Category: A Few Quick Questions With… Page 3 of 16

I’ve talked about him all week, and now it’s time to hear from the man himself, JCM Berne. Without his help, there’d have been a lot less for you to read and me to post this week. And as anyone who has read his fiction, watched his Youtube videos, or has interacted with him in any way will expect, this particular entry in the series is as fun to read as it is useful and informative. Without further ado:

Before we get into things, why don’t you give the reader a brief introduction to you and your work.
I am JCM Berne. I write superhero stories. For grownups. No, they’re not silly. No, they’re not deconstructions. Or anti-heroes. Or gritty. Or hyper violent. Yes, they’re for grownups, I said that already. Yes, I’m serious. Yes there are bears, and sentient space stations, and giant bug monsters. No, really, none of it is silly.

It’s a story about regret and redemption, humor and happiness, coffee and donuts. Some people call it slice-of-life, but there are some war crimes and mass murders, so it’s not exactly cozy fantasy.

My website: jcmberne.com (shocking, I know!)

My books can be found at: https://a.co/d/5LoNrHZ

Best place to talk to me is twitter (my DMs are open!): @joeberne1

What are some of the biggest misconceptions you find that readers have about self-published books?
I’ll summarize it like this: people know that in, say, fantasy, Tor, Baen, Orbit, and whoever else you consider the ‘real’ publishers are releasing a certain number of books each month. People imagine that those companies are actually getting the BEST books. That if those companies release 50 books, the BEST indie book that month is, at most, the 51st best book being released globally.

That is incredibly far from the truth. The major publishers are finding, at best, a fraction of the best books according to their own editorial taste.

If your taste doesn’t exactly align with the Tor (or Orbit or Baen) staff (and it probably doesn’t), the BEST book for you that month might be one that those companies have all passed over. Maybe you want something more original. Or less original! Or litRPG. Or a non-ironic superhero story! The big companies are only releasing books in a very narrow window of genre and style.

Additionally, the process of getting a book through slush piles and into an editor’s hands is so onerous and so luck-dependent that there’s a good chance the best book in any given month was never even looked at by an agent, let alone an acquiring editor at Tor.

If you can find review outlets that you trust, you might find that THEY find better books than Tor can ever manage.

The second set of misconceptions is that self-published books are low quality – more typos, ugly covers, poor editing, etc. This is absolutely true some of the time, but it’s not hard to find self-published books of higher objective quality than trades. It just varies more (the worst self-published books are much, much lower quality, because there’s no gatekeeping at all).

What kind of costs are associated with self-publishing a book? Do you hire one or more editors, or one editor for a couple of passes? Cover artist? Anyone to help with layout, design, etc.? Beta readers? Or do you take it all on yourself? Are you actually making any money at this, or are you still focused on breaking-even while building an audience?
Cover: as low as $50 – but you’d have to be very lucky to find one that cheap that matches your book and still looks decent. Really good covers are very findable in the $1000 range. I spend over $4k on mine (which is probably a really poor investment, but I’m not a smart businessperson).

Editing: Varies. Most self-published authors writing GOOD books are hiring a line editor and copy editor and getting some developmental editing done (I am an exception, I don’t use developmental editors, because I’m just that arrogant). Minimum $1000 for a book and usually closer to $2-4k.

Layout and design – some people hire this out, but there’s software like Atticus ($100 lifetime purchase) that make it really easy to do.

Beta readers – people do hire beta readers, who cost a lot less than editors (usually under $100 for a beta read). Hiring beta readers is a lot less common than just trading with other writers.

Audio narrator: some people do this themselves, but a good audio narrator is around $200+ per finished hour. My book, for example, was about 13 hours. You can go higher.

Marketing: That’s the open-ended part. Blog tours, ads on amazon, newsletters, etc. You can spend absolutely any amount.

I am not making any money at this. Some indie authors are. Some support themselves doing this – more often those in high volume genres, like romance. I hear about indie authors hitting seven figure incomes (I assume that’s US dollars, not rupees or anything). I personally am eager to one day come close to recouping what I’ve already spent (nowhere near it).

Are there tools, mentors, websites you’ve found to help you through this process? Or did you stumble through blindly on your own?
I figured out a lot of it myself. I had early mentors in Ande Li and Maurice Alvarez, who I talked to because they’re friends in real life who had been publishing books for a while!

Once I got a foothold in the community, I got a LOT more help from authors on various Discord servers. I’ve found self published authors very willing to share advice and strategies. It’s a bizarrely supportive community.

How do you juggle marketing/PR/etc. with writing new work? (along with day jobs, family, hobbies, etc., etc.)
I keep telling myself it’s cheaper, and less time consuming, than a drug addiction. Not sure it’s true, but that’s what I tell myself. (that’s the second time someone’s said that—or words to that effect—today. I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad sign that multiple people think this way)

What made you decide that self-publishing was the direction you wanted to go? How often do you question that choice? How do you get through the self-doubt?
Honestly, I spent a small amount of time trying to find agents that might be interested in my book and got nowhere. It’s possible that some are out there and I just couldn’t find them. Believe me, if I thought I could have gotten a contract from Tor, I would have. I also feel my particular book doesn’t pitch well. I’ve never been able to come up with a brief (1 sentence) description that sounded anything other than a bit dumb. My strength obviously isn’t marketing!

I almost never question that choice, in the sense that to this day I still can’t come up with a good pitch for my book, and I don’t think there’s a route to a traditional contract that would have ever worked for me.

If I had held out for that, I’d be waiting still, and I wouldn’t have the readers I have, who I treasure.

Have you thought about trying to get a deal with major (or indie) publishers for upcoming works, or are you planning on sticking with self-publishing?
I have an independent book coming soon that pitches well (Taken, if it starred Michelle Yeoh and was set on Cradle – a retired monster hunter wrecks a continent when her children are kidnapped.) I tried to get a deal and failed. I’m not sure the patience for that anymore – especially when I’m in a position where I can get literally hundreds of people to read my next book with a few tweets.

Odds are, you’re doing this from love/passion, not to pay the bills. What keeps you going? I’m assuming there are more “who”s than “what”s, actually—who is it?
It creates plenty of bills… not paying any of them yet! While I do dream of making a profit at some point, I’m pretty happy with what’s going on right now.

I love to tell stories. I love crafting them, the slow reveal, figuring out ways to change the emotional impact. I constantly make up stories, even if it’s just in my own head.

Writing is, for me, incredibly fulfilling for that reason!

I tell people this: if you don’t have to write, don’t. It’s frustrating, time consuming, and difficult. If you aren’t driven to do it, don’t punish yourself! But if you’re compelled to write, then by all means, become an author. Just don’t quit your day job!

Self-publishing tends to have fewer external deadlines keeping one accountable. How do you maintain your work process or work ethic?
I have a system.

I book slots with my line editor, who usually fills her schedule 4-6 months in advance. Then I am forced to finish my books to get them to her.

Because I love my line editor (she makes my books more authentically mine than I can manage on my own), I am deeply afraid of disappointing her, so it works!

I do not recommend this system. Do as I say, not as I do.

If you were to start the process over with the experience you have now, what would you do differently?
I would probably write a different genre. Superheroes are a tough sell, much tougher than I expected, and getting readers to take my books seriously is hard (I’m surprised you read it, HC, given what you generally review) [Really? I loves me some good super-hero stuff, I need to do better at talking about that]. On the other hand, this genre is what I really love, so maybe I’d have decided to go with it regardless, and just had lowered expectations.

Maybe that’s what I’d do differently: moderate my expectations.

How do you decide a book is finally finished and ready? (or how do you avoid “perfection as the enemy of good”?)
This is the tricky thing!

I set a deadline – usually announcing things on twitter, or booking a slot with my line editor – and just try to get it as good as it can get before then. But you have to couple that sort of process with a willingness to bail (and eat the editorial cost, or kill some of the buzz you’ve generated) if the product you have really isn’t up to par.

So far, I haven’t done that. It helps that my goal is a really fulfilling series, not a really fulfilling book, and I remind myself that every series has some subpar entries. But really it just takes an enormous amount of confidence, earned or not, to release a book, and you just have to do it.

Thanks for your time and participation! Hope you enjoyed it! And do know that there are many of us out here who appreciate and applaud what you do (and our number is growing)!
Thank YOU so much! Reviewers and influencers are all that stand between relative obscurity and complete obscurity for us authors! (Sorry, I wrote that sentence wrong, then read what it said, and it’s too funny for me to fix). Writing is inherently communicative. Having readers who really understand what I was trying to do in my books is what makes writing them worthwhile, and to be honest, I only KNOW they ‘got’ the meaning when I can read an actual review. Not that a buy or a star rating aren’t great – they are – but it doesn’t mean as much.

Be sure to give The Hybrid Helix (and anything else Berne puts out) a try!

Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay
The 2023 Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week Logo was made by Witty and Sarcastic Book Club

Michael Michel is another author that came to my attention (and this series) thanks to JCM Berne. I really enjoyed his answers here and our interactions around this. Much like every grimdark author I’ve heard interviewed, you wouldn’t think someone this fun could produce something so…well grim and dark. Hope you enjoy this half as much as I did.

Before we get into things, why don’t you give the reader a brief introduction to you and your work.
I’m the debut author of “The Price of Power,” a grimdark epic fantasy book about loss, redemption, grief, and the danger of beliefs. It’s like Game of Thrones meets X-men, or First Law meets a plot. At least, those are the two series my reviewers liken it to most often. I often find myself flattered by what folks say about it.

Social and Links
FREE NOVELLA: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/f1vi1k6lx9
The Price of Power: https://www.amazon.com/Price-Power-Book-1/dp/B0BTKZPNF9/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
Twitter Handle: @Michael__Michel (that’s two underscores in the middle)
Instagram: @michaelmichelauthor

What kind of costs are associated with self-publishing a book? Do you hire one or more editors, or one editor for a couple of passes? Cover artist? Anyone to help with layout, design, etc.? Beta readers? Or do you take it all on yourself? Are you actually making any money at this, or are you still focused on breaking-even while building an audience?
More costs than you might think. At least, more than I was aware of. The more common ones are book cover ($500+ for a good one) and editor (varies by need but upwards of a $1,000 for a big book). I hired a proofreader only, but that’s not recommended for everyone. The editors I reached out to said it was pretty polished, so you have to work really hard if you want to save on editing. Beta readers assisted with all the same duties a developmental editor would have, so that was an easy skip for me. I formatted it myself, too, but found it to be more fun than expected. Atticus is great and you only buy it once—same with Scrivener which I needed for a novel/series as expansive and convoluted as mine. Those are all the expenses one might expect. The hidden costs are things like ISBNs, BookFunnel, websites and newsletter builders, and a ton more software-type crap like that. If you want to market well, you’ve got to be setup to do so. And giveaways…I’ve given out a lot of ARC copies ($25 a pop if physical) and there are those, more successful than I, who gave out way more.

I’m making money, sure. Getting better all the time and my Kickstarter was a success. Am I making a net profit though? If I am, it’s negligible. This year is all about setting up for the long haul. I’d say that’s the rule more than the exception. New authors be prepared to invest if you’re serious.

What made you decide that self-publishing was the direction you wanted to go? How often do you question that choice? How do you get through the self-doubt?
I actually wanted to go traditional. I thought indie was less credible, and let’s be honest, in comparison to traditional, it still is a lot of the time but not to the level it used to be. Great authors are now coming out of the indie scene at an ever-increasing rate. When I made the choice, I’d just started reaching out to agents. Maybe fifteen of them. Got a partial request pretty quickly but it fizzled just as fast. I didn’t see the point in continuing. My energy dragged while doing it, and the outlook of ever seeing my novel published seemed so far away. I have a driven mentality and a decent self-marketing skill set, but even this didn’t fully convince me.

My friend, Jerry Oltion, has that honor. If you don’t know him, he’s a Nebula winner, multi-time Hugo nominee, writer of Star Trek books, and is the most published author in Analog Magazine’s history (with like 100 short stories). Suffice it to say, I needed someone with credibility to kill my dreams of credibility. He said, “I think the New York dinosaur has just about breathed its last.” It was a long email, full of convincing reasons to go indie—all from a trad author, no less. It was just the push I needed, and I couldn’t have been more excited to make the leap afterward. I felt free.

I’ve probably already made as much as the average trad author makes on a book. And I’ve retained total control. With more books lined up, I feel like it’s a good position to be in.

I absolutely question my decision sometimes. On days when I make less than a dollar. On days when I get less than a five-star review. On days when I’m sucked up in social media all day when I would rather be writing. Self-doubt sticks to the sedentary, so I just make sure to keep plowing forward.

Have you thought about trying to get a deal with major (or indie) publishers for upcoming works, or are you planning on sticking with self-publishing?
Here’s the thing. Once you go indie, you’re kind of locked in unless you become very successful. Publishers want to know what your indie sales have been, and if they aren’t amazing, they see that as a sign it’s probably not going to work with them either. Conversely, if you do really well as an indie author, then there’s less point in going traditional because you’re likely making more and retaining all the control.

That said, if a big trad publisher came along with a hefty advance, I’d probably take it even if it meant less money long-term. The exposure, the validation, and the chance to rub elbows with other trad authors under the same organizational umbrella is too great an opportunity to pass up. It’s not all about the money for me anyway. It’s about producing the best product I can and entertaining the hell out of people. Honestly, having access to the best-of-the-best editors is very alluring. I often wonder how good my book could be if it had a premier expert combing over it six times. Better, I expect. Much better.

Self-publishing tends to have less external deadlines keeping one accountable. How do you maintain your work process or work ethic?
Let me lead with the caveat that everyone is different. Carrot or stick, you do what you have to in order to create art. Drink raw eggs, sleep upside down, sacrifice a bull, or sip a coffee: it doesn’t matter. Just get it done. I take this approach to a degree as well. Although, readers telling you nice things and saying they want more is always a major motivator.

I consistently set 1-2 months goals. Once I have that signpost, I get pretty excited and the energy starts to flow. Fortunately, writing is one of the things I love doing most. A note on goal setting though: don’t set a goal that isn’t achievable. Whatever you think you can accomplish, stretch it a bit or reduce your aspiration. Better to guarantee success than miss your ambitions by a mile. Good for the brain (specifically, the nucleus acumbens).

How do you decide a book is finally finished and ready? (or how do you avoid “perfection as the enemy of good”?)
It’s usually accompanied by the sound of your soul shrieking and a little part of you dying. Haha. Kidding…kinda. Letting your ego die in order to publish is the both the suffering and freedom we authors live by.

Perfectionism itself is a double-edged sword. I like to think of rockets launching into space. Giant fuel cells known as “stages” are jettisoned as the rocket climbs through the atmosphere. Once their fuel is used up, they’re dead weight.

Perfectionism is the same; it pushed me to make, “The Price of Power” as good as it could be, but at some point, I needed to let it go in order to coast smoothly to my next endeavor. Even now, I still read sections of my book sometimes and find a dozen things per page I might change. Well, as authors, we’ve got to understand a valuable principle:

We’re always growing, and honing our craft.

The more we write, the better we get. By the end of draft 5, you’ve got ideas about how draft 6 could be better. Every work you write makes you better at writing. If you understand this, you’re better able to let go and move on knowing the next will demonstrate your current skill more clearly The work grows with us. This what kills Patrick Rothfuss, I think. He can’t help himself but to rewrite more.

I’ve found that people don’t care as much about the nitty gritty as I do, anyway. Look no further than Brando Sando as an example. The man’s not the greatest writer, but damn can he produce a bunch of novels and keep readers’ imaginations well-fed. Readers want authors that satisfy their needs, not the authors’ own ego.

In conclusion, perfectionism is a good tool, but a bad way of life.
That’s a good line. I should try to adopt that.

Thanks for your time and participation! Hope you enjoyed it! And do know that there are many of us out here who appreciate and applaud what you do (and our number is growing)!

Be sure to check out Michel’s novel—looks like a great grim time!

The 2023 Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week Logo was made by Witty and Sarcastic Book Club