. All throughout my education and training, I kept telling myself that I would write full time when I retired from medicine.

With just a few years left before becoming a full-fledged consultant, I quit full-time medicine. I was not happy with the direction my life had taken and the changes happening in the National Health Service. I became an agency doctor, with flexible working hours, better money, and the ability to work all over the country.

Six months later, on a train journey to London, the three characters that would drive me back to my writing desk walked into my head and wouldn't stop talking to me. And that’s when it really hit me. Why wait until I retire? Writing is what I want to do now.

I researched the publishing industry and discovered it was fraught with difficulty, with plenty of rejections and setbacks to be had. There was no guarantee I would ever be published or be able to make a living from it. Back then, I rejected self-publishing, equating it in my mind with the stigma of vanity publishing.

Still, I was driven and decided to write for five or six years and query agents and publishers. If during that time the consistent feedback was that I was a bad or mediocre writer, I would return to medicine and write as a hobby.

In 2012, no one had convinced me that I was a bad or mediocre writer, but I hadn’t gotten anywhere either. The consistent message I was getting was that I was a great writer, but hadn’t found my voice or perfect genre. Then a short story I submitted to the British Fantasy Society Short Story competition made the shortlist. It would eventually become the first novel I published.

One day, I came across an article that would change my life. It was about an author I had never heard of before, a certain JA Konrath, who had attained mainstream success as a self-published author. I took another look at self-publishing and saw it in a different light. It was now not just acceptable, but increasingly the smarter route to take. I decided to go for it.

From that time onward, I began seeing myself as a full-time writer, who once dabbled in medicine. I work part-time in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and that door remains open for me. Medicine still pays the bills. But isn’t that the story of almost all indie writers? We are chasing the dream, and using our other skills to sustain ourselves until writing becomes our sole vocation.

My first book, Soul Meaning (Seventeen Book 1), was the winner of the Fantasy category of the National Indie Excellence Awards in 2013, a finalist in the adventure category of the same award, a finalist in the action-adventure category of the Next Generation Indie Book Awards 2013, and got honorable mention in the general fiction category at the Hollywood Book Festival 2013.

I am still filled with fear and doubts when it comes to my writing career. Am I crazy to give up years of studying and training and a near-certain future of professional success and material comfort to chase a passion? Maybe. But I couldn't live with myself if I didn't at least try.

I have a memo note stuck to the lamp on my desk. It says, “Who do you want to be?”

It’s the first thing I see every morning before I start writing.

The answer to that question is what drives me to carry on.

What about you, fellow authors, what have you given up and what risks are you taking to chase this writing dream? Indeed, what double, even triple lives are you leading? And readers, what drives and wakes you up every morning?

AD Starrling is the author of the award-winning and nominated supernatural thriller series Seventeen. She lives in England, where she spends her time writing fast-paced, action-packed thrillers, and juggling babies in the intensive care unit where she works as a part-time pediatrician.

Soul Meaning (Seventeen Book #1) and King’s Crusade (Seventeen Book #2) the e-books are currently available for sale on Amazon, with the paperbacks scheduled for release in March and April 2014.

More A.D. Starrling links:

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Ebook Boxed Sets: Good Idea or No?

A conversation between L.J. Sellers and Peg Brantley. Join us in the comments section!

Peg: After my first book was published in early 2012, I became aware of a different kind of marketing tool—boxed sets for ebooks. I couldn’t wait until I had at least three books out so that would be an option for me to gain readers and new sales. Well, now I have three books. They’re not a series but they do have common geography and overlapping characters, so they would probably work as a set. And then I noticed that L.J. had never offered a set and I wondered what she thought of the idea.

L.J: I was just getting ready to combine the first three Jackson books in a set when I received an offer from Thomas & Mercer. I signed the contract and let go of control. Later, when I suggested to my marketer that we create a boxed set featuring the first book of several authors' series, she said Amazon didn’t offer those. Her reason was that their data indicated customers didn’t read all the way through longer ebook files, and that “wasn’t a good customer experience.” I guess it depends on how many novels you include and whether the books are similar enough in content and quality to hold a reader’s interest. But I’m still curious to know if a boxed set from a single author could expand sales and/or readership.

Peg: That’s interesting. As far as single author experiences go, look at Wool by Hugh Howey. I admit I was a bit surprised that my ebook seemed to go on and on, but I loved the story. And, although it wasn’t a boxed set, I devoured all of Michael Connelly’s Lincoln Lawyer series one right after the other before his latest release. So I’m not sure I agree with Amazon’s statement about longer ebook files not being a good customer experience.

L.J: Just because Amazon doesn’t offer boxed sets doesn’t mean it isn’t a good idea. Other writers have collaborated to create such offerings. Recently for example, Joe Konrath and five other authors released a boxed set of horror stories. It’s been in the top 300, and is currently at #803 in the whole Kindle store, so it’s selling hundreds of copies a day. But they’ve priced it at $.99, so no one’s making money on it. But they may be gaining new readers, and/or they may plan to increase the price very shortly. All six of those authors have many other books on the market, so they can afford to have one novel as a promotional giveaway. Not everyone can do that and still make a living.

Peg: That sounds intriguing. I like the idea of multiple-author boxed sets. Each author would likely pull in a few different readers who would then be exposed to different writers and their styles. And doesn’t selling hundreds of copies a day sort of bury the idea that it isn’t a good customer experience?

L.J.: Not necessarily. Buying a product is only the first step. And most people who read digitally buy many more books than they will ever consume. If those readers only get through one or two of the six stories, then the other authors don’t benefit.

But to a certain extent, you’re right. Just because Amazon labels it “not a good experience” doesn’t mean it’s a bad experience for consumers, who still get a great deal on ebooks. Amazon just has very high standards! We authors, on the other hand, tend to focus on sales as a measure of a book’s success. Still, I want people to read my novels, not just buy them. I think limiting a boxed set to three might the perfect middle ground.

Readers: Do you buy these sets? Do you read all the way through?
Writers: What has your experience been?

Author Beware

A discussion between L.J. Sellers and Peg Brantley

L.J.: After two friends asked what I thought about a new service from IndieReader, I looked into it, then Peg and I had a conversation about it that we thought we’d share.

But first, to summarize: IndieReader is offering to list self-published book titles in the Edelweiss database for $399 per title, with the idea that them will give them access to bookstores. The main question: Is it worth it?

My first comment is about the headline on their blog announcing the service. This is how it reads: Want Your Book Sold In Independent Bookstores Nationwide? That shrieks hype! “Nationwide” is a huge—and probably ridiculous—claim. More important, it sounds like they’re going to actually sell your book to retail stores for you. Not even close. They’re offering a listing in a catalogue.

Peg: At CFC and other blogs (Konrath’s for example) there has been discussion about hand-carrying your books to bookstores to gain placement and even booksellers who would likely hand-sell your books. Aside from dealing with fear of rejection, who the heck has the time? So IndieReader’s offer sounded good to me. Except it’s just a catalogue.

L.J.: Not to mention, hand-selling to bookstores costs more money than it earns! But the listing could be effective for some authors. For example, those with a long-running series who have great covers and great review blurbs. Bookstores might notice the covers and blurbs and realize that carrying such a series could be a good way to bring customers back to the store again and again. I realize my Jackson series fits that profile, so I was briefly tempted to give the service a shot. However, because my series is published by Thomas & Mercer (Amazon), most bookstores won’t be interested.

Peg: And since my paperbacks are provided by CreateSpace (also Amazon), I’m pretty sure they’d be facing the same kind of battle. And then there’s the price.

L.J.: Indeed! For $399, you can buy a promo on BookBub and sell a ton of ebooks instead. Or for that price you could also run a full-page ad in Suspense Magazine for four months and sell ebooks and print books. Except for on a local level, I just don’t believe bookstores will stock indie authors who haven’t already caught their attention through media coverage. And what about quality control? Does it concern you that the offer is open to anyone?

Peg: Absolutely! At least BookBub has a level that must be met with respect to reviews. One or two poorly edited books and everyone is tainted. Each author is also paying for a review. How do you say, Conflict of Interest? And then there’s this, from IndieReader: Additional services—including various forms of bookstore outreach—are available for additional fees.


L.J.: And bookstore shelf space is shrinking. Barnes & Nobel is closing stores, and a million authors are cranking out indie books. No matter how much money authors spend, we can't all get space on the shelves. Even mid-list legacy published authors are complaining about not getting into stores anymore. I gave up on bookstores in 2010, and I haven't seen any developments that have made me look back.


Writers are looking for ways to get their work in front of more readers. We don’t think this is one of them. Do you?

Amazon News and Market Pressure

by L.J. Sellers, author of provocative mysteries & thrillers

Amazon News
An item caught my eye yesterday that I think is huge news. Amazon made a bid to buy Dorchester, the 80-year-old, mass market publishing company that went bankrupt last year, owing a lot of authors unpaid royalties. If no other company outbids Amazon—and who could?—it will soon own the rights to all those books.

This is good news for the authors—who will get paid and see their books return to the market—but the bigger issue is that Amazon is acquiring titles like crazy. It’s already purchased Avalon (3000 titles) and a collection of titles (450) from Marshall Canvendish Children’s Books. And this may be only the beginning. More publishing companies, especially those focused on mass market products, will likely fold. And I wouldn’t be surprised to see Amazon keep acquiring book catalogs.

Amazon is also picking up individual authors, like myself, often buying their whole backlist, and now has six imprints. This is how Amazon will eventually dominate the market, by owning a massive inventory of published titles and pricing them competitively.

Market Pressure
And on another somewhat unrelated topic, I’ve also been reading about authors who are writing three to six books a year. Joe Konrath says he can “comfortably write four books a year” and Brett Battles blogged recently on Murderati about writing six last year and being well on his way to writing five this year. Alexandra Sokoloff posted recently about writing three or four books a year, and Zoe Winters just blogged about trying to write a book in a week. She cranked out 30,000 words in three days.

I admire their output, but I don’t know how they do it! I’m diligent and hard-working, but if I can produce two stories a year for several years in a row, I’ll be very pleased. But I do know why most of them do it. Pressure! Brett talked about feeling compelled to make a living as an indie author after his traditional publishing contracts dried up, and Zoe blogged about feeling a constant pressure to be more productive and get more books out there before she “disappeared.” The New York Times addressed this issue recently too.

I've felt that pressure for the last five years. But I’m trying to let go of it and live a more balanced life. Which is one of the biggest reasons I signed with Amazon—for the stability and marketing support that will take some of the pressure off me. Now I just have to learn to shut off that little voice in my head that says, “If they can write three or four books a year, so can you, slacker!”

Writers: What is your output and do you feel pressured to write more?

Readers: What are your expectations from your favorite writers? Can you tell the difference between books that take months or years instead of weeks to write?

Talking About Money in Public

by L.J. Sellers, author of provocative mysteries & thrillers
Recently Kindle Review, a blog that tracks indie authors’ Amazon sales, posted its list of the top 50 indie authors for 2011. I was surprised and pleased to be listed at #11. I never reported my sales to them. In fact, I don’t know my actual sales numbers for last year because I’ve never taken the time to add them up. The blog contacted me again near the end of March and asked for my numbers for the month. I wasn’t sure how to respond.

It makes me uncomfortable to give exact sales numbers in public—for a lot of reasons. Despite my openness in most other regards, I’ve never been comfortable discussing my salary with anyone other than my husband. I think it’s mostly out of concern for the feelings of others who might be financially struggling. The information might also give people a false idea of my lifestyle. Without knowing a person’s expenses and responsibilities, how can you know what their income means?

This is more of an issue with ebooks because the royalty rates are public and simple to calculate. I worry that people will do the math wrong and think: 10,000 books at $2 each, that’s twenty grand. They have no idea how many of the books sold at $.99 for a .35 cent royalty...and how little money that adds up to.

So I didn’t give the blog specific information. Still, they listed me first on their Authors to Watch list and reported my estimated sales. It was a little weird to see that number, and I’m not sure where they got it. But it probably wasn’t difficult, and I know how I would do it (based on rankings and another author’s reported sales).

A lot of authors have called for transparency in reporting sales. Some traditional authors have posted their royalty statements online, and Joe Konrath has been very open about his sales and royalty income. (He must not have poor and needy family members. <grin>)

I’m not sure I’ll ever be comfortable talking about income in public, yet I expect this issue to come up again and again. Amusingly, I have an interview with Amazon this morning for their newsletter, and the person may ask about my numbers. Which is ironic, because the company actually has a better idea than I do.

So what do you think? Writers: Do you report or talk about actual sales numbers (or income) publicly? Readers: Do you think writers should?

The Final Hurdle: Literary Awards

Posted by L.J. Sellers, author of the Detective Jackson mysteries
With the upheaval in the industry, the lines between legacy-published and self-published authors are blurring, and in some cases, disappearing. Yet, some of the old club mentality (and function) still exists, especially when it comes to awards. Self-published novels not allowed.

I belong to International Thriller Writers, and I joined when my series was published by a small press. A company, by the way, that is not on the list of acceptable publishers for Mystery Writers of American, which is why I’m not a member there. When I was with the small press, ITW encouraged me to submit my novels to its in-house awards, which I did.

Mid-last year, I left my publisher, but ITW allows me to continue to be a member. Yet, I still had to push and nag for the right to submit my new self-published releases for inclusion in The Big Thrill, the organization’s newsletter. For the record, I’m an active member: I volunteer with ITW by interviewing authors and writing features and participating in forums and giveaways.

For this year’s contest, I submitted Dying for Justice, which readers and reviewers seem to think is my best work yet  (giving it a 5-star Amazon rating). I was informed that the awards were only for books released by publishers on their list. Here’s the interesting part: The award chair encouraged me to fill out an application to become an approved publisher. Huh? That  doesn’t seem right. I’ll fill out the application, but if Spellbinder Press (my company) gets approved, then I really don’t see the point of having an exclusive list…unless the only criteria is producing quality books. But how is that judged?

Which brings me to another point: The books I write now are better than those I submitted before, because I’m still improving my craft. And my self-published books are better edited (by far!) than those produced by my ex-publisher. I pay for better cover design and professional formatting too. Overall, the quality of Dying for Justice exceeds the quality of the books I entered in the contest the past.

I don’t mean to pick on International Thriller Writers. I love the organization, and I appreciate that it’s trying to be more inclusive and has accepted some self-published authors. I also understand the difficulty of these decisions. How do you open the door to some indies without being run over by a flood of entries that don’t belong? Other organizations and awards face the same dilemma.

Joe Konrath has suggested that sales be the equalizer. Say, if your book sells 5,000 copies, then you’re considered professional, no matter the publisher. I don’t know if that’s the answer, but it’s certainly would simplify the decision process.

Writers organizations and award sponsors have to make changes to stay current, or they will soon be as obsolete as others in the industry that failed to adapt. How do we fix this?