By C.J. West
Suspense. Creativity. Action.

This week I told L.J. that I’ll be leaving the blog as a regular contributor soon.

L.J. and I have been friends for years and it was a hard decision to make. I really enjoy reading the blog and I’ve certainly learned a lot from Hitch’s posts on e-book creation and from Tom’s posts on forensics.

Some things have cropped up for me recently and as I thought about my schedule I realized that while I enjoy reading posts about the business of writing, I don’t enjoy creating my own. Bookselling has always befuddled me. I get a lot more joy writing about family, psychology, and inspiration, which I do on my personal blog.

I’ll come back often to read the blog and chat with you all in comments and once in a while I’ll guest post when I’ve got something to say.

What will I be doing in the meantime?

I’m about 15,000 words short of completing the first book in a new series that explores the lives of two recovering heroin addicts. This will be my first traditional mystery and it hits close to home because it centers on the life and work of my brother. He’s never been an addict if you are wondering, but he does some great work employing people who might not otherwise be able to find a job.

At the same time I’m outlining the sequel to The End of Marking Time. Those of you who read the book will remember the ending. I’ve been thinking for two years about the series and finally I’ve come up with an idea that allows me to continue the storyline and deliver an ending as shocking as the original. I’ve actually got the inspiration for a third book and the evolution of the story world has me revved up to get writing.

I also have two short story projects that I’m committed to writing in the near future.

In the last two weeks I’ve also discovered the Audiobook Creation Exchange, which is an Amazon affiliated company. I’m working to create audio book versions of all my novels. I’ve been told by many readers that they enjoy my voice (from my Blog Talk Radio days) and that they’d like me to read my own books. I’m not sure I’ll publish versions that I read, but I’m going to give it a try and see what I come up with.

With all these things competing for my attention I needed to make some changes to focus my energy. I’m going to dedicate the next several months to writing projects and hopefully I’ll end up with two completed novels and maybe a short story or an audio book as a bonus.

I’ll look forward to seeing you here. Between visits you can always find me on my Facebook page or my blog.

Thank You For Unsubscribing

By C.J. West
Suspense. Creativity. Action.

Several years ago I had a conversation with a woman that really changed the way I think about how I relate to people. What she said was simple and elegant and probably one of my first memorable exposures to a Zenlike philosophy.

She said, “Do you want everyone to like you?”

What a stupid question. Of course I want everyone to like me.

I’m a people pleaser. I like doing things for people and I have a terrible time saying no to a request.

But there is more to me than that. I have my share of strong opinions and an overactive sense of justice. Some people disagree with me based on what I believe. That’s only natural. So even as I go through life trying to make everyone happy, I invariably find some people I don’t get along with.

Another thing I’ve realized is that I am very slow to anger. Very few people annoy me and usually when someone annoys me they are annoying a whole lot of other people, too. So I’ve decided that sometimes it is okay to act on those feelings of annoyance.

Last week someone on Facebook taunted me about a spelling mistake in my status (with three derogatory posts). I reflected for a moment and realized a few things. This person is highly unlikely to buy my work. They might prompt others to decide not to buy my work as well. And I certainly was not enjoying their company. So why have this person on my page?

I’m not a public service. I’m just a guy trying to make a buck and have some fun.

The solution... I blocked them. I never have to hear from that person on Facebook again. Ever.

That got me thinking about what’s been happening with my newsletter lately.

I’ve been running a Kindle Giveaway called CJ West Fires Me Up. Each month I send out two or three newsletters to contestants. At the end of each month I give away a Kindle Fire in the form of a $200 Amazon Gift Card.

A month or two ago I came across a guy named Ben Settle who professes to be a master of email marketing. I read a bit of his advice and changed the way I write my contest emails.

My new messages are snarky and fun. Sometimes flirty. Almost always sarcastic. Basically I’m having fun writing a quick email and delivering some news to my contestants.

The response has been very interesting.

First there was the older woman who accused me of trying to start a fight between her and her husband.  I got a good laugh out of that one, but I was concerned.  I didn’t want my female readers to think I was hitting on them. (I’m writing suspense not romance.)

A dozen other people have unsubscribed in the past two months. Reading between the lines of their messages I could tell they were not entertained.

I became concerned so I started paying close attention to feedback.

Several friends on Facebook complained they didn’t get one of my messages when I had a database glitch. One woman actually requested that I resend a message because she deleted it too soon. She wanted to reread it. Really?

And nearly fifty people have written to say how much they enjoy my contest emails.

How cool is that? I’m sending marketing fluff and people enjoy it so much they thank me.

What I realized in the end is that I should thank people who unsubscribe. They give me the freedom to be my authentic self. My new messages are fun for people who enjoy my writing and my sense of humor. And I enjoy writing them, too.

How do you feel when someone quits your list?

Some Retreats Launch You Ahead

By C.J. West
Suspense. Creativity. Action

This last week I locked myself in a friend’s apartment to block out the noise of everyday life and focus on writing. I imagined entire days doing nothing but working on my latest mystery and dreaming up ideas for what comes next.

That’s how I drew it up, but it didn’t turn out that way.

On Monday there was my CJ West Kills Blog to write.

On Tuesday I met with someone about a new project and then spent the afternoon running between my doctor’s office and the lab for X-rays and blood work.

My Wednesday was a complete bust. I had a commitment that lasted 14 hours. The only writing I’m doing in the 26 minutes left in the day is this blog.

My retreat may sound like a failure to you, but it was very productive. You’d think a writer would spend a whole lot of time writing, but the truth is that the pressure to sell books often distracts me from what I love most about this gig—dreaming and storytelling.



This week I’ve made great progress on the mystery I’m currently writing. I’m now into Act III and the climax of the book is taking shape. Getting away has helped me recharge my creative batteries and the story is really flowing.

When I’m able to dedicate multiple hours to a project day after day I feel the depth of the story grow. Each day I develop a deeper understanding of the characters and as the plot unfolds I find myself adding elements that neatly fit plot and character in a way I couldn’t achieve without the continued focus day after day.

I deliver realism in my work that isn’t there when my writing sessions are separated by too much time.

I also had an unexpected bonus fall from the sky last weekend. While I was on the beach (supposedly relaxing), I developed the idea for a sequel to The End of Marking Time. I’ve always had trouble with a sequel because of the way the book ended, but last weekend I worked out much of the plot of the sequel and I’m confident the ending will be just as shocking as the original.

Even the small amount of time I dedicated to focused writing has really helped me. It’s fairly easy to do what I’ve done if your schedule and home life allow. Simply set aside the time to write and ignore those distractions when they come calling.

For most of us that's easier said than done.

Whispering Pines Writers Retreat
West Greenwich, RI

If that's the case for you, try booking a week at a retreat like The Inn at the Oaks in Eastham, Massachusetts.   A space like this is not only inspiring because of its beauty, by pulling you away from the little emergencies of daily life, this retreat allows you to focus your energy on writing for a weekend, a week, or longer.

If going it alone isn’t your thing, you can go for a conference like this Writers Conference at Ocean Park, held in Ocean Park, Maine this August. A retreat like this offers more than a beautiful quiet setting. A good writers conference offers writing classes, assignments to spur your creativity, and the camaraderie of working alongside other writers.

One of these types of getaways is bound to help you launch your writing project forward.

I hope you find a way to pour yourself into your writing this summer no matter which type of retreat you choose.

Curation Not Selection is the Future

By C.J. West
Suspense. Creativity. Action.

I read a great article by Seth Godin this week talking about the changes in what we read. before the digital revolution much of what we read was published by a select group of companies. Those publications (books, magazines, and newspapers) were read primarily because they were scarce resources.

Only so many books and newspapers were published. So, even if your local newspaper offended your political sensibilities, you had no choice but to read it if you wanted to get the weather and sports scores.  Scarcity meant that our individual preferences took a back seat to what publishers decided to produce.

It’s no wonder that when we were freed to choose a news outlet that appealed to what WE wanted, those newspapers died.

Enter the digital revolution and the long tail. Now if you want to read historical fiction about George Washington being attacked by vampires and you know where to look, it exists.

Note: while writing this blog, I made up the idea of George Washington being attacked by vampires. I searched and found two books on the subject. The first is George Washington and Werewolves. Not far off!

My point here is that we have moved into an age where curation is far more important than selection.

What’s the difference?

In a nutshell, selection is choosing what is available. The big publishers controlled selection for years by choosing which books were published. Control of selection sailed when Amazon allowed authors to publish anything they liked. Pandora’s Box is open and there is no pressing the lid back on.

You can argue that some limits on selection might be good, and you might be right, but now we have entered the age of curation or guiding consumers through the maze of what is available to find something enjoyable and meaningful to them.

The key here is finding work that is meaningful to the person searching. Millions of blogs attempt to do this by providing reviews of books in a genre or topic area. You’ve all been on Goodreads, Shelfari and Library Thing.

In the last two weeks I’ve discovered Pinterest and created boards of my favorite novels, indie novels, movies, and poker books. The great thing for me is that Pinterest takes me seconds to bookmark something of interest and my followers can come and see the things I like in a visual pin board format that works for those of us who are visually oriented.

My prediction is that digital curators will become more and more important to authors and I suspect an explosion of digital curation will be fueled by the ingenuity of digital entrepreneurs.

Future Looks Grim for Professional Criminals

By CJ West
Suspense. Creativity. Action.

In the last few weeks I read Flash Foresight: How to see the invisible and do the impossible by Daniel Burrus. I highly recommend this book. It shows us how to spot trends in the marketplace and create a thriving business by preparing to meet needs consumers don’t even realize they have yet.

Today I thought it would be interesting to apply the concepts of this book to the life of a career criminal.

Burrus suggests that we look for hard trends that will impact the marketplace and then anticipate the problems and opportunities they will create.

One of the trends affecting everyone are the three “digital accelerators” according to Burrus. They are the vast increases in computer processing power, storage, and bandwidth we are experiencing each year. These three factors have contributed to the explosion of cameras and social media.

The last thing a criminal wants is his picture being taken and shared around a vast network of people trying to identify him. I explored this idea recently in Thugbook, a short story about a social network that shares photographs of crimes in progress. With the proliferation of smaller and smaller cameras and social networks it is only a matter of time before someone implements an idea that combines cameras and social media to help prevent crime.

If you are a criminal or your customers are criminals, it is time to be thinking about clever disguises or some other way to thwart all those cameras.

Another trend related to the digital accelerators is the shift to electronic banking. Fewer of us carry as much currency as we once did. We do carry credit and bank cards and those present opportunities, but banks are getting smarter about protecting themselves from losses.

We may see a future like the one depicted in The End of Marking Time where no currency is ever exchanged. This would make dealing drugs and fencing stolen goods very difficult, but the loss of freedom would be so great should the government try to do away with currency there would be a major backlash.

On the plus side for the criminally minded, there are new opportunities to steal electronic funds, though I wonder if the level of sophistication required to steal from banks will be so high in the future that it will be easier to make an honest living than to outsmart the electronic watchdogs.

One final note on the digital revolution and its impact on crime. In the past it was unlikely that  data obtained by a law enforcement agency in one state would ever be shared with another. In the future, biometrics will be more prevalent and it will be simpler to connect data sources together.

In a future where states share biometric and other data about offenders, it will be more difficult to evade capture by moving within the country.  The heads of any large criminal organization may want to consider small tropical islands or large tracts of heavily wooded land to hide out in.

These changes are suggested in fun, but you’ll be glad to know that based on the FBI data I’ve been reading, serious crime is decreasing. I don't think crime writers will run out of real life stories to feed our work, but the trend is certainly encouraging.

I’d highly recommend reading Flash Foresight and using the tools inside to find the trends in your business.

My Advice To Microsoft

By C.J. West
Author of The End of Marking Time

Last week I was talking to my friend Libby Fischer Hellman about the Microsoft investment in the Nook business. On Libby’s blog, Ruth Harris, Rebecca Crowley, and I join her in penning an open letter to Microsoft on how best to push the Nook business forward.

I want to expand on some of the things Libby and I talked about that could help Microsoft turn the Nook into a viable competitor for Kindle. I think we all agree that a healthy market is a good thing and that Barnes & Noble for whatever reason just doesn’t know how to sell electronic books as well as Amazon.

Affiliates

The most glaring place that Amazon outshines Barnes & Noble is in affiliates. The Amazon Associates program allows anyone to register and then send traffic to Amazon. When a book is purchased, the site referring the traffic is awarded a small commission. Sites like E-Reader News Today, Pixel of Ink, and eReader IQ make a fortune on affiliate links. Because they are rewarded, they send their traffic to Amazon. 

Because of these sites, the community around Amazon is richer and more rewarding for readers and that makes more readers choose a Kindle over a Nook.

Indie Authors

Amazon has embraced indie authors in ways that Barnes & Noble has not. Compare the KDP Select Program and Nook First. KDP Select welcomes everyone. Authors can make their titles free and it is up to them to promote their own free book and find readers. Amazon relies on automation to scale the program and they reward the indie author and the reader with a platform that connects them both. The community (affiliates) also gets in the act because everyone likes free books and there are financial rewards for participation by the affiliates. 

Nook First is Barnes & Noble’s answer. To be admitted an author must submit  an application to a board that reviews selections. B&N will promote accepted books on their website, but the program can never scale the way KDP Select can and it is exclusivity means that the vast majority of authors cannot participate. B&N is excluding thousands of authors who are out hawking their books every single day.

These two programs are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to author relations, but they are representative of the philosophy of each, B&N is stuck in the bestseller mentality and Amazon is embracing the tidal wave of indie authorship.

How can Microsoft help?

Microsoft Word and EPUB

Millions of authors use Microsoft Word to author their books. It is simple to create a PDF file of any work by saving the manuscript as a PDF file. Since Microsoft owns the most popular writing platform, they could really enhance the Nook business by making a simple and powerful conversion product  from Word to EPUB. Formatting books for electronic publication has become a business unto itself. If Microsoft could make it simple to create an EPUB file, authors would be more inclined to publish on Nook. 

I think right now for most authors Kindle is the preferred platform because that is where the readership is. If Microsoft could make publication on Nook easier, they would be able to make some inroads with Kindle only authors. A side bonus to this is that authors could ship their books to (author) friends who have Nooks, so they could read the book comfortably during the review process.

Nook for Windows

Microsoft also owns the most popular desktop operating system giving them access to millions of computer users who are also readers. One of the hurdles to buying electronic books is the cost of the reader.  Amazon has a free e-book reader Kindle for PC. By creating a product with a better user experience than Kindle for PC, Microsoft could sway casual e-book readers to choose Nook books over Kindle books.

Microsoft could and should include this product as an update to every operating system the produce and should make it standard for any new system sold. 

It will be interesting to see what Microsoft’s financial muscle and technical savvy can do to lift the Nook brand. I foresee a heavyweight fight if Microsoft truly embraces digital publishing and takes it to Amazon head on. 

PS.  This week I released Thugbook, my first standalone short story on Amazon.com. Click over and dive into a new kind of social network. It's killer.

Do You Get What You Pay For?

By C.J. West
Suspense. Creativity. Action

Hitch had a great post this week about new authors and their quest to turn their manuscript into a published book. Being a publisher encompasses a whole lot more than writing and her post “Writing The Book Was Step Zero” was apt. There is editing, cover art, then marketing, which is an occupation unto itself.

When all that is done, a book that might have spent an eternity in a hundred different slush piles comes to market. The new writer sees a world of opportunity and braces for an onslaught of attention and what he hears most often is crickets. He feels isolated. Locked out of the market.

I’m reminded of a story from a few years ago. I’d been self-publishing for about 5 years. I had a book optioned for film and was excited about my prospects. I’d had enough bookstore doors slammed in my face to know that the industry wasn’t receptive to self-publishers, but I ventured off to Bouchercon eager to meet other readers and writers.

I met a well-respected reviewer and we chatted several times about panels. This person was impressed by a large e-book panel I moderated. When the show was over, I was included in a roundup of the event. But when I read my name, I was “self-published author C.J. West”.

Self-published. Like a warning label. Or a contagious disease.

None of the other authors mentioned was linked to a publisher. Just me. A friend suggested the publicity was a good thing. It felt like discrimination and I still think I would have been happier if my name had been omitted.

Fortunately all those gatekeepers who held new writers back have become much less important. Self-published authors can easily get books into the hands of readers.

But that means the slush pile has moved to Amazon.com.

It’s now up to readers to discern if a book is worth reading. Readers see a book description, a cover, and list a price. If a self-publisher is a good marketer, it becomes really hard to tell their book from one that’s traditionally published.

Until you open it.

In the last few months I’ve been hearing frustrated comments from readers about ninety-nine cent books. I know from personal experience that many of these books are really disappointing. Some readers who have been disappointed enough times steer clear of deeply-discounted novels altogether.

I think this is a sign that Kindle is hitting the mainstream reader. The early adopters were excited about the technology and embraced pioneer writers that brought them inexpensive stories. Many Kindlers still go out of their way to read self-published books and offer “kid-glove” reviews.

The mainstream reader expects a well-edited story that hangs together until the end. This isn’t true for a lot of self-published books and unless you know the author or carefully read the reviews, sometimes you are in for a huge disappointment. Please note the distinction between a book that you don’t enjoy and one that is full of grammatical errors, sloppy writing, and plot inconsistencies.

At the same time I’m seeing writers experiment with price increases to move away from the self-published crowd. For now, the $2.99 price dominates for new writers, but I wonder if readers will begin to think these books are worth avoiding.

Will we see a time when a majority of readers treat inexpensive books like they deserve a warning label?

Are you willing to pay an extra $7.00 for a book you know was professionally published?

Book Review - Fever Dream

By C.J. West

Fever Dream by Dennis Palumbo is the second Daniel Rinaldi mystery. Palumbo is building a series that goes well beyond the mystery in each book by deepening our understanding of a wide ranging cast of characters.

Daniel Rinaldi is a consulting psychologist to the Pittsburgh Police Department and as an outsider and a mental health professional, he gives us interesting insights into the struggles facing the cops that begrudgingly call him to work for them. Rinaldi is also affiliated with a psychiatric hospital and meets with patients and former patients that give us an unvarnished view of characters suffering from mental illness. For the writers here, Palumbo's characterization of characters with mental illness alone is reason to study his work.

Fever Dream opens with a bank heist that spins out of control and becomes a hostage situation. In the first two dozen pages, Palumbo displays his mastery of the genre by planting the seed that a twist is coming, even this early in the book, and then delivering it in a way that is at once unexpected but also foreshadowed. The plot continues to twist, deepening with each turn. The possibilities seem endless as the book nears its conclusion offering connections to several characters with plausible links to a crime that itself morphs as the story unfolds.

Palumbo’s work as a licensed psychotherapist gives him insight into human relationships that really sparkles in his writing. In Fever Dream the relationship between Treva Williams, one of the victims in the bank heist, and Eleanor Lowrey, one of the detectives investigating, was so strongly done I had to stop reading and consider how well the reveal had been written.

Here is another example of a relationship splendidly portrayed:

             “She noticed me then, too, and we exchanged brief, sad smiles. 

And not just because of our shared grief about Andy’s death.

        It was more or less the way we always greeted each other 

other, no matter how much time had gone by.

And probably always would.”

In the passage above, Palumbo describes a heart-rending longing between Rinaldi and a former coworker that is so poignant you can’t help but feel his angst. Relationships deepen in this second novel, and Rinaldi's pain is visceral even as he works to help solve the bank heist and treat Ms. Williams, his emotional struggles bubble to the surface. Palumbo masterfully manages to deepen numerous series characters while telling a story that can be enjoyed without having read the previous book.

Seasoned writers talk about focusing on character and allowing the story to grow out of character. Fever Dream displays Palumbo's mastery of both. He delivers a great mystery with characters that really sparkle. I highly recommend Fever Dream, and Mirror Image, the first Daniel Rinaldi mystery.

Palumbo works with writers to help them overcome writer’s block and other mental obstacles to producing their best work. For the writers who regularly visit CFC, you’ll want to check out his book, Writing From The Inside Out. This is a great resource for writers to understand how their emotions and their perspective on their own work affects their productivity.

If you’re looking for more from Dennis Palumbo, you can find him at www.dennispalumbo.com. You can also listen to my Blog Talk Radio interview with him as we discuss his books, Mirror Image and Writing from the Inside out.

Under The Covers

by C.J. West

When I first started publishing books I thought it was really cool that I had complete control over what I wrote and what cover I put on my books. Little did I realize that readers have become accustomed to some very specific things and they expect them when they are looking for a good book. 

I talked a little about Amazon pages and how the formatting really matters. Well, in the last few weeks I’ve been retooling the covers for my Randy Black series and I’m ready to unveil the results. 

Book One: Sin And Vengeance

The old cover has a cartoonish feel to me that suggests there will be fire and maybe some action and suspense, but it gives me the feeling that it’s done in an amateurish way. When I looked at other suspense novels one of the first things that struck me was that the large majority have clear, realistic photographs on their covers.

The New cover is a little sexier in my view and fits reader expectations for a suspense novel.

For years I felt like a great book was hiding underneath a cover that wasn’t getting attention. The book itself was optioned for film and came very close to the big screen about a year and a half ago, but the deal fell apart due to lack of funding. 

Book Two: A Demon Awaits

The old cover was a marvel of graphics work by my cover artist. She took a real flame and morphed it into a demon. The guy on the cover is me, photographed by my oldest daughter. It was fun to tell people that was me on the cover. I liked this cover, but even though it was created using two photographs it still had a surreal feeling to me that didn't fit a suspense novel.

The new cover is sexier, consistent with the series and still shows the main idea of the book, a man seeking redemption, even as a thumbnail. This picture to me speaks of a man facing his maker in a more concrete way than the fire demon did.

Book Three: Gretchen Greene

The old cover is a scene I really like. The oil refinery sets up the reader for the climax and this is the only cover I was sad to see go. The coloring here is softer than I would like and it doesn't set up as suspenseful for me. It doesn't convey a sense of mystery or danger.

The new cover matches the series well and also shows a scene right out of the book where Randy walks out of a swamp toward a vehicle in dark. This cover says spooky much better than the old one and it is clear that this is a suspense novel.

Only time will tell if these covers help the books sell better and given how little we ever know about marketing, I may never truly know what impact they have. But I feel good about the change and I’m excited for the future of these books.

What do you think about the change and the importance of covers?

Drive Like Your Life Depends On It

By C.J. West

In recent months I’ve been a passenger while my daughter drives on her learner’s permit. My life has flashed before my eyes once or twice and that reminded me of a fantastic experience I had on tour two years ago. 

I hosted an advanced driving class with Anthony Ricci from Advanced Driving & Security, Inc. Anthony is an amazing driver (I’ll prove that in a bit), and his class on situational awareness and driving techniques is incredible. We spent an hour in the classroom and then spent about two hours on the track. It was an incredible day on a converted airstrip on the Rhode Island coast. 

I learned several things from Anthony, but one thing has really stuck with me. A week before our session I sat in class with real bodyguards. These guys protect Fortune 500 CEOs and high value government officials. I was surprised by all the math. Lots of math. They calculated G forces and turning radii. After a while I guess they realized I was surprised and they told me something I’ll never forget.

Their lives literally depend on their driving. My daughter might kill me by running into a tree or an oncoming semi, but these guys have bigger problems. If they get chased and flip the car, the pursuers come up and shoot them before they do anything with the principal. They might only kidnap the exec in the back seat, but any wreck during a chase is fatal for the driver. It put a whole new perspective on driving for me and I’ll never forget the seriousness in the room when we had this discussion.

A week later I brought a group of fans to the classroom and then the track.

There was so much great information in the course I couldn't possibly do it justice here, but I want to share some of the things I learned because it is great information even if your most important passenger is three years old.

Anthony talked a great deal about situational awareness and how important it is to pay attention to subtle cues in traffic. You might not be a kidnap target, but there are idiots out there ready to crash into you because they are on a cell phone, or talking to a child in the backseat.

Anthony showed a series of photos taken on a busy street and asked us to identify which parked vehicles posed a threat. We learned to watch for illuminated tail lights, exhaust, presence of a driver, and one thing I hadn’t thought of, wheels turned toward the traffic.

On the track Anthony emphasized the importance of knowing your vehicle and positioning yourself properly. Here are some quickies from the track:

• Enter and exit the car with two feet at once. This exposes you to less risk from someone approaching you when you are vulnerable. 
• Seat yourself so you can brace your left foot on the rubberized pad. This will help you maintain control in severe maneuvers.
• Keep a light grip on the steering wheel and steer smoothly to avoid skidding. This was key to maintaining control in the slalom.
• Tilt your head down when checking back over your shoulder. Baseball pitchers do this because the shape of your eye allows the most peripheral vision when you are looking down. 

I’m going to leave you with a video of Anthony driving backwards through the obstacle course, which is a track with many twists and turns. I am filming through the windshield and we are chasing another car that is also driving backwards. 

If you’d like to meet Anthony and take one of his classes, visit him at Advanced Driving & Security, Inc.

Best and Worst of the Digital Writing Life

By C.J. West

When my last physical was over, my doctor asked, “You still writing suspense novels?”

“Absolutely.” I smiled.

“But what do you do to make a living?” he asked.

If I sold a book for every time I heard that one...

Then yesterday someone asked about my schedule and was surprised that I usually work well past midnight. That’s if you call what I do work. I love writing and if I’m not sleeping, spending time with my kids, or doing chores, I’m working.

My boss is a slave driver!

Work for me can be anything from researching a subject for a new book, writing and editing a novel, to spending time online connecting with friends in the writing community.

Since the writing life is such a mystery to non-writers, I thought I’d shine a light on what my little corner of the universe is like.

The top 10 great things about being a writer in the digital world:

10. Writing connects me with thousands of great people all over the globe.

9. My commute consists of pulling back the covers and stretching to power on my laptop.

8. The digital store is open 365 days a year (366 this year) and I can see exactly what I’m earning minute to minute.

7. Tweeting and Facebooking are important job skills.

6. Blogging about my addiction to chocolate or my attempts to diet earn me readers.

5. My office fits in a carry-on with room to spare. I can work on a beach or plane.

4. When I’m looking out the window and dreaming, I’m doing my best work.

3. My imaginary coworkers can’t sue for sexual harassment and they don’t complain about working conditions or low pay.

2. People write to tell me my writing has changed their lives.

1. The digital explosion has allowed me to reach tens of thousands and earn a living doing what I love.


Ten worst things about being a writer in the digital world:

10. Mediating squabbles on the digital playground.

9. There is no excuse for being late to work.

8. I can check my earnings minute to minute, but sometimes it’s better not knowing.

7. My family and friends think I should have a real job.

6. Everyone thinks I’m available to help them 24/7. See # 7.

5. Marketing. I love writing. I’m not fond of selling. (But I do like giving stuff away.)

4. Thousands of people think I can write a bestselling book about their great idea, give them half the royalties, and we’ll both be rich. It’s funny until they ask the third time.

3. If something good happens in the book business it’s always luck.

2. If something bad happens, it’s my fault.

1. My imaginary coworkers don’t do what they’re told even though I created them.

I hope you enjoyed this peek into my writing life. 

Is It Time To Abandon Print?

by C.J. West

Last week I finally made the move and enrolled three of my books in KDP Select. This weekend my new book, Addicted To Love, will be free in the Kindle Store until Valentine’s Day.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with KDP Select, it’s an Amazon program that allows authors to make their e-books free on the Amazon website. Enrolled e-books are available for Prime members to borrow free. The authors receive a fee per borrow that’s determined at the end of the month based on how many books are borrowed. The catch for authors is that the e-book must be exclusive to Amazon for 90 days.

I’ve had excellent response to free books in the past and I hope this one will be bigger than anything I’ve done on my own. The reasons that a free book on Amazon reaches so many people go well beyond the fact that Amazon is the biggest book retailer in the world. Sites like EreaderIQ, Pixel of Ink, Ereader News Today, Kindle Nation Daily and others redisplay data from Amazon’s catalog. They reach out to a wide readership and let them know about free and bargain books that look interesting and Amazon provides the platform to deliver all those free books.

These sites above have all helped me by promoting my work.

How does this compare to my bookstore experience?

On my walk today I remembered a time when I was signing in an independent bookstore and a customer came up to the owner and asked what she could recommend in suspense. I was standing about 10 feet away with 5 titles spread out in front of me. One of my books had recently been optioned into development as a feature film. I’d known the owner of the store for a few years, coming back to sign a the store with each new release.

I was stunned when she walked past me and showed the woman books by brand name, bestselling authors on the shelf off to my left. The woman walked out with four books without ever speaking with me.

It’s hard to blame the store owner  for not recommending me. She hadn’t read my work even though I’d given her a copy personally. The scenario illustrates the difference between print and electronic books. In print, the bestselling authors are not only well known, but they also have a price advantage because they print and ship so many books.

On the digital shelf I can offer readers a book that is 50% less, sometimes 90% less than offerings by more recognizable names. That’s why I sell 100 e-books for every print copy I sell.

I asked myself today if I should give up on print completely.  That would remove one more headache from my plate and wouldn’t affect my sales in any appreciable way.

I came up with two reasons to keep printing books on paper. The first is mom. She loves talking about me and my books. She carries them around in her trunk and sells them to anyone who reads. She’s almost 70 and she’s not going to open a website and start linking to Amazon. Could I take that away from mom? I think not.

The second reason to stick with print is who is buying them. I sell signed trade paperbacks from my website and ship them all over. When the orders come in I recognize most the names. These are people that I’ve never met in person for the most part, but they have been supporting me online for years. I can’t write a book and not make it available to my most loyal supporters.

From a purely business perspective, cutting print would mean one less cover to produce. A whole lot less accounting at the end of the year and no orders to place or books to ship. I could spend a bit more time writing or marketing e-books.

But this is one decision I’m not ready to make.

Are you still attached to dead tree books?

Why I Love Conventions

By C.J. West

Last weekend I visited the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Dallas as a volunteer for Mystery Day, several panel presentations by current mystery writers. This morning I was thinking about how energized I am when I come away from these meetings and wondered why.

For those of you who’ve never been to an ALA meeting, the exhibit floor displays everything from books, to furniture, to technology, hundreds of booths with hi tech displays offer anything you’d need to open a library save the bricks, mortar and plumbing. Major publishers display thousands of books, but very few authors have a presence. If you’re an author and you rent a booth at one of these shows, be prepared to give away lots of books. Publishers come with cases of them and offer them free by the hundreds.

My focus for the day was a room in the back corner, arranged with a stage and about 50 chairs for panel discussions.

You’d think I’d be tired of listening to panels by now. A few years ago I started going to conventions to meet people in the business. I was always that kid in school who followed the rules, so when I started attending conventions, I sat in the audience for panels, lots of panels. That's what's on the schedule during the day, so that's what I did. I’ve listened in on some great conversations and I’ve seen more than a few fall flat.

The success of a panel in my eyes comes down to two factors. A panel needs either a rock star or a fantastic moderator. A rock star needs no explanation. Certain writers like Tim Hallinan, Dennis Lehane, or Charlaine Harris can carry a panel no matter who is asking the questions. The only thing that can spoil a panel with a rock star is a newbie who hogs the conversation.

Absent a rock star, a moderator makes or breaks the panel. The irony is that the moderator does the most work by far and receives almost no credit whatsoever. Anyone can ask:

“What’s your writing process? Or schedule? Or office space?”

“Why is (insert main character name here) fun to write?”

“How much research do you do?”

Blah. Blah. Blah. Heard it all before.

I admit if you’ve never heard an author panel before, the answers would be interesting. After 50 times, not so much. 

I was really impressed at last year’s Bouchercon by the job Ruth Jordan and Judy Bobalik did coming up with unique ideas for panels. They helped the moderators and authors put on a brilliant show. A great panelist can also make a panel fun. JoAnna Slan told a story about a dead armadillo that she turned into a table lamp. I’d heard the story. I knew she was going to tell it. I still couldn’t help laughing.

But not every panel can have an armadillo-turned-table-lamp story. Even if it could, it’s important to have someone driving the ship on an interesting course the rest of the time.

A great moderator takes a topic and gives the writers fodder for thought. The discussion gets the writers to share great ideas about their latest book, the writing life, and society in general. It’s these ideas that inspire me when I get back to my desk.

So tell me, do you notice moderators ? Who’s your favorite?

Have B&N Execs Gone Mad?

By CJ West

Last week Barnes and Noble issued a press release including results for the holiday sales season and an announcement that they are seeking to spin off the Nook business. Store sales rose 2.5% and digital content sales rose 113%. It doesn’t take a genius to see where this business is headed. So why is B&N getting ready to spin off the most strategic portion of their business?

The NY Times applauded B&N for the inroads they have made competing against Amazon for a share of the digital book market. They report that B&N has captured 30% of the digital book market and is seeking outside investment to help them compete against Amazon.

I agree with the Times that B&N has its hands full fighting Amazon and that it is good for the business to have another big player in the e-book market, so for the market as a whole, I think the B&N move is a good thing. Amazon has a history of flexing its muscle with publishers and authors. The KDP Select program, where Amazon asks for an exclusive on digital content in exchange for the opportunity to offer a book free to Kindle users, is certainly heavy handed if not anti-competitive.

The problem I see for B&N execs comes in once the two groups are split. B&N has invested heavily in the Nook and when future results begin coming in and there is strong growth in the Nook business and a steady decline (or modest growth) in the brick & mortar outlets, B&N will be forced to make another series of investment or cost-cutting choices and it is the brick & mortar outlets that will suffer.

We haven’t yet felt the long term impact of all those shiny e-readers given as gifts this Christmas—not to mention the many authors and bloggers giving e-readers as prizes—but you can bet those new users have already downloaded millions of e-books in the last two and a half weeks. When the weather gets warmer, those proud digital book owners will be out in parks and on beaches and they’ll become e-reader evangelists like the generations of Kindle owners before them.

To me this move looks like the beginning of the end for B&N stores.  Digital Book World reports that B&N continues to lose money online and off.  It may take 7 or 8 years for financial pressure to force stores to start closing, but B&N can’t overcome the economic disadvantage of selling a mass produced product at a cost higher than its most significant competitor.

Not only does it cost more to stock a book on store shelves, but in-store book buyers have little information to help them choose books. Online customers can click through scores of reviews and ratings, but giving in-store customers access to this information also lets them see how much more they are paying for the convenience of buying a physical book off the shelf.

It seems the only concrete competitive advantage stores have is the physical space to bring people together and I see only a few true indies making the most of that advantage.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the years to come. I for one am glad that my future doesn’t rest on the success of stories printed on paper.