By James M. Jackson
Both the Story Structure class I teach, and the
Revision and Self-Editing class have lessons on constructing scenes that work. Some
ideas I try to impart are that
1. Every character in the
scene has a goal (or goals) they are pursuing.
2. Some of those goals
are in conflict.
3. If there is no
conflict, there is no scene.
What happens if there is only one character in the
scene? Two things are possible.
Most often, the character is trying to overcome
obstacles left in her path by other characters who aren’t in the scene. For
example, our Lead is preparing to leave the house, but before doing that,
always follows a ritual of tapping for good luck and safe travels the St.
Christopher medal nailed to the right of the door to the garage.
Except, the medal is missing because someone stole it.
Goal #1 – expand the number of potential readers for
my Seamus McCree series and Niki Undercover Thriller trilogy.
Goal #2 – prioritize my work time for efficiency to
allow more time to focus on joyfully enjoying life.
Let me explain how these two goals arose. I’ve heard many
authors say they write because they must. I write because I want people to read
what I write. If you told me no one would read my story, I wouldn’t bother
writing it. I suppose it’s an ego thing—probably not something to be proud of,
maybe not even something I'm supposed to say out loud. But I am who I am, and
that person likes an audience, enjoys engaging with that audience, likes to
feel there is a reason for spending all those hours writing, when I could well
be doing something else.
According to Bowker, they issued ISBNs to over four
million titles in 2025. Adding to that the books published on Amazon without an
ISBN, I’ll bet we’ll have close to five million books published in the U.S.
last year. With all those new books available, not to mention the millions of backlist
books, “Build it and they will come” does not work.
So, to get people to read my stuff, I need to market
the books. That takes money (fine, as long as the books bring in more than they
cost) and time (to create newsletters, blogs, advertisements and monitor the
same).
Which brings us to Goal #2. I enjoy virtually nothing
about the process of advertising books. I don’t enjoy creating ad copy,
researching comparable novels to get my advertising in front of their readers;
I don’t enjoy learning multiple ad platforms, I don’t enjoy creating graphics,
or videos, or … the list goes on.
There is a Grand Canyon gulf between these two goals.
I am giving up trying to be all things to all readers.
Unlike with my financial investments, where I spread my risk across multiple
asset classes, for my books, I’m following Andrew Carnegie’s advice to “put all
your eggs in one basket and watch that basket.”
I have decided that the best way for me to reconcile my
goals is to focus my marketing efforts on one specific venue: eBooks on Amazon.
Oh, sure, I still offer paperbacks, and you can order signed ones from my
website. And yes, audiobooks are still available. Henceforth, backlist eBooks will
only be available on Amazon, either through purchase or through “free” reads
for those who pay for Kindle Unlimited. I’ll continue to offer new releases to
a wider eBook audience for a limited time.
So, if you are a Kindle Unlimited reader, I invite you
to pick up either the Seamus McCree series (8 books, 2 novellas) or the Niki
Undercover Thriller trilogy from where you left off, or start with the first
book in each series (Ant Farm and Niki Undercover).
That’s my Grand Canyon: ego on one side, sanity on the
other. What are your competing objectives in your life or writing? Drop your
thoughts into the comments. I’d love to know.
* * *
James M. Jackson writes justice-driven thrillers with brains and bite, including the Niki Undercover Thriller trilogy and the Seamus McCree series. To learn more information about Jim and his books, check out his website https://jamesmjackson.com. You can sign up for his newsletter (and get a novella and two free short stories featuring his protagonists).
Gone are the days when all you had to do was write a good book.
ReplyDeleteIn fairness, you had to write a good book and find an agent and publisher. But still . . .
ReplyDeleteScary thoughts, Jim. I write for my own satisfaction (of course I like to share what I write, although it doesn't bother me if I don't) but I'm aiming at releasing a quirky, semi-mystery collection of related short stories (I did say I write for my own satisfaction, didn't I?) and am looking into marketing, which, along with you, I hate. I hope your methods are successful.
ReplyDeleteThanks and best of luck to you with your collection. Quirky can be your marketing advantage!
DeleteHmmm, I haven't thought about why I write in quite some time. I like to see what's happening with my characters, but like you, I enjoy knowing that people are reading my books and enjoying them. That's a big part of it. Then there's the promotion and marketing . . . it can wear you out.
ReplyDeleteYup, it can.
DeleteJim, thank you for saying the quiet part out loud about the Grand Canyon between ego and sanity. Putting all your eggs in the Amazon basket sounds like a perfectly sane choice when the alternative is doing everything badly. I definitely have seen an uptick in my Court of Mystery series since moving it to Kindle Unlimited!
ReplyDeleteAnd although my experience is brandy-new, already the series is earning more than it was before the change -- and I'm breathing easier.
DeleteThe conflicts between wanting to write, no longer being sure what market I want to target, and more importantly, deciding what I value my time doing personally. That latter is where the problem exists because even things I don't want to do long term take present time and energy.
ReplyDeleteYes, and as Sisters in Crime's President for the next 12 months, that will require plenty of your time.
Delete