To Other Suspense Series Authors

I'm currently looking for authors who want to publish books under my "brand" using the James Patterson co-authoring approach. I have done this with three other authors in the past and the results have been beneficial to us all.

The book you offer should already be written, and it should also be the start of a possible series, with common characters who appear in each new book.  Any genre is acceptable as long as it has a strong suspense element - romantic suspense, sci-fi suspense, espionage, international crime, mysteries/detective, etc.  It doesn't matter whether you have already published the book.

I offer a 50/50 royalty split on all ebooks sold, paid quarterly.

I have no written contract - I work with other authors on a good faith basis.  Any agreements are made with simple emails.

If you're interested, please send me a message at mike (at) mikewellsbooks.com and tell me what you have to offer.

Best of luck with all your writing projects,

Mike

P.S. I’m not interested in co-writing books from scratch with other authors--I'm too pressed for time right now.

The Fascination of Coauthoring: Guest Post by Author Devika Fernando

Note:  This post has been reposted from author Devika Fernando's blog.

The Fascination of Coauthoring

Have you ever read a book written by more than one author? I have – and now I’ve gone a step further and also written a book with another author. Bestselling author Mike Wells offered me this unique chance. He’s the mastermind behind the project that has taught me a million things and is huge fun. Let me shed some light on the fascinating topic of coauthoring and why it can be successful.

What is coauthoring?

Don’t mistake coauthoring for ghostwriting. The former involves two people and their input into a book, the latter means one person does all the work and another person gets credited for it and sells it. Coauthoring can be compared to a multi-author anthology, with the difference that there aren’t many stories contributed to one collection but one story with two contributors. Another term for this is collaborative fiction. This principle is fairly common in non-fiction but still rather rare in fiction. However, co-writing is on the rise.

There are different ways how to handle co-authoring:
-    An author takes another author’s finished (but unpublished) work, edits and remodels it, and publishes it.
-    Both authors brainstorm an idea and plot, and one author writes the first draft. The second author will then edit and rewrite to publish the book.
-    Both authors write simultaneously or in instalments / chapters until they finish, edit and publish the book together.

Mike Wells has tried the first and second method. The first one has resulted in the crime novel “With Mother’s Approval” and is a collaboration with author Robert Rand. The second one involved me – pinch me, I must be dreaming – and will be available as the romantic suspense novel “Forbidden” soon. To quote Mike on both adventures:  “This is a new direction I’m trying and so far it’s been working great. The book I collaborated on with Robert Rand is receiving rave reviews, and I expect the same result with Devika’s.”

As for the third method, it works well too. I read “Bought in Blood (Sanguinem Emere, Book 1)” and loved it. Carmen Dominique Taxer wrote it with her partner Richard T. Wheeler (I believe she focused on the vampire scenes and he wrote the scenes from the detective’s POV). There are quite a lot of books coauthored by a husband-and-wife duo or authors who are friends. Sometimes the team publishes under a common pseudonym, as is the case with Grant Naylor, Lewis Padgett and Judith Michael. Other coauthored books display the renowned author’s name prominently and show the coauthor’s name in smaller font. Usually the royalty is split or there are some other (financial) benefits for the co-author.

Here are some other examples of authors who ‘hire’ co-authors (some of them really famous):
-    Lincoln Child & Douglas Preston
-    James Patterson
-    Tom Clancy
-    Wilbur Smith
-    Nicci Gerard & Sean French
-    Janet Evanovich
-    Clive Cussler

Advantages and tips

If you search the internet, you’ll find comments that denounce coauthoring and say it’s a trend doomed to fail. From my point of view though, I can see many reasons for and advantages of collaborative fiction.
-    One of the team might have specific experiences or special knowledge the other author doesn’t have.
-    It’s a great opportunity for those who don’t have enough time, because you’re sharing the workload.
-    You can learn a lot in the process, maybe even rediscover yourself or venture into other genres.

Here’s Mike Wells’ take on why and how authors can benefit from coauthored books.  “One of the main reasons I am doing it is to amplify my range and output—the more titles you have out there, the more books you sell and the larger your reader base grows. The risk, of course, is that you produce books of lower quality due to various factors, such as the “too many cooks spoil the broth” problem. However, I think by carefully agreeing up front exactly how the book will go, who will do what, etc., you can avoid this problem and actually have a synergistic result, a book that is better than either author might produce on his/her own for the reasons Devika stated above.”

Of course there are things to be considered. There needs to be a sort of “working plan”, each author needs to know their tasks and responsibilities. The authors have to discuss and agree on copyright, earnings, distribution and marketing. Communication is essential, and you need to work together on more than one level.

Book Cover/Title Change - Picasso Chase to Lust, Money & Murder, Book 4

I wanted to let everyone know that I've decided to change the cover image and title of the book I was calling "The Picasso Chase, Book 1 - Cattoretti's Return" to "Lust, Money & Murder, Book 4 - Cattoretti's Return".

The reason I've done this is that many people did not realize that this new book is actually a continuation of the popular Lust, Money & Murder series - the story does, in fact, take up at the moment where LM&M #3 left off, when Elaine Brogan fights tooth and nail with Giorgio Cattoretti in Italy and kicks him over the cliff.

I originally titled the book the way I did because this new book, and the following two (coming soon), can be read as a standalone trilogy, without reading LM&M 1, 2 & 3.  This is also the reason I came up with a different cover style and design.  It was one of those "seemed like a good idea at the time" situations--I suppose I didn't have the perspective of most readers.

If you've already bought the book as The Picasso Chase, Book 1, don't worry--everything inside is exactly the same. The book itself cannot be accidentally bought twice because there is only one book on all the retail ebook sites (with one IBSN).  If you want the new cover and title, you can simply go to your retailer and send it to your e-reader or app again.

Here are the links for your reference:

Amazon USA - Amazon UK - Apple iBooks - B&N Nook  - Google Play - Kobo - Smashwords

I apologize for any confusion this may have caused you. 

By the way, if you happen to be one of the folks on Facebook who gave me feedback about this issue when I asked for it, I really appreciate it - all the advice was very helpful.

Why I'm Not Publishing All My Books in Paper Format

At present, I publish much of my work in digital-only format—ebooks and audiobooks. Since many of you are also authors or seriously thinking of writing a book, I thought I would explain my reasoning on this, as it might be helpful to you in making your own decisions.
     The main reason that I'm a largely digital-only author is that if I publish all my books on paper, I can't get them onto the shelves of physical bookstores.  It's virtually impossible.  Why?  Because I'm an "indie author," meaning that I self-publish my work outside of the realm of the traditional publishing industry.  Like  it or not, traditional publishing largely controls what's on the shelves of brick-and-mortar bookstores.  (Self-publishing my own work is a personal choice—for more about traditional versus self-publishing, see this post).
     Also, I am an internationally-oriented author, and I have a large number of readers all over the world—in Australia, the UK, Europe, South Africa, Malaysia, Russia, India, the Middle East, etc.  This compounds the distribution problem tenfold.  Even the biggest U.S. publishers have trouble getting their titles onto the bookstore shelves in every corner of the globe.
     Thanks to digital retailer/distributors like Smashwords, ebooks provide an instant and elegant solution to the problem.  It's a great feeling to know that any reader, virtually anywhere in the world, has equal access to all my books at the touch of a button.
     That said, I admit that it sometimes bothers me that I can't pick up a paper copy of some of my books and hold it in my hands, and that I can't send readers who want my books in paper format to a physical bookstore.  Some people enjoy collecting paper books and building a home library, and I can certainly appreciate that as well.
     While it's true that I could arrange to publish all of my 25+ titles on paper through a company like KDP, Lulu or Createspace, this does not fully solve the problem, neither in the USA or abroad.  Readers will still have to order the books online or through their local bookstores—copies will still not actually be sitting on bookstore shelves.  Many of the people who want paper books tell me they not only want my books in that format but want to go to their local bookstore and buy them off the shelf.  Having to order and wait for a paper book is a "speed bump" that greatly lowers interest.  Today, it's my experience that most readers, when given the choice of ordering a physical book and waiting a week or two for it to arrive, or downloading the book instantly, at 1/3 of the price (when you include postage), choose the latter.  Not all, but most.
     Despite how easy companies like Amazon KDP and others make it sound, publishing on paper is still a lot of work and takes significant time.  I only have so many hours in the day.  When I ask readers, "Which would you rather I do—produce more new ebooks and audiobooks or slow down and offer everything I write in both digital and paper format?" the answer is always a resounding "More new books please!"  The vast majority of my readers are willing to read or listen to my books in digital format, even the ones who prefer paper.
    Of course, there are some people who refuse to read anything but paper books.  I admire their tenacity, but I have to draw the line somewhere.  I believe that there will always be paper books, but I also believe that the number of people who refuse to read anything except paper books will steadily diminish, so that eventually I will reach 99% of the folks who are interested in my work.
     But there is another larger, overarching factor in my decision to stay digital.  I struggled for fifteen years in the paper book industry—burned through four literary agents—and made very little progress.  It was the advent of ebooks and digital publishing that allowed me to take full control of my career and caused my book sales to take off.  While I'm sure it would be a wonderful feeling to hold every one of  my novels in my hands and see them lined up in a neat row along my desk, I'm confident that the feeling I have from having a significant part of my income derived from fiction writing, and hence more time to write, is far more satisfying.
     Perhaps things will change in the future and I will decide to publish on paper.  For example, maybe someday there will be a printing and binding machine sitting in every physical bookstore that can produce a high-quality paper copy of any ebook in a matter of minutes.  There have been attempts at this, but nothing has caught on big yet.  Or, maybe a traditional publisher will come along and offer to print my books as they are, without insisting on fiddling around with the titles and content, and they won't have a problem with me continuing to publish my ebooks and audiobooks independently.  Who knows?
     Never say never.
     In summary, that's the logic behind my decision to keep many of my books in digital format only for the present, and it may or may not apply to your own situation.
     Your comments are welcome!

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Thriller Author Mike Wells Interviewed on The Carnage Report

The following interview is reprinted from The Carnage Report, August 26th, 2013

What inspired you to write?
 
For me, that's a little like asking what inspired a bird to fly, or what inspired a fish to swim.  I am a writer; writing is what I do.   I feel a strong urge to write each and every day, and I've had this urge as long as I can remember.  This urge is different from "inspiration," I think.  To me, inspiration is a kind of high, and like most highs--whether naturally or artificially induced--it wears off pretty fast. 

Inspiration might get me started on a book, but I could never actually finish a whole novel, which takes months or years, fueled by inspiration alone.  I would never get through that difficult middle part of the story, where, as the author, you have to struggle with the thorniest story issues.  

Did your family play a role in the development of your literary skills?

Definitely.  My mother is also a writer.  Some of my earliest memories are the sound of her tapping away on a typewriter, writing short stories and other pieces.  In fact, the sound of someone clicking away on a keyboard in the next room is very comforting to me.  Maybe I caught the desire to be a writer through some sort of osmosis, or it's in the genes, I don't know.  

My family, as well as my wife and her family, have always been very supportive of my writing.  They have grown along with me in their supportive roles, too.  My wife has learned to be a fantastic developmental editor and her mother, who is a retired journalist, also helps a lot with both the overall shaping of my books and marketing.

Do you have any literary influences on your work?

I'm sure I do, but I'm not that aware of them when I'm writing.   Stephen King, Rod Serling, Thomas Hardy, David Mamet and Sidney Sheldon have influenced me a lot.  I’ve dissected their books and screenplays in great detail, trying to understand how their plotting, characters, dialogue, and other story elements work. 

What do you think of the state of the book market at the moment?

The fact that ebooks are revolutionizing the publishing industry in a disruptive way has been a godsend to me.  The gatekeepers, the literary agents and editors who were the barriers in traditional publishing, are no longer in the way.   Now authors can easily self-publish and reach readers, and the general public decides which books are good and which ones are not. What could be fairer than that?  Of course, the negative side is that virtually anyone who can push buttons and put together strings of characters (not necessarily forming intelligible words or sentences) can publish.  

This makes it hard for good books to be discovered by readers.  However, the industry is still better under this more democratic model.  I wouldn't want the system to go back to what it was before, not that it would be possible now.  Having a relatively few “experts” wedge themselves in between authors and the reading public, for the purpose of deciding what people will read, is a terrible concept.  It is a formula for corruption.  

What inspired you to write Wild Child?

There's the I-word again!  I felt the urge to write Wild Child as a result of a dream that I had about a girl that I knew in high school -- in the dream, she challenged me to swim across a lake, and it seemed a more than a little dangerous.  When I woke up I thought, "Hm, that's an interesting situation" and felt a lot of energy underneath it.  I poured myself a cup of coffee and started writing the first scene.  The story grabbed hold and I wrote the entire thing in a very short period, in a kind of creative frenzy.

What advice would you lend to a budding writer who has already completed his first novel?

First, break out the champagne!  Ninety percent of the people who say they want to write a novel never actually start one, and ninety percent of those who start one never finish.  So by completing your first novel, you're in the upper 99th percentile.  You have every right to celebrate!

Now, for the not so good news.  As hard as it is to do, try to accept the fact that this first novel of yours is probably not a masterpiece.  There is little chance of it magically zooming to the top of the bestseller lists or that you will be hounded by a gaggle of paparazzi and crazed fans who all "want a piece of you."  If you try to publish your book via the traditional route, you will probably not even be able to find an agent willing to represent it.  If you self-publish it, it's likely that your book will just sit there online and be completely ignored.  I hate to sound so negative, but these are the facts.  Of course there are rare exceptions to this—you might happen to hit on subject matter and/or a style of writing that strikes a nerve in millions, and have your book “go viral,” but think this is a matter of luck more than anything else.

However, take heart:  if you decided to learn to be a baker, would you expect your first cake to be perfect and take the world by storm?   The layers would probably be sliding off each other, the icing job would look a bit sloppy, and it would taste a little off.  That's how your first book will be.  Accept it.  To write a good novel, a formidable set of skills must be mastered.  And, like baking or roller-blading or designing spacecraft, much of the learning comes through trial-and-error and experience.

The most important thing you can do is get your first book out there in front of as many unbiased readers as possible.  The operative word here is "unbiased."    Your mom will force a smile as she swallows that first piece of cake, suppressing a grimace, and a few people who you thought were your friends will lash out with unmerited criticism because they're envious that you turned out to be in that upper 1%.  As a new author, the only readers who are of value to you are total strangers, folks who have absolutely nothing to lose or gain by reacting openly and honestly.

There are a number of websites that allow writers to post books for free for the purpose of getting feedback, often from professionals--HarperCollins runs an excellent one (www.authonomy.com).  What I would recommend is posting HALF of your book, cutting that first part on a cliffhanger, and then see if people start asking you for the other half.  This is the only true litmus test for whether your writing is any good--if it is, people will want MORE.  Even friends or family won't ask for more unless they're hooked.

If you post half your book and nobody wants to read more, then you need to bite the bullet and start asking why, what's the matter with it?  This is where another 90% of wannabe authors drop off, the ones who cannot accept any negative feedback and falsely believe that great writers simply sit down and whip off masterpieces with no learning curve.  Taking this last difficult and often painful step forward will lead you to address the weak spots that you have in your writing, and you will be well on your way to success.

You have written a lot of books.  Which one was the hardest to write?

The Drive-By Wife, a psychological thriller which I am about to release, has definitely been the hardest book I've ever written.  I'm not saying this because it's my latest book and is heavy on my mind.  I say it because it's the book that's taken me the longest to write.  It amazes me to think that I started in…drum roll please…1995!  Eighteen years, folks, to finish one book.  Of course in terms of actual time it probably only took about a year and a half. 

 I got stuck in the middle of the story and every few years I pulled the half-finished manuscript out of the drawer and valiantly attacked it again, only to find myself yanking out my hair in tufts (which is why I don't have much now) and then finally saying, "I just can't nail this one," and putting it away.  It's very discouraging when that happens but you just have to keep the faith.  

Part of the reason this crime novel was so difficult is that it takes place between three characters and is almost "hermetically sealed," like an Agatha Christie mystery.  The character dynamics were hell to develop and get right.  But it's also because I simply didn't have the skill set to finish the book.  As I said earlier, writing a good novel requires mastering lots of skills, and the learning curve is never finished--this particular book really required me to stretch beyond anything I've written before.

Do you have a writing process?

Yes.  When I start on a new book I become very organized, get everything all lined up and ready to go, telling myself that unlike all the other books I've written, THIS one will go smoothly.  Then I start writing, trying to maintain that order, becoming more and more desperate as things begin to fall apart, and eventually I say "Oh, hell" and dive head-first into the deep end, struggling, choking on water, jumping all over the place in the story, half-drowning and fighting for dear life...and after a few months of this struggle, my wife finally drags me out and gives me CPR, and the first draft is done.  The rest is relatively easy.

For you, what comes first?  Character or plot?

That's one of those chicken-and-the-egg questions, because as you well know it's nearly impossible to separate the two.  Sometimes Character and Plot arrive together, unbidden, with a lot of fanfare, in a horse-pulled carriage, and they graciously step out and introduce themselves to me.  Other times I have to round up a posse to go track one or the other of them down, and I often find them cowering in a cave somewhere, refusing to come out. 

Interestingly, Billy, the villain and most memorable character in The Drive-By Wife, appeared out of nowhere in a scene in another story I was writing in a completely different genre.  Billy was so fascinating that I simply took that scene and started developing a plot around him, one that would really let him shine as a villain.  

Conversely, in Lust, Money & Murder, the plot came first.  I had an idea that there might be a criminal somewhere out in the world who could counterfeit U.S. paper money so well that the fakes would be indistinguishable from the real thing.  So I had the plot first, and then I needed to create interesting characters who would fit that plot, a villain and a hero.  

But if you want to know the truth, these two elements, plot and character, come at me much faster and much less distinctly than it sounds here--whenever I'm working on a story idea, the characters and plot hit me almost simultaneously and I jump back and forth between the two very rapidly--I mean, ten times back and forth in five minutes, that kind of thing. 

So the two elements shape each other until the overall story is nice and round, everything works from both a character and plot point of view.  In fact, that's the most difficult part of writing for me, going back and forth and massaging the plot and character until it all fits together seamlessly.

Do you have any new releases in the pipeline?

Yes, as I mentioned previously, The Drive-By Wife will be released shortly (around September 1st).  This is a psychological thriller about a young, upper middle-class couple who are terrorized by a seedy truck driver who becomes obsessed with the wife. He tries to blackmail the couple into letting him spend the night with her each time he passes through town. My wife describes it as “Cape Fear” meets “Psycho.” 

Following The Drive-By Wife, I plan to have Lust, Money & Murder, Books 4, 5 & 6, out by the end of the year, in time for the holiday season.  This will feature the same characters, including the villain, who was in the first series.

I want to say that I appreciate the opportunity to give this interview, and to thank you for asking such good questions.


Connect with Mike on twitter @MikeWellsAuthor or visit Mike's site here,

Also, you can purchase Mike's books at Amazon here

Why I Disagree with Stephen King and Will Continue to Publish E-Books

A few days ago, bestselling author Stephen King took the world by surprise when he announced that his latest book, Joyland, would only be available on paper.

 

"…let people stir their sticks and go to an actual

bookstore rather than a digital one."

This news came as a shock to me.  Stephen King has always been one of my heroes, a rather wise and clear-thinking representative of those two special groups of people called "readers" and "writers."   He is also one of the individuals who I considered to be a pioneer in electronic publishing, breaking new ground in 2000 by posting an e-book that was downloadable from his own website, and—a year later—becoming the first mainstream author to publish a novel solely as an e-book.

I'm confused, Mr. King.  

First, based on your comments to The Wall Street Journal, there seems to be an anti-technology undertone in your words.  When asked how your devoted readers can get your new book, you said "…let people stir their sticks and go to an actual bookstore rather than a digital one."

With all due respect, Mr. King, my "stick" is doing just fine and does not need stirring.  If you're implying that technology is somehow "bad," I don't agree.  I love my tablet and smart phone and e-books every bit as much as you loved your ragged, dog-eared paperback books as a kid.    If you are implying that technology is making everyone fat and lazy, well, there may be some truth in that...but is there anything more sedentary than the mere act of reading itself?   

The second reason I'm confused, Mr. King, is that there seems to be some sort of political motivation behind your decision, a "Save the Paper Books!" mentality, something akin to saving the whales. Paper books are not an endangered biological species—they are the result of technological advancements that took place a few centuries ago, which some folks resisted, just as some resist the transition to e-books today.  If you want to get political about this issue, it seems to me that a "Save the Trees!" campaign makes a lot more sense.  

But the main reason I'm confused is that, as one of your loyal readers, your unexpected decision has a significant impact on me—a negative one.   I don't currently live in the United States and it will be weeks before I can get your new book.  The fastest way, despite your best intentions, will be for me to order it online, not go to a physical bookstore.  I resent the fact that I will not be able to push a button and have it the same day that it hits the bookshops in New York City.  I also resent the fact that you are trying to force me to read your book in a certain format—paper—instead of the format that I'm now comfortable with and is most convenient for me—e-books.

I'm the author of over 20 thriller and suspense novels, and I will continue to publish in electronic form across all the e-reading platforms so that my fans can have access to my books as quickly and as easily as possible. 

Getting Professional Feedback on Your Writing

I know how important it is for writers to get professional feedback on their work, especially in the early stages.  Good feedback from pros can greatly improve your technique and storytelling style.

I'm often asked by other writers to give such feedback. I really wish I had time to do this, but between writing my own books and promoting them, and occasionally teaching classes, I simply don't have a moment to spare.

Having said that, one of the best ways I know to do this is to post your work on websites that are set up for authors to get feedback from other readers and other authors, such as Wattpad, Inkitt.com, Radish, and Amazon's Kindle Vella.  One method I recommend is to only publish part of your "big" story at first, ending it on a cliffhanger, and then seeing if people ask for more.  That is a sure sign that your writing is engaging.  Similarly, if no one asks for more, that's a sure sign that it's not.  In the latter case you have to try to find out why and modify, edit, improve your work until people do ask for more when they're interrupted in the middle. 

Very few writers are "born" cranking out fantastic stories from the start--most of us have to spend quite a long time, usually years, to master the skills to a point where we're good enough to write salable material.  Another way to assess this is to publish a few short, serial books on one more more of the large e-book publishing platforms and make the first book free.  I have done this in the past, learned a lot, and in some cases made significant changes to my story/writing style that greatly improved uptake of a story. A third way to test your written story is to send your first few chapters and a synopsis to literary agents (there are hundreds of good ones) and see what interest/feedback you get from them in its salability to traditional publishers.  IMPORTANT: please only do this with stories that have not been published anywhere else--this is an unwritten rule.

Of course, I'm always happy to answer quick questions on the subject of writing, so please don't be shy about asking.  I have a lot of advice for writers posted on this blog.

One word of caution:  I have found that it's best to try and get feedback from ordinary readers, rather than readers who are also writers.  This is because writers always view the work of others through their own stylistic lens and judge it against what is "good" according to their standards, which is highly subjective.  For more on this topic, see my post called Developing Your Artistic Style.

If you found this article useful, feel free to buy me a cup of coffee 😃  click here  - 

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This Week's Reader Interview - KK Sierra

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I'm a recently divorced mother of three in my early 30s. I work for a software company so I'm a bit of a nerd. In my free time I love to read, write and play with my kids. I enjoy encouraging them to find their creative sides. We like to go on adventures. We hike, camp, visit museums, take ferrys and road trips.

When and how did you discover that you love reading fiction?

I have loved reading for as long as I can remember. One of my fondest childhood memories is of my mother in her rocking chair outside my bedroom door, reading aloud to my brothers and me. Her soft voice and the magical words would lull me off to dream land. In elementary school, I went through most the books in the library. I still remember the excitement of getting to move to the main library where the "big kid" books were. In elementary and middle school, I often stayed up late, straining my eyes to read by the light of my alarm clock. When I reached high school, I many times used the excuse of "a big report due tomorrow" to stay up and finish a book. I even recall a few times when I'd glance at my clock and realize in horror that I'd read the whole night away and I had to be up for school in a few short hours.

What are some of your favorite books and who are some of your favorite authors?

My favorite genre was discovered while working on the critical care unit at a hospital. I worked the evening shift and it often got really boring. One night on break I went down to the hospital gift shop and found the newly released Silent Treatment by Michael Palmer. The book enthralled me and I was amused at the irony of finding such a terrifying medical thriller in the hospital gift shop. I would happily pick up anything by David Baldacci. Recently I've also discovered I enjoy the works of Tom Clancy. I tried to read them before and couldn't get into them. I guess I just needed to be in a different place in life to enjoy them.

What is your favorite thing about reading fiction?

Fiction lets you be anyone, imagine anything. It's a wonderful escape from reality. I love how I can picture the world as it unfolds in the book. I also like how if something is scary or offensive I can just skip a paragraph or two.

Do you have any “pet peeves” about authors, something they do that really annoys you?

I hate it when characters don't grow. In my opinion, you can only get away with that on The Simpsons, not with books. If ten books later, your character is still the same ditsy girl she was in book one, I'm going to lose interest. I also get frustrated with inconsistency. If I remember that back in book two Janie Jones was Irish, she certainly shouldn't show up as an African-American in book seven.

Do you write fiction yourself?

I would say I dabble. I love to write and you can find some shorts I've written on my blog. I have a novel in progress. Someday I may become more serious about it, but for now it's an enjoyable hobby that's bringing me in contact with some really wonderful people.

What do you think about ebooks vs. paper books?

There are advantages and disadvantages to both, in my opinion. I love my Kindle. I love the instant gratification. Finish a book and find yourself anxious for the next part in the series? Have it delivered in moments to your e-reader, cell phone, laptop, etc. It's great.  Before I had one, I used to make middle of the night runs to Barnes and Noble to feed my cravings! I also love that e-books make it so much easier for otherwise unknown authors to throw their stuff out there. I also travel frequently and love the convenience and lighter bags.

On the other side, I love real books. I enjoy looking on my shelf, seeing a series I enjoy and walking over to pull it off the shelf, maybe thumb through to my favorite scene and reread it. I buy my kids "real" books all the time so that they have books to collect, read, share and love.

My biggest argument for real books was the ease with which they could be loaned. I suppose this is a disadvantage financially to an author. However, if a friend loaned me a book that I enjoyed, it would usually inspire me to go find more books by that author, where I may have NEVER picked up that author's work otherwise. The new advantage e-readers have with Amazon's new lending program is I don't have to worry about whether or not I'll be getting my book back!

What is your favorite Mike Wells book and why?

I've read three Mike Wells books: Lust, Money & Murder, Wild Child and Wild Child 2. While I absolutely adored both the Wild Child books, I think I have to say Lust, Money & Murder is my favorite book so far. It was intriguing and kept me guessing. The characters were authentic with believable thoughts and feelings.

Thanks very much for your interview, KK!

Thank you very much, Mike, for the opportunity to share my thoughts.

I can be reached via twitter at @k_karie or e-writer@kksierra.com. I ponder, get introspective, rant and write at http://kksierra.blogspot.com

Does Bruce Willis Have a Dog? Less is More

I’ll never forget the first time my wife read one of my novels.  As she was finishing the last few pages, I sat at my computer, pretending to work,  butterflies in my stomach.  Would she love it or hate it?

When she was done reading, she set the manuscript aside and gazed over at the TV set.  She seemed lost in thought.

“Well?” I said uneasily.

“Mike, does Bruce Willis have a dog?”

I was taken aback.  “Excuse me?”

She went over to the VCR and picked up the videocassette case for Die Hard, the movie we’d watched the night before. 

“In Die Hard, does the character that Bruce Willis plays have a dog?”

“Well...hell if I know!  I don’t remember any dog in the movie.”

“Exactly.  We don’t know whether he has a dog or not because it doesn’t have anything to do with the story.”

I looked over at my manuscript.  “What are you saying?”

“What I’m saying is that you could have a really great book if you did a lot of cutting.  The way it stands, the story is bogged down with too many irrelevant details.”

Irrelevant details?  What an insult!  A long, heated discussion ensued, and I viciously defended each and every word in the book.  It ended with me shouting “What the hell do you know?” and storming out of the house, vowing to never let the moron I married read another word of my writing.

But after a little time passed and I calmed down, I opened up the manuscript and started reading it myself, trying my best to be objective.  I decided there were maybe one or two places where I went overboard, explaining too much about the hero’s background and other details.  Finally I went back to my wife, apologized, and gave her the manuscript and a yellow highlighter.  “If you wouldn’t mind, I’d love for you to go through entire book and mark each and every word that you think isn’t necessary.”

“My pleasure.”

When she was done, there was so much yellow on the paper it looked like Bruce Willis’ nonexistent dog had taken a leak on it.

As a writer, this was one of the most eye-opening processes I’ve ever experienced.  What I learned from it is that if you’re writing plot-driven stories, like I usually write, each and every bit of information you include should have something to do with the story.  If it doesn’t, the words needs to be mercilessly cut.

In the famous words of William Faulkner:  “In writing, you must kill all your darlings.”

Die Hard is a very good example of how important this principle is.  In the movie, do we know if the hero (John McClaine, played by Bruce Willis) has a dog?  No, we don’t.  What about his home—does he live in a house or an apartment?  Again, we don’t know, because there are no scenes set in his home.  What about his family?  Does he have any aunts or uncles?  Again, we don’t know, because that has nothing to do with the story.

Now, in contrast, consider The Wizard of Oz. 

Do we know if Dorothy has a dog?  Of course we know this—the dog’s name is Toto.  We know it because Toto plays a key role in the story.  Among other things, it's Toto that pulls back the curtain to reveal the Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz is nothing a harmless old man hiding behind a bunch of fancy equipment.  

Does Dorothy live in a house, or an apartment?  We know that, too—she lives in a house, which is sucked up into the tornado—this is inciting incident for the entire story!  Furthermore, the house lands smack on top of the Wicked Witch of the East and kills her, which is what gets Dorothy in so much trouble in Oz.

Finally, does Dorothy have an aunt?  We know that, too. Good old Aunty Em.  Dorothy misses her terribly when she believes she’ll be stuck in Oz forever and can’t get back to Kansas.  The aunt plays a key role in the story.

So, back to the original question:

Does Bruce Willis have a dog?

In Die Hard, it doesn’t matter.

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Why I Will Never Change the Cover of Wild Child

Although many readers love the cover illustration of my young adult thriller, Wild Child (paperback edition), it is occasionally criticized, and there is a certain pattern in the comments.   “Looks amateurish”, “Not polished” and “Unprofessional” are a few examples.

Well, there's a reason that the cover may appear appear amateurish, unpolished, and unprofessional to some people.  It was created by a 17 year old art student in Atlanta, the winner of a city-wide student art contest I held in 1997 for the best cover illustration for the book.  His name is Seron Fuller, and he is an phenomenal artist.

Over 150 students entered the contest.  No guidance whatsoever was given other than to read the book and come up with the design that they believe best depicted the story and characters.  There were lots of interesting designs, but when I saw Seron’s illustration, I was awestruck.  He chose to depict what I consider the perfect moment in the story, when Briana shows Kyle the magical green water.  The expressions on their faces, and their body language, it says it all!  Briana:   euphoric, hyper, and slightly out of control. And Kyle:  bewildered, concerned and uncertain, as if thinking, “What am I going to do with this girl?”

Before I go on, I want to emphasize that the readers who have criticized the cover design had no idea that it was done by an art student, or that I’d even held such a contest.  I know that these well-meaning readers have only had my best interest at heart—most raved about the story and the writing.  They only want to see Wild Child get into the hands of even more readers, believing that a more professional-looking cover would help make that happen.  And they may well be right.

But there are several reasons I will never change the cover design of Wild Child.   

First, a key part of art contest prize was that the winning illustration would be used as the paperback book cover forever.  Not just for the first six months, or until the second paperback edition was published, or until I got tired of the design, but forever. To change the cover now would be going back on my word, and I would never do that.

Second, my books are like my children, and I think most other authors feel the same way.  If you’ve read The Wild Publication Story, you know that I threw 3,000 paperback copies of this little baby in the trash can—every copy I had—before the poor thing could even walk!  Miraculously, she was able to crawl out of  that rubbish bin all by herself and make her way into schools, to help teach young people English, and into the hands of a dozen Amazon resellers, to help those people make a living.  To change the cover now would be like telling my 16 year old daughter, “Honey, you’ve done absolutely amazing things up to this point, but some people think you’re ugly so we’re going to give you plastic surgery.”

Whenever I’ve been tempted to have a new cover designed for the paperback, I always remind myself that it was Seron’s cover that was on all those copies that found their way out of the trash can, and not another.   This may sound silly to some people, but I believe there is a certain magic in his cover illustration, just as there seems to be in the story itself, and that this magic comes across to readers, at least on the paperback edition that you can hold in your hands.

Seron Fuller's Self-portrait

But there’s a far more important reason that I would never change the cover.  When Seron Fuller won the contest and I presented him with his $250 check, I asked him what his future plans were.  He answered, very modestly, “I want to be an illustrator at a Hollywood movie studio.”  I thought this was very ambitious, but on the other hand, with his amazing talent and quiet determination, I did not think that goal was beyond his reach.  I told him so, and I encouraged him to go for it.

Today, 14 years later, Seron Fuller works in as an illustrator in Hollywood, at Paramount Pictures.

Just knowing that his winning the Wild Child cover illustration might have played some small role in his journey to achieve his dreams is worth more to me than any amount of money I could every make from selling mere books.

Thank you, Seron, for being part of the Wild Child magic!

Writers Beware: The Fast Yes and the Slow No

In Hollywood, screenwriters soon learn that there are two types of responses that movie producers give to a screenplay:  The Fast Yes and The Slow No.

With the Fast Yes, the producer instantly “falls in love” with the script, clearly sees its commercial appeal, and can't wait make the writer an offer.

With the Slow No, the producer kind of, sort of likes the screenplay, and believes that if the writer would just make a few “minor” changes, he/she would (maybe, probably) like it a lot better and even (maybe, probably) buy it. 

Some writers run off and spend months, even years, dutifully making all these changes, only to find that when the screenplay is polished to the producer’s perfection and resubmitted, the producer still says no! 

The result is that the writer wastes a huge amount time and experiences untold anger and frustration.  Worse, the writer ends up with a screenplay that has been highly customized to the subjective tastes of one particular person, and is of very little interest to anybody else.

The same thing happens in the music business, and the A&R reps in the record industry have a similar saying:

“If it’s not a hell yes, it’s a no.”

Guess what, folks?  It's no surprise that the same thing happens in the publishing industry.  A literary agent or publishing house editor likes your book, kind of, sort of, and strokes your ego by telling you what a good writer you are, and that if you would just make these “minor” changes for them, they will “take another look” (and maybe, probably—you think—make you an offer to represent or buy the book)

Utter hogwash.

Most of the time, this is The Slow No.

If you find yourself tempted to fall for this (and if you really want to be published, you will be), tell yourself the following:

1.  You are not a slave.  You deserve to be paid for your work.

2.  Even if the agent or editor does not understand the highly subjective nature of the feedback he or she has given you, you do!  You know better than to spend weeks, months or years customizing (free of charge!) your book to please the taste of one person, no matter how “powerful” that person would like you to believe he or she is in the industry.

3.  You have developed confidence in yourself and your writing ability.  You believe in your work.  You do not let so-called industry experts dictate what is “good” or “bad” to you.  You let readers decide, because at the end of the day, that’s who you are writing for—readers—not literary agents, book editors or even book reviewers or critics.

It may come as no surprise that when you learn to "say no" to The Slow No, you start making real progress in your writing career.  

That's when people stop viewing you as an amateur and start treating you like a professional.

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