This week’s podcast guest is Andrea Dunlop who, like me, worked in traditional publishing before becoming an author, and that allowed both of us to go into publication with our eyes open. We both knew it wouldn’t all be big advances and lavish launch parties. Many books fail to sell to their full potential, and most authors don’t have a career beyond their third book.
If traditional publishing is so bleak, then why perser… parse… keep going? I think it all depends on your attitude to success and your goals as a writer. When we tell you that publishing can be slow, brutal and the money is crap, we mean it and the truth is there is virtually nothing you can do about it. Likewise for self publishing: you have more control over the finished book, but selling it means having the budget to pay for ads and few authors have the spare cash to do it properly.
Andrea talks about writing being a ‘second reality’ and that actually sitting down and putting words to paper — the real writing — is what makes her happy. And I’m the same. I suspect you are, too. Writers have to love the process. And yes, that includes all the days where it doesn’t quite work, but there’s nothing like sitting down and creating something out of nothing. It’s magic. Love the process. Write as often as you can. The other stuff — deals, money, launches, events, signings — that might happen, or it might not, but they can never take your words away from you.
Other highlights of this episode: I have a pop at the pisspoor wording of Bookbub’s Facebook ads (which they’ve since reworded) and Mr D has a wonderful rant about book pricing. And in the extended version for podcast supporters I talk about recurring themes and how they can help us as writers. You can listen to that by supporting the podcast here.
Back when I was a sales rep for Headline publishing, I would drive all over the south east of England from my home in Epsom, Surrey. I decided that if I was going to be stuck in a car for much of the day, then I would use that time to fill my brain with some good nutritious listening, which meant a lot of Radio 4, including In Our Time with Melvyn Bragg and Women’s Hour. But the day almost always started with the Today programme and so many of my early morning traffic jams were in the company of one of its presenters James Naughtie. So it was a particular delight to be offered the chance to interview him for the podcast. Of course, whenever I’m interviewing a journalist I worry that I’ll fluff if and look like an amateur, but James was great and put me at my ease right away. It’s a fun interview and James’s Will Flemyng spy thrillers are from all accounts proper page-turners.
Later in the podcast, inspired by my chat with James about books as treasured things, me and Mr D discuss how bookshelves are like carefully arranged shrines with sacred objects (books!) from significant moments in our lives. I recalled buying a copy of David Selzer’s The Omen in a second hand English language bookshop while I was holiday in Spain when I was about 11-years-old. I can’t tell you how many times I read and re-read this, but I loved it, totally falling for the (fake) quotes from Revelations. I’m pretty sure this was the first horror novel I read (unless you count Jaws, which I probably should) and it sparked a love of the genre that’s never left me. Just holding it on my hands takes me back to that holiday and happily reading in the shade… What was the first horror novel you ever read? Let me know in the comments below…
I first heard Scarlett Brade on Nadine Matheson’s excellent podcast The Conversation and immediately got in touch to see if she would come on our podcast. There’s something brilliant about her journey from a six-year-old girl demanding that she’s old enough to read the first Harry Potter, to self-publishing at 23, to having a hit with her thriller The Hive.
I also go on a bit about ‘living a little’ before writing a novel. Apologies if I come across as a crusty old git, but that’s mostly me wincing when I look back at the plays, sketches and half-arsed attempts at novels that I wrote in my youth. I could string a sentence together (just about), but I had nothing to say because I hadn’t really lived yet. It wasn’t till I hit my late 20s/early 30s that I’d experienced love, rejection, grief and existential angst that I felt there was enough gas in the tank to actually write these things convincingly. Of course, your own mileage will vary. I had a perfectly happy childhood with very little trauma, so of course I was a guileless goon (still am to some extent). Anyway, Scarlett is amazing and you’ll definitely be inspired by this week’s episode.
And in the extended version for Academy members and podcast Patrons, me and Mr D discuss if it’s essential to be an author on social media, life pivot moments, the importance of friendship groups and mentors, how to generate hooks and high concepts and much more! You can get all this extra stuff and hundreds of hours of exclusive material by supporting the podcast here.
Once a writer gets published there’s always a concern that either they’re a flash in the pan, or that in order to be successful they’ll have to write the same thing again and again to feed the publishing marketing machine until they’re driven mad and end up curled up in a ball under their desk, eyes twitching as they wonder how they’re going to make something feel fresh and original for the eighteenth time. Or… you can do what Sue Watson did. There’s a great moment in this week’s podcast where she admits that she was tired of trying to be funny and so switched from romcoms to murdering people for fun and profit (in fiction, I hasten to add). She also hints at a third act in her writing career too.
As always, this is available on all the usual podcast providers, and there’s an extended version where me and Mr D discuss how publishers define genres, when things don’t work out with an agent, self confidence, digital first publishers, success in the US, pen names, and much more! You can get your mitts on that by supporting the podcast here.
I think Jessie Keane is the first guest on the podcast with Romany heritage and she’s definitely the first to tell us that her success as a writer was foretold by her Gran! That sense of destiny is what a lot of us writers lack. We’re all too eager to tell stories of chosen ones who are fated to save the world or achieve greatness, but we don’t apply it to ourselves. Jessie had plenty of opportunity to give up and walk away (ten romance novels, all rejected!), but with that prophecy ringing in her ears she kept going and each of her thrillers have been Sunday Times bestsellers and she’s sold six and half million copies. So be the hero of your own life and fulfil your destiny!
At the other end of the scale, me and Mr D reveal our most humiliating moments. These were just the ones I could recall in the moment. I could fill a whole show with the others if I applied myself. Instead, I’m going to pull a sword from a stone and be a chosen one for the day…
Katy Brent’s debut novel How to Kill Men and Get Away With It is a very funny book that tackles some very serious issues. She tells me how it evolved from an almost flippant idea into a dark satire. We also discuss provocative titles, tone, escaping into writing and moving from journalism to fiction where she finally felt that her writing could make a difference…
In case you missed it, here’s last night’s UNWELCOME spoiler special where I reveal just what I was thinking with that ending, and we also hear from actor and second unit director Rick Warden, cinematographer Hamish Doyne-Ditmas, and VFX supervisor Paddy Eason who shared some terrific behind the scenes footage. Enjoy, but be warned… there is repeated spurting of blood… repeated! Spurting!
There’s a danger that writers can get stuck in our little worlds. I mean, most of use are stuck on our bums for most of the day. Getting off your backside is not only good for your health, both mental and physical, but you never know what might be around the corner. I really enjoyed chatting with Amita Parikh on the podcast, and loved the idea that had she not been lost in London and asked for directions, then her amazing debut novel The Circus Train might never have existed. She’s good fun, not least when she talks about how she coped with rejection…
For me, the most intriguing part of this week’s Bestseller Experiment interview with JS (Jon) Monroe is when he talks about the development of his novel Dead Spy Running into a movie written by Stephen Gaghan (Traffic, Syriana) and directed by McG… But if you’re thinking, ‘Hang on, I’ve not seen that movie,’ then you’re not alone. After spending five years and ten million dollars on developing the film, Warner Bros decided they weren’t going to make it. Such is the insanity of Hollywood, this is not an uncommon story. Jon takes it all with good humour and is generous with advice for writers when it comes to the rest of his extraordinary career.
By the way, check out the difference in running time between this regular episode and the extended episode that we record for our Patrons and Academates. There’s an extra 42 minutes of me and Mr D discussing unique book launches, composite characters, self belief and rejection, ending consultants, the benefits of a Marmite novel, and why you should want to have your books burned and banned and much more! You can get all this and hundreds of hours of extra material when you support the podcast as a Chart Topper Supporter on Patreon here, or join the Bestseller Academy.
… is more than a podcast. It’s rapidly become a sacred depository of rock history. Every week, musicians Gary Kemp and Guy Pratt speak to a legend of rock and it’s never dull. What’s great is that Gary and Guy have been there and done that and can talk with the greatest musicians as peers, but they’re also fans and remember to ask the geeky questions that we’ve always wanted the answers to. Their guests have included Nick Mason, Johnny Marr and Noel Gallagher, but in many ways it’s a bit like Desert Island Discs in that the episodes that feature artists that you’re less familiar with can be the most entertaining and will have you rushing to your music streamer to download everything they’ve done. This episode with The Anchoress is a case in point…
… comes from Joel Morris, one half of the brilliant Rule of Three podcast, and this offers a similar insight to the things we love and bring us comfort, but its remit goes beyond comedy and has included Raiders of the Lost Ark, Animal Crossing, Curvy Brides Boutique and The Hairy Bikers. And even if you don’t hold these things with the same affection as the guests you’ll always come away with a new appreciation for them. This is another good podcast for writers as Joel Morris has a gentle genius for breaking down why things work so well. I always learn something new.
… does exactly what it says on the tin. Hosted by writer and broadcaster, Matt Brown and Stephen Murray, senior lecturer at Teeside University, it celebrates all the weird and wonderful robots in film and TV history. From the glory of Maria in Metropolis, to Metal Mickey, and Tobor the Great, this will (eventually) cover them all. I was lucky enough to appear on a recent episode discussing Disney’s The Black Hole and that mind-bending ending with Maximilian…
When I last posted about my favourite podcasts, Film Stories was two episodes old. Now it’s established as one of the go-to pods for great tales of films somehow getting made (it’s really hard to get a film made… really, really hard) and celebrates them all. And the presenter Simon Brew also has occasional special episodes where he interviews filmmakers about their career so far. Here’s a recent one with m’colleague Jon Wright where I was delighted to get a fanboy mention…
A brilliantly simple concept: take the things we thing we know about and challenge those assumptions to reveal the deeper story. So far episodes have included The Donner Party, Tom Cruise on Oprah’s Couch, OJ Simpson’s Trial, Tonya Harding, and The Satanic Panic. A ton of research goes into each episode and it really shows. The only caveat for Brits: the presenters and guests use the word ‘like’ like a, like, comma, and it can, like, get a little, like, annoying… But if you can filter that out (and you should: get over yourself) it’s a really rewarding listen. This episode on Beanie Babies is a real treat…
One of the few podcasts I’m still listening to all these years later, and it’s still one of the best for writers of scripts out there. The big difference is that Craig Mazin has gone from being that guy who wrote comedies, to the uber genius who wrote Chernobyl and The Last of Us, and the insights that he and John August offer are simply unmissable. The episode I always point listeners to is this untypical solo show from Craig discussing theme. This actually changed the way I write and I’ve never looked back…
Honorable mentions…
I listen to Word in Your Ear every week, which features the wonderful Mark Ellen and David Hepworth discussing music. It can get a little too grumpy old men at times, but it’s always a good laugh. I’m catching up with the Richard Herring podcast, which is often filthy and hilarious. Films to be Buried With with Brett Goldstein is always thought-provoking and made me realise that the film character that I most relate to is Kevin from Time Bandits, and Adam Buxton still gets more of out of his guests that almost any other interviewer.
Oh, and of course there’s The Bestseller Experiment. We’re still going strong after six-and-a-half years and no sign of stopping. We’ve recently started adding more additional content for our supporters on Patreon and in the Academy, and it can be over half an hour of extra material per episode sometimes, and we also have over 130 Deep Dive episodes on subjects like marketing, writing blurbs, police procedurals, forensics, beta readers and much more, so if you want that good stuff then you can get your hands on it here.
Here’s a recent episode with the brilliant Delilah S Dawson…
And that’s that for the moment. My apologies to anyone I’ve missed out, especially if I’ve been a guest on your podcast… But why not bung a link in the comments and let’s get people listening…
Mark Stay Writes 