I was delighted to chat with Sunyi and Scott on the splendid Publishing Rodeo podcast. We focused on trying to be positive in what can be a challenging industry, and I discuss the contradictions of publishing by contradicting myself several times! Just do as I say, don’t do as I do…
Category: authors
Speedy First Drafts with Rachel Lynch
I recorded this fun interview with bestselling author Rachel Lynch before I left the podcast at the end of 2023 (I think there’s one more in the vaults to be released!). We chat about how she can bang out a first draft in six weeks, writing gripping openings, making characters relatable, researching PTSD, writing about the super rich and a ton more…
The Tiny, Weird Obsessions of Writers with Julie Owen Moylan
There’s a lovely bit in this week’s Bestseller Experiment podcast with novelist Julie Owen Moylan where she talks about writers wanting approval, ‘We want to get our homework marked.’ And it’s true, we set out as writers with dreams of our work getting great reviews and being loved by all… But one of the lessons you learn as soon as people start reading your stuff is that you can’t please everyone. It’s a fool’s errand and you’re much better off writing to please yourself first. And that can start by leaning into what Julie calls her ‘tiny, weird obsessions’. These are the things that you think no one will get. The thoughts, jokes and peculiarities that you think are completely unique to you. And they probably are, but that doesn’t mean others won’t understand. Because all those strange little idiosyncrasies are your voice. That’s what makes you unique and will make you writing unlike any other. Some people won’t get it, but those who do will absolutely love it. Be true to yourself. Be weird.
Harriet Muncaster on the Bestseller Experiment: Creating Worlds
I saw a blog by a writer recently declaring that we should all aim for perfection. Their point being that once the book is out there, then you don’t have an opportunity to change it (which isn’t strictly true) and that we should all aim to make any book we write the best it possibly can be.
I agree that I want anything I write to be the best that I can do, but perfection…? Not sure it exists. And it can be the enemy of creativity, especially when you’re starting out. The idea of creating something as polished and perfect as your favourite author’s latest tome is intimidating at best, crippling at worst. Over time I’ve discovered that creating is a process of failing a little less each time. With each draft, each book, each script I’ve learned something that helped make the next one a little better. But it’s never perfect.
There’s a moment in this week’s interview with the brilliant Harriet Muncaster where she says she held off from starting a project because she wanted it to be perfect. Which meant for a long time she didn’t do anything at all. Then she eventually realised that, ‘If you don’t start something, then it never really develops.’ So if you’ve been putting off that novel, script, artwork, whatever, because you were worried that it wouldn’t be perfect then today’s the day to start it. It won’t be perfect. Nothing ever is. But as you work on it you will discover that it just might be better than you ever imagined.
Also in this week’s episode me and Mr D discuss being child-like and end up being very childish. And in the extended version I finally talk about my role in the Nautilus TV series and what’s happened at Disney+. You can listen to that by becoming a Chart Topper supporter here.
True Grit with Sarah Moorhead on the Bestseller Experiment
It was a delight to welcome back Sarah Moorhead to the Bestseller Experiment podcast this week. There’s a moment early on when she talks about creating great characters and how the ‘grit in the oyster makes the pearl’. I think the same can be said about Sarah who found herself in the perfect storm of her debut being launched in lockdown at the same time as she was dropped by her agent and publisher. There are few authors who could bounce back from that, and Sarah has done it brilliantly with her new novel The Treatment. Get inspired and have a listen/watch below and if you want more like that, there’s an extended version for podcast supporters where Sarah answers listener questions on resilience, self-belief, plotting, structure, why learning to write is like learning to drive and much more! You can get access to that and hundreds of hours of extra material by becoming a Chart Topper supporter of the podcast here.
Linwood Barclay Lie Maker
This is not to suggest that bestselling author Mr Barclay is a big fibber (The Lie Maker is the title of his latest thriller), but to be fair that’s what writers do for a living: make stuff up and pass it off as the truth. And Linwood Barclay gives us a ton of tips how to do that in this week’s episode of the podcast here…
This was a special episode for a few reasons. Not least that Mr D got to join me for the whole interview (he’s a big fan of Linwood), and that Linwood reveals all sorts of stuff about authors like Ross Macdonald and Stephen King, but we also get very excited about his Gerry Anderson Supercar model made by legendary film and TV model maker Martin Bower. If you want to skip straight to that bit (and you should because it’s a thing of beauty), it’s here…
Falling Between Genres: Teresa Driscoll on The Bestseller Experiment
Teresa Driscoll had a huge career change in 2017 when she switched from writing family dramas to thrillers with her novel I Am Watching You. She went from going out of contract and the potential end of her writing career, to selling a million copies. How did she manage that? With I Am Watching You she wrote a thriller, pure and simple (actually these things are never simple to write, but you know what I mean). She tells me in the interview that her family dramas were just a little too dark for readers of that genre, and not thriller-y enough to qualify for that genre. So she decided to go all-in with thrillers and started selling in big numbers. That’s not to say that writing a novel that offers everything that genre readers want will make it a guaranteed success, but it can certainly increase the odds.
My Witches of Woodville books fall between genres and categories. They’re not quite fantasy, not quite horror, and they’re not quite YA and that can make them tricky to sell. One of the most common comments I get on reviews is, “I don’t normally read stuff like this, but I really enjoyed it.” I’m fine with that, even if it means fewer sales, because they’re the books I wanted to write… But I’ve also embarked on a top secret project with another author that will be a thriller, pure and simple. We’re both hoping that this will give us the kind of success that authors like Teresa have enjoyed.
We also discuss why Teresa stopped watching TV for a year, perseverance, Dame Edna Everage, and owls. And in the extended version for podcast supporters I give tips on writing settings. If you want to support the podcast then click here and if you’re a chart topper supporter you’ll get access to hundreds of hours of extra writer-y goodness.
Damian Dibben and a Feast for the Senses
It’s not often we get authors on the podcast who get around to sorting their own merchandise, and it’s definitely a first when we get someone who has their own tie-in furniture and art! Damian Dibben is an extraordinary mix of author, screenwriter, actor and artist and he discusses it all in this week’s podcast.
Another first for this week’s pod is that Mr D has made a declaration to finish his non-fiction debut in 12 months’ time! I have genuinely no idea what it’s going to be, but that date is in the diary and I’ll be nudging him every week about it.
And in the extended version for our podcast supporters we discuss writing the senses and I offer all sorts of tips on writing sight, sound, taste, smell, touch and more. If you want to support the podcast and get access to hundreds of hours of extra material, you can do so by clicking here.
AJ Pearce on Writers and Passion, Patience and Persistence…
This week’s guest on the podcast was so easy to chat with for many reasons. We both write about the same time period in Britain (the Second World War), we’re both writing a series with recurring characters, and we’re both mildly obsessed with magazines. AJ’s was inspired by one, and I’ve got every issue of Empire because I’m a sad sod.
But I also really clicked with AJ when she was talking about the three things a writer needs. The spoiler’s in the title: Passion, patience and persistence. That last one is particularly necessary. Boy oh boy is it. There are so many times when I’ve come close to just giving up, Quite recently, actually. But I was chatting with an author friend who was feeling the same way and we soon realised that this is all we’re any bloody good at, so we’re going to stick with it. Things have got better since. A bit. There are glimmers of hope on the horizon! Hang in there, people. This too shall pass and all that…
Oh, and in the extended version for our subscribers we discuss writing emotional scenes, what happens at the London Book Fair, ageism in publishing, how to organise your book series bible (and I show you what the Witches of Woodville series bible looks like!). To support the podcast and get hundreds of hours of extra stuff pop along to Patreon here, or join the Bestseller Academy here.
Katherine Faulkner and “Light Americanisms” on the Bestseller Experiment
There comes a point in this week’s interview with Katherine Faulkner, author of excellent domestic thrillers like Greenwich Park and The Other Mothers, where she talks about making changes to her British prose for the American market: replacing pavements with sidewalks, trousers with pants etc. This is a commonplace practise now, particularly in the commercial thriller genre, but it does wind me up that this is very much a one-way street. Growing up, I devoured all kinds of American culture, including the likes of Stephen King and Mad Magazine which were stuffed with Americanisms. If I didn’t get a joke about Spiro Agnew (Mad were always making fun of this guy) then I had to find out for myself who he was. This usually meant asking my parents or going to the library. It opened my mind to a new culture and I learned a lot. So why is it that publishers and agents don’t think that the good folk of the United States can’t cope with pavements, nappies, biscuits and other Britishisms? I’ve got lots of American friends, and I’ve been there a couple of times, and the people I met were smart and curious about the world. I’m fairly sure they could cope with a few words outside of their own experience. I know authors fear getting one star reviews from people who can’t cope with the word ‘colour’ spelled with a U (I saw one such example just the other day), but I think living in fear of folk who are so blinkered isn’t exactly the artistic ideal we should be striving for.
When it came to writing Back to Reality, me and Mr D agreed to not make any such changes, but instead we would have a glossary in the back explaining what some of the stranger terms meant (including Colin the Caterpillar Cake and a Cheeky Nando’s) and we’ve never had any complaints. And I’ve just published the Witches of Woodville books in the US on Kindle and I’ve not changed a word. No puzzled readers yet. Mind you, my stuff has never been big in the US, so maybe that’s why? It’s possible that I might be working on a thriller with another writer late this year and I’m sure this will come up, so watch this space. In the meantime, enjoy this interview with Katherine. And in the extended version, me and Mr D discuss keeping the reader in the forefront of your mind and I offer a few tips for editing your first draft.
If you want to support the podcast and get your hands on the extended episodes and over 130 Deep Dive specials, then pop along here and become a Chart Topper supporter.
Mark Stay Writes 