[the book struggle] interview with book author Hugh Howey

Thanks to Tim Ferriss (he’s always changing my life - seriously), I found this podcast interview with multiple best-selling author Hugh Howey.

It started slow, with small talk I didn’t care for…but I hung in there.

So glad I did.

My favorite thing about Hugh is that his 20+ books are all self-published.

I recommend you listen to the show, for complete context.

And, there are things that might matter more to you than me, that I didn’t cover.

But below are some notes I wanted to share, that I’m applying to my book-writing journey.

The notes are in italics, and the regular font contain my notes and thoughts.

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If you just wrote for an hour a day, you could finish a book in a year.

Just like with big goals…we tend to see a hundreds-page book as a massive endeavor that paralyzes us.

But I’m reminded: What’s the best way to eat an elephant (oh, my)?

One bite at a time.

Break it down, knock out one small win, stop (resist the urge to do more; trust me), and repeat.

No big wins - they’re unsustainable.

Being consistent is the secret.

If I wrote one page per weekday - and gave myself a weekend to relax - that’s still at least 260 pages. A full-blown book.

Consider cutting off video games to write and read.

He shared how software engineers don’t want their kids using social media apps and devices, because the very thing that made them wealthy is harmful [distraction, in this context].

Almost every night, I decompress to a few games of Overwatch.

And nobody (or nobody I wanna know, anyway) just plays a few games of Overwatch lol!

I’m encouraged by the fact that Hugh is addicted to video games. He deals with it, too; but he overcomes it.

I will, too.

What is the thing you know you should’ve done ten years ago, that would’ve changed your life?

Is it writing a book? Is it building something? Is it reconciling a relationship? What is it? 

I’ve been tinkering with the idea of writing a book for almost ten years, now.

I kept making excuses i.e. “I’m not qualified, and need more experience”.

“I don’t have the time (as I binge-watch the third k-drama this week).”

I’m close to being tired of these baseless reasons.

What is the version of me 10 years from now going to think about what I do today? 

It’s funny how daydreaming and drawing  used to get us in trouble at school; but they are now the reasons for many people’s successes. 

This makes me more aware of what I measure as “success” for my kids.

Yes, I want them to try their best in school, pay attention, at at least apply effort; but I need to be hyper-sensitive to what captures their attention, and what they could research, create, and build all day long without forcing them to do it.

He’s now published 20 books, and he still doesn’t know how he’s going to start the next book, and he still doesn’t know how the story is going to end. 

Part of me is shocked that he would admit to something like that.

Like, you’d at least have some sort of formula or template after Book #2 or #3, right?

But then I realize that, whenever I enter a new client meeting, I actually start with a blank slate, too; and that’s one of the best things I do for them (and myself).

What worked for a past client, may not work for this client. Everybody has a different story, make-up, and goal.

No anchors, no sunk costs, no risk of complacency.

And effing around and finding out is part of the adventure, anyway *wink*

The problem with being an avid reader is that we tend to compare the final, edited, double-checked writing we love with our rough draft.

We need to remember that the books we love once it started off as a rough draft as well. 

Don’t read your rough draft critically. The goal of the rough draft is to finish the story and get to the end. There will be time for editing later. You can’t create an edit and create an edit at the same time. 

When it comes to editing, have beta readers. Tell them ahead of time what roles they have, like spelling and grammar. Notate where things got boring. Indicate their favorite parts and what can NOT be changed, because it’s so good.

Consider starting or joining a writing group. 

This also goes hand in hand with what Seth said, about being around your peers.

He never believed that his books would ever be as good or big as Harry Potter, and that’s what helped him. 

Without a publisher, he created freedom and control, and made more of the money. He was never pressured to expand on a character if he didn’t want to; and he also got to write all sorts of genres on his terms. 

He wrote about a teenage space opera genre that did so well, and what really put him on the map was WOOL, and he would’ve never launched that if he was under a publisher. 

The value of having a publisher is distribution. But going with a publisher still doesn’t guarantee success; there are a lot of books that are on the shelf for 3 to 6 months that don’t make it and get taken off the shelf and you’re even worse in a hole that if you went to the self publishing route.

Going with a publisher is almost like having shareholders dictate where your company should go, even if it loses the soul and DNA of what made you:

1. Successful;

2. Fall in love with the business; and

3. Well-loved by the people you sought to serve - in the first place.

Is there a way for me to cut through the advantages of a publisher’s distribution?

Can I or my agent go to the booksellers and pitch directly? 

Freedom of choice is better than economies of scale. 

Wow, that was heavy.

Put your contact information in the book, so you can hear from your fans directly. 

Hearing a publisher tell you that they love your work is very enticing if you don’t have validation elsewhere. He was told this, but he also heard from his fans directly that they loved his stuff. So he wasn’t swayed by that or an advance. 

This allowed him to avoid the money trap and the ego trap. 

This also reminds me that, if you don’t get love at home, or if you don’t realize God loves you, you’ll go looking for love and validation elsewhere. 

Typically a publisher would give you an advance of $15,000-$25,000, but they would have the lifetime rates to physical, audio, digital, and foreign language. He and his agent were making more by self-publishing.

After reading this, I’m considering getting an agent. I have no idea how to think about it, or where to start; so I’ll be researching and sharing what I find on that! 

By the time that he was getting six-figure offers, he was already making six figures a month from digital sales. By the time they were giving him seven-figure deals, he had already made his own seven figures.

The abundance mindset is so powerful, no matter the context.

Keep in mind that when you sign with a publisher, you are now in competition with their other titles. They don’t want to compromise the newest release, so they’ll manipulate pricing and placement. That’s way too much control to give away. 

He tends to devalue his work; he wants people to take a chance on one of his short stories for $.99, in hopes that he can hook them to read more of his stuff. 

I love that. He wanted top of funnel and having new readers join the ecosystem, somehow. 

He doesn’t look at his sales dashboard anymore.

When sales go up, it puts you in a good mood, but it does not last. And when sales dip, despondency kicks in, and it really paralyzes you.

It’s easier said than done; and this requires the context that he already has amassed a lot of money and other opportunities, and isn’t depending on a certain title to pay his bills.

But this does add one point to making this a side gig, so that the pressure of money doesn’t get in the way of creativity, enjoyment of the work, and making the right decision for the art.

[On Amazon] When listing your book for sale, niche it down and put it in all sorts of more specific categories. When you do that, you show up on the list for ALL of the categories and subcategories.

For example, instead of putting “Children’s Books” - go deeper into “Parenting”, “Elementary School,” “Boy or Girl” and be as clear as possible.

You’ll get to show up on all of the categories along the way, and have more exposure.

Now, because he doesn’t need the money, he has publishers publish the audio rights, at least.

After certain point, he wants to minimize his workload and maximize his reach.

He also does deals by country, so that he can find the right publisher for the specific market - and not depend on a US-based company to do what’s right for another region.

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Hope this was helpful for you, too!

What advice did you like most?

Anything you disagree with?

Is there advice you’d like elaboration on?

If you are an author or have seen some best practices not mentioned, please share!