Born in 1958, JM is a lifelong writer. But it wasn't until 2005 (at age 47), that he broke out as a bestselling author.
These are my take aways from his talk at the CCWC on 10/1/16. He was probably my favorite teacher at the conference.
Try everything you don't think you're good at. Until you have evidence to the contrary (after several failed attempts), you don't know whether or not it's something you may be skilled at. Assume you are skilled at it (or can develop the skill needed to succeed) until you are proven otherwise.
JM did not become a bestselling author until late in his career, he was over 40.
"If I was just starting out now, with no writing credentials, I’d probably tackle a novel in the genre that I read most. Knowledge of your favorite genre –its history, its greatest works, its best writers—creates a comfort zone that lends authority, confidence and passion to your own work."
JM framed his talk around this premise. Because he tried lots of different forms of writing, many different genres, until he found his muse in the horror/thriller/suspense genre. It's a great philosophy to live by. He also has a confidence (well earned for sure), that he assumes excellence in everything he does (again, until there's substantial proof to deem otherwise).
Like a working actor, a working writer is willing to try any form of writing (genre, job, etc.). Your reward is being able to do your best work everyday. Your only goal each day is to do better work than you did yesterday (no matter the type of work). Taking on other writing roles may create a strength you otherwise would not have obtained.
He is so engaged (or vested) in his own profession, that he took a night class on contracts to understand the contracts he got from his first publisher. He mentioned a win was that the class used his contract as the case study for the course.
Here's how he prepared to become a bestselling author (he admits he has the storyteller gene, and believes many others do as well):
This is how he built the 'best-seller' blueprint he still follows today.
He sent a query letter to the 10 best agents in his genre and made that query letter the best one ever written. He then dropped a line of BS that he was 'going to be in NYC on business anyway... and want to buy you lunch to discuss business' and got lunch appointments with a few of them. He stuck with the business of publishing to demonstrate to the agents that he was willing to do the work. At the time, he didn't have any money and had to borrow money just to pay for the lunch (and they picked expensive restaurants).
Prior to his meeting, he read the free newsletters available through Publishers Weekly, spent time at the library reading publishers weekly (since it's a pricey subscription), and became an expert on the publishing business. He did his homework on each of the agents he would be meeting with.
Back to his original premise, he made the assumption he was the best writer, and didn't let a though enter in otherwise. How you view yourself is the basis of how others see you.
He discussed on a writers need for perfection is one of their biggest obstacles.
The greatest fear is putting it out there. Once you do, you are up for judgement, you can't continue to change it. The rewriting others get stuck doing is just different, not necessarily better.
He discussed 'work assignments' he would give himself each week, each day, but didn't elaborate. Instead he discussed the money jar concept.
An incentive to write everyday. We need reward for the work we do. When we are self employed, we need to set goals and reward ourselves for meeting them (just as an effective manager does for his own people). So Jon has a 'Fun Money' Jar on his desk. Each day, when he hits his goal (2,500 words/day), he puts $20 in the jar. As long as he hits his goal, $20 goes into the jar. If he misses his goal, all the money gets pulled out and he starts from zero. Paying yourself is the key. Being sure you only use that money for a reward is key. He (and his wife) have already planned a nice vacation to enjoy the money being put into his jar now for the book he's writing.
JM doesn't write anything he is already paid an advance for.
He stressed this was the key to being productive 8 hours/day. When he's in his writing place, his loved ones know he is not available. Even when it appears he is not writing (i.e. playing games, surfing the web, doing research), he stressed that he is in fact working through plots, etc.. (even if it appears he isn't.) The key is not to be pulled into other areas of life that detract from his writing process of 8 hours/day. <There's a lot more to this and it's an idea worth expanding on.>
Would you give yourself a tip for the result you produced today?
JM jumps on social media for 10 minutes every hour. It's a break from what he's doing. He has 200 items in his 'backlog' of social media posts. He posts to Facebook which automatically posts to twitter and linked in. He admitted he was an early adopter of social media and enjoys it.
He shared how he built over 1 million followers on his blog. He contacted 20 other bestselling authors in his genre for an interview. 19 said no. After he did the interview with the 1 yes, he pinged the 19 others with "I just interviewed ____, and would like to interview you next." He's never had a problem getting an interview with an author ever since. He knows that the association with the authors fan base has been they key. He displays the interview on his own website, which has links to all his books along the side. The shorter the post, the more clicks he gets on his own books! Many of the interviews are done via six questions he send via email. The people he interviews are very busy and no doubt appreciate the email option.
When it comes to posting online, he is careful to never slam any other author, never talk religion or politics. He engages other authors and his audience with simple questions like 'what's your work in progress?' 'what's your latest release?' - doing so spawns hundreds of comments which makes his posts rise up the rankings (since comment count is a way Facebook determines which updates to feature in a readers feed).
JM is good a building an online presence in the genres he is writing into (even before he's published a single title in that genre). It's all about building momentum before the 'launch.' You can interview others in that space and start getting your name associated with them. When you do launch, you won't be an unknown.
He begins with an outline. Then he writes the first chapter, then the conclusion. The rest of this time is spent bridging the two. He states this allowed him to avoid spending time writing scenes that didn't have anything to do with the story.
I gathered that before the outline, the idea takes shape and he writes around a killer synopsis (I will ask him to confirm). Read two of his synopsis below.
The one (and only) book he recommends is Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook. He stresses the workbook is key because it allows you to 'fill in the blanks.' JM stated he has 30 copies because he fills it out each time.
[GTS] = Google That Shit
Synopsis
Here's the synopsis he wrote for Kill Switch:
What do you do when the power goes off?
Terrorists have acquired a terrible new weapon that can crash the power grid and plunge America into a new dark age. A coordinated attack is planned to shut out all lights and emergency services to ten major cities. Planes will fall, hospitals will go dark, no help will come.
And in that terrible darkness, a dreadful plague will be released. If the lights go off, nothing can stop the bioweapon from killing millions.
At the same time, the intelligence services are being torn apart from within by a plague of betrayal, murder, and suicide. Even the Department of Military Sciences is stumbling in its response to the growing threat.
Time is running out, and Joe is being hunted by a terrifying new kind of assassin. A team of remote viewers have the ability to take over any person and turn ordinary citizens into killers. Where can you turn when there’s nobody left to trust?
Joe Ledger faces his deadliest challenge as friends and allies become enemies and all of the lights begin to go out…
Here's another (Assassin's Code):
When Joe Ledger and Echo Team rescue a group of American college kids held hostage in Iran, the Iranian government then asks them to help find six nuclear bombs planted in the Mideast oil fields. These stolen WMDs will lead Joe and Echo Team into hidden vaults of forbidden knowledge, mass-murder, betrayal, and a brotherhood of genetically-engineered killers with a thirst for blood. Accompanied by the beautiful assassin called Violin, Joe follows a series of clues to find the Book of Shadows, which contains a horrifying truth that threatens to shatter his entire worldview. They say the truth will set you free…not this time. The secrets of the Assassin's Code will set the world ablaze.
In as sense, the 'trailer' is released before the movie. He keeps coming back to the synopsis he's already written to keep the story on track.