I'm a bestselling novelist

[carruthersjames]

AMA!

Why don't you self publish on amazon, don't you keep up to 70% of royalties there?

Are you female? Would I have read your books?

I've recently found time to get back into reading now my children no longer need so much from me and I've noticed what a lot of good writers there are at the moment.

Are more people having the courage to try to get their work published or are we at the top of a quality cycle.

What genre do you write, I wonder if I have any of ours in my ever increasing collection of unread books.

Do you find writing a lonely job or do you enjoy your own company and getting lost in your words?

Do you network with / support other writers?

And finally have you ever started a book and given up on it?

Thanks for starting this thread. Have any of your books beenturned into films?

@Notevenonaweekend can you pm me the link go your AMA in non-fiction writing, please?

Hi Italian - if you look on the AMA topic, it's on the first page under 'bestselling ghostwriter'

Have you ever been nominated for an award? Or won one?

Have you ever watched murder she wrote and wondered if Jessica Fletcher acutally has time to write anything, apart from the opening credits?

How did you get your first book published? Did you send your work to an agent/publisher?

Also if you wrote The Treatment, i liked it.

How did you know you were good enough? I got a distinction for my creative writing OU module last year (still part way through my degree though) and really don't think I'd be good enough.

I also wonder how much luck is involved. I know some truly brilliant writers who get nowhere, and then see a lot of misery-lit and 'trashy' novels on the shelves and just don't understand how it's all decided.

Do you have a website? Can we see pictures of your books? What genre do you prefer? What are the reviews like?

Where do you get inspiration for your stories? Do you think of the whole storyline form the beginning or think it up as you go (if that makes sense?)

*Literary fiction? Genre?

Whose novels do you most admire?*

No - commercial fiction. I admire anyone who's still published after 10+ years - it's a hard game!

Do you have to do a lot of publicity? I have an AMA on here about my non-fiction writing but I've been wondering whether to make the leap (or do both). Would you have got your contract if you hadn't wanted to do any publicity? How much say do you have in what you do, and have you had to do features etc based on personal issues rather than the book itself?

No. I'm very lucky to be stocked in all supermarkets so my sales come from that rather than events. I sometimes go on the radio and once on a tiny TV programme on an obscure channel. I've never done a feature on anything I wasn't comfortable with and I have absolute say in that.

How did you get a publisher?

I sent my first three chapters and synopsis off to about twenty agents, got signed, and he sold me to a publisher.

Do you have an agent or did you just spam the publishers until one read your work? How easy is it to find an agent?

You can't really spam publishers. I don't even think they read their 'slush pile.' I found it very easy to get an agent - they read all their submissions, so if they like your work, they will sign you. It just takes a while.

What genre do you write?

Thrillers.

Where you on another forum? There was an author on there who was quite famous, with a different username. Don't worry, I won't out you, I'm just curious.x

Nope.

Were you ever a SAHM whilst writing? If so, how did you find time to write?

No, sorry.

Why don't you self publish on amazon, don't you keep up to 70% of royalties there?

Because my publisher sells 100s of 1000s of my books in physical form at a higher price point that self published 99p kindle books, and I could never market myself effectively on amazon because I'm a writer and not a marketer. Most self published writers sell a handful of copies of their books: it's the exception, not the rule, when someone breaks out. Additionally, I like having an advance, being professionally edited, and not having to design my own covers.

Are you female? Would I have read your books?

Yes. And maybe? That's impossible for me to say. There are a lot of books. But if you walk into a supermarket stocking 20 or less books, mine are there.

How long have you been an successful writer?

Did it take long for you to become a known author?

*I've recently found time to get back into reading now my children no longer need so much from me and I've noticed what a lot of good writers there are at the moment.

Are more people having the courage to try to get their work published or are we at the top of a quality cycle.*

It's hard for me to say as I pay particular attention to this, but didn't ten years ago when I wasn't published. I'd say there's a particular appetite for fast paced, smart at the moment and many of them are high quality.

What genre do you write, I wonder if I have any of ours in my ever increasing collection of unread books.

Thrillers.

Do you find writing a lonely job or do you enjoy your own company and getting lost in your words?

There are a lot of facets to the job. I speak to my publisher and agent a lot. I give interviews sometimes. It's not all lonely but I've always quite enjoyed my own company.

Do you network with / support other writers?

Yes, I see other writers at various events and I give endorsement quotes for book covers where I have enjoyed them.

And finally have you ever started a book and given up on it?

No, I have actually never done this. I have wanted to though! Deadlines and books being so long make it very difficult to have false starts. You have to just go for it.

Thanks for starting this thread. Have any of your books been turned into films?

Not yet!

Have you ever been nominated for an award? Or won one?

Only lesser known awards. Never a big one. And never won!

Have you ever watched murder she wrote and wondered if Jessica Fletcher acutally has time to write anything, apart from the opening credits?

No!

How did you get your first book published? Did you send your work to an agent/publisher?

Yes submitted first three chapters and synopsis to an agent, got signed and he sold me to a publisher.

*How did you know you were good enough? I got a distinction for my creative writing OU module last year (still part way through my degree though) and really don't think I'd be good enough.

I also wonder how much luck is involved. I know some truly brilliant writers who get nowhere, and then see a lot of misery-lit and 'trashy' novels on the shelves and just don't understand how it's all decided.*

You're right that it's not all talent. Many of the writers who shift many copies are not writing stunning prose. I suppose I knew I was good enough once I got an agent which thankfully happened relatively easily. And I also just really wanted to do it. More than I've ever wanted anything.

Do you have a website? Can we see pictures of your books? What genre do you prefer? What are the reviews like?

I'd prefer to be anonymous. I read in my own genre really - sent a lot of advance reading copies of books coming out soon. Reviews of my books are mostly good, but so are most books! V rare to get a poor average on amazon - everyone is 4 or 4.5.

Where do you get inspiration for your stories? Do you think of the whole storyline form the beginning or think it up as you go (if that makes sense?)

Newspapers, documentaries, interesting crime articles. I plan the whole novel before I write it because my publisher likes to sign off on the whole idea.

Did you study Eng Lit at university, carruthers? I imagine fewer genre authors do Creative Writing degrees, though I do know a novelist who used to write literary fiction and who recently did the crimewriting MA at UEA.