What We Talk About When We Talk About Writing Prompts

If you were teaching a writing workshop, what’s a great writing prompt for writers to get started on a piece of writing?
Or is there a method you find helpful when you’re sitting at your desk and can’t think what to write about?

I don’t say this as a humblebrag, but I’ve never suffered from Writer’s Block.

My issue has always been starting with the right image or phrase. Get that right, and I’m in the zone. Hours go by. Sentences seem to write themselves. (Flow, as the nerds say.)

So let’s stop treating writing prompts like caffeine for writers and start using them more like tuning forks. A way to find the pitch you’re writing toward.

My approach: Tie your prompt to a craft goal.
The prompt isn’t the spark—it’s the lens.

 

1. Craft Focus: Perspective

Prompt: Look at the letter W.
Is it the 23rd letter of the alphabet?
Or upside down—or an M?
Or turned sideways—the letter E?

The lesson: Any scene, character, or plot point can be recharged if you shift how you see it. Sometimes, the solution isn’t new material—it’s a new angle.

 

2. Craft Focus: Emotion

We’ve all heard “Show, don’t tell.” But how do you feel your way into emotion without stating it outright?

Prompt: Pick a color. Now ask:

• What emotion do you attach to that color?
• Is that association cultural? Personal? Both?

Example: In the West, black is death. In parts of Asia, white is.
Stephen Crane’s “The Blue Hotel” plays with this beautifully—blue as mood, setting, danger.
Or look at Chandler’s “Red Wind.” The Santa Ana wind is a red hot, and dry wind that affects people and the detective’s investigation psychologically.

The lesson: Emotion can live in the atmosphere—in color, in light, in objects. Let the reader feel what’s unsaid.

 

3. Craft Focus: Visual & Sonic Narrative

Sometimes you’re stuck not because you don’t have an idea, but because you don’t know how to stage it.

Prompt 1:
Read the final lines of Chandler’s “Red Wind.”
Then watch the last scene of High Noon.
Chandler’s pearls = Cooper’s badge.
One gesture, no words, tells the whole story.

Prompt 2:
Watch Midnight Run.
Listen to the dialogue.
Almost every line is a question.
Even the answers are more questions.
It shouldn’t work. But it does.

The lesson: Dialogue can dance. Props can carry weight. Storytelling isn’t just in plot—it’s in how people speak, what they drop, what they won’t say.

 

4. Craft Focus: Time (The Hidden Architecture)

Writers often get tangled not in what happens—but when.
Time on the page is slippery. Is the story moving forward? Looping? Stuck? Too fast? Too slow?

Prompt:
Write a scene twice:

• Once in real time (moment-to-moment, like a film).
• Then compress that same scene into five sentences, with time jumps built in.

The lesson: Narrative time is elastic. Knowing when to stretch a moment and when to skip ahead—gives your writing rhythm. It’s what separates pace from plot.

Look at how Toni Morrison handles time in Beloved.
The novel loops, haunts, and slips between past and present—not randomly, but with purpose. Memory is the structure.

 

Now, it’s your turn.

A Prompt About Subtext (Your Carver Moment)

Prompt:
Write a scene between two people who both want something but neither can say it directly.
Every line of dialogue must be either:

• a question,
• an evasion, or
• an unrelated comment.

Inspiration: Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants.”
What’s being discussed in that story is never named but you feel it.

The lesson: Sometimes, the most powerful writing is what’s not on the page. Let tension build in the unsaid.

 

Let the prompts be more than warm-ups.
Let them be invitations to depth.

Ready. Set. Write!

 

If you were teaching a writing workshop, what's a great writing prompt for writers to get started on a piece of writing? Or is there method you find helpful when you're sitting at your desk and can't think what to write about? 

A friend of mine once gave me a gift called The Writer's Toolbox, which includes different ideas, prompts, and games that promise to stimulate your creativity and crush writer’s block. That was many years ago. I am happy to say, knock on wood, that I've not had to use it, yet. Still, I keep it handy, just in case.

 My actual writing process is unbelievably simple, I either plop my butt in the chair and just start writing on whatever idea that is percolating in my brain at the moment, and fortunately there always seems to be a few. Or I stress read while berating myself about procrastinating about writing until shame chases me back into my chair to write again. Now, I'll admit as processes go, it might not be the glamorous, sexy, answer but it's the truth. 

There is one writing prompt that I really do enjoy and find helpful for kicking that lazy idea factory into gear, the free write. In fact, it was a free write in a random English class that made me think that maybe writing was something I could be actually good at. It’s a wonderful thing to be given a word, a sentence, or even a subject, along with few minutes to allow whatever story that may be trapped in your head to come flowing out onto the page without judgement. And it does come, good, bad, and almost always ugly, it comes.

So, if I were teaching a workshop I would start with a fresh piece of paper and a pen and fifteen minutes to write without thought just words on paper, no grammar, no structure, not even a story, just ideas being born in real time. I’m never not surprised at what appears on the page. I think my students would feel the same.

I would also prompt them to read Stephen King’s, On Writing. As every writer should.😊

 

Finding a gem in the midst of garbage - by Harini Nagendra

What's the writing business going to look like 5 years from now? Do you think it's going to be more or less the same, or will AI and other technology trends transform it dramatically - if so, how? 

If someone offered to tell my future for free, I would normally run from them, as far and fast as I can. I don't want to know what my future will bring - if it's not good news, I would be paralyzed by fear, and if it is good news, I'd probably become complacent and give up any form of active striving.

(Photo: Close-up of a glass ball by Marco Verch under Creative Commons 2.0)

But when it comes to the book writing business, I wouldn't run away - in fact I'd be sorely tempted to steal a crystal ball if I knew where one was to be found. As a teacher too - I know it's getting harder and harder to design assessments because students can so easily AI the answer. I have colleagues teaching coding courses who are resorting to pen-and-paper exams, because that's the only way for them to tell if students have understood the philosophy behind the coding - or if they have asked ChatGPT to write the code for them. I've always preferred take-home, open book exams because they encouraged creative thinking, as opposed to rote memorization - but AI has turned all of that upside down.

What about book writing, though? I can see AI editing and translation software becoming widely used by writers - at least for copy editing. But I think a good development editor is worth their price in gold, and can't be replaced - even in 5 years - by AI. Similarly, books that display lateral thinking, creative books that connect two different genres or play with tropes in an unexpected way - go against the grain of most AI algorithms, which rely on training algorithms - that is to say, they can do more of what they are taught to do, and probably learn how to do it well, but can they do something completely new, which hasn't been done before? I'd be surprised - though I'm not saying no for now. The speed at which these algorithms evolve is quite something. 

Would I ever want to use AI to write a book? No - it would suck out all the fun from the process. I can't understand why writers would want to use AI to write text, or plot out an entire book, though I expect many will use generative AI to flood the market with books. These books will be substandard, because their purpose is only to make money, not to create something beautiful - but if they can be generated in the millions and billions at the click of a button, how will readers find the books they want to read? How can we bring back serendipity, the joy a reader experiences at discovering a new book or author whom they never heard of - and then get drawn into the worlds they create? 

That's what I worry about, when I worry about AI. Not that writers will still write books, and readers will want to read them. But - how will readers find writers that sparkle and catch their eye, when the landscape is filled with cheap rubbish?

How Much Would You Pay to Watch a Robot Hit a Golf Ball? from James W. Ziskin

What's the writing business going to look like 5 years from now? Do you think it's going to be more or less the same, or will AI and other technology trends transform it dramatically - if so, how? 

There is much dread about the future of AI and the writing of fiction. Specifically, lots of folks are wondering if AI will put human writers out of business.

Well, in 1997 Deep Blue defeated chess master Garry Kasparov. In the twenty-seven years since, has anyone organized a world chess championship for computers? Would anyone watch if they did? I don’t think so.

Let me give another example:

Would you pay to watch a robot hit a golf ball? (Click on link or picture)

Or would you rather watch this? (click on link or picture)

If people are willing to get on an airplane, fly to Georgia, rent a car, check into an expensive hotel, and pay hundreds of dollars to sit in the sun for eight hours to watch a human whack a small dimpled ball with a stick, then I predict that no one will ever want to read stories written by robots. No matter how good AI becomes, it will never be human and therefore will hold little interest beyond a huh-look-at-that, fleeting curiosity that will shrivel up, die, and be forgotten as soon as a butterfly floats by or a favorite song comes on the radio or you smell onions frying or you pet a cat. Or…huh, look at that… My fingernails need trimming.

Admit it. AI has no spirit, no perspective, self-irony, or obsession. It has no convictions, no envy, no sloth, and no lust for success. It doesn’t care. In short, it has no soul. 

And its heart has never been broken, which means it will never write anything of creative value. 

If you don’t agree with me, let’s do a simple test, Pick A or B from the choices below:

1. I would rather 

    A. Pay to hear a mimic imitate Frank Sinatra really, really well

    B. Pay to hear Frank Sinatra sing

2. I would rather 

    A. Watch an automaton perform Hamlet 

    B. Watch John Gielgud perform Hamlet

3. I would rather

    A. Read a humorous story written by AI

    B. Read anything by P. G. Wodehouse

4. I would rather

    A. (Ahem) do it with a love doll

    B. Do it with a real person

5. I would rather

    A. Own a non-fungible digital image of…I don’t know…anything at all?

    B. Own a true Vermeer or a finger painting by my child

6. I would rather 

    A. Put on virtual reality glasses and visit the virtual Grand Canyon

    B. Visit the Grand Canyon

7. I would rather

    A. Have a robotic dog do whatever robotic dogs do

    B. Have a dog gaze into my eyes with love and devotion and purity of heart

If you answered A to any of the above, please return your Human Race Membership Card to the trash bin on your computer screen. You don’t need it.

If you answered B to all of the above, you win! Take heart. AI will never replace the human joys cited above. Nor will it replace millions of other human joys, each as unique as a snowflake. And it will never replace human writers. Not in five years. Not ten. Never. 

But if—by some miracle—it does replace human writers, a robot will surely win the Masters, the U.S. Open, the British Open, and the PGA tournaments. (And we’ll all be doing it with love dolls.)

Sdfjsdfkh

Best friend, worst enemy — a crystal ball perspective

What's the writing business going to look like 5 years from now? Do you think it's going to be more or less the same, or will AI and other technology trends transform it dramatically - if so, how? 

by Dietrich

What will it look like in five years? I don’t have any answers, but it does bring up some questions. Like will there be a seismic shift driven by AI? Will the business of writing be a little different, or will it be unrecognizable?

Some writers are already finding AI useful for brainstorming, refining drafts and taking over tedious tasks like grammar checking and formatting. Some may feel that leaning too heavily on AI might stifle their creativity. Then there’s the issue of ethics around using AI-generated content, especially if it’s not disclosed to readers or publishers. There’s also the question of potentially over-saturating the market, making it harder for human-crafted stories to stand out.

I’m on the side of the human touch—a writer’s style and voice without algorithmic influence—believing it preserves emotional depth and originality in storytelling.

Let’s face it, technology is reshaping the landscape, and in five years writers will certainly be able to use AI writing tools for more than polishing grammar and checking facts. A writer may be able to feed an AI a rough draft and have it collaborate, co-create narratives, suggest plot twists and character arcs. It may be able to analyze reader preferences and predict trends. For some of us this will feel like a dystopian takeover and raise questions like: Will human writers still steer the ship, bringing emotional depth and cultural nuance that AI can’t replicate? Will data be the writer’s new best friend or his or her worst enemy?

Technology promises to redefine how stories are consumed. I recently read that by 2030, we may be crafting narratives for immersive platforms, where readers enter a story via VR headsets. Imagine a thriller where the reader chooses a character’s next move, with AI adjusting the plot based on their decisions. Writers may need to master non-linear storytelling, blending traditional prose with game-like interactivity. A shift like that would demand new skills where the writer becomes part coder, part experience designer. 

Will real-time analytics be able to fine-tune a writer’s work and optimize it for viral potential? And could the downside lead to formulaic writing and predictable patterns, with more focus going to trends than originality? AI generated content could flood the market, but if the quality suffers, it may bring readers back around to craving novels written by humans.

And where will the new technology leave traditional publishing? Will legacy publishers need to pivot to stand out in an AI-saturated market? Will self-publishing move to the forefront as AI tools increasingly help writers edit, design and market their work directly to readers. Will writers need to certify their work as AI-free or disclose AI’s role in the process?

There’s no doubt that technology is advancing, but I’d like to think the core and creativity of storytelling—human emotion and connection—will hang in there and that technology will be there to assist to that end. And that a creative mind and a distinct voice will remain the writer’s best currency moving forward.

Brave Old World

 

June 24 question: Terry here, with our question of the week: Looking into your crystal ball, what's the writing business going to look like 5 years from now? Do you think it's going to be more or less the same, or will AI and other technology trends transform it dramatically - if so, how?

Given the dramatic changes in the past five years in publishing, I hesitate to make any predictions. Five years ago seems like eternity. During Covid, like so many other businesses, the publishing world took advantage of the pandemic to quietly make brutal changes. Some companies folded and slipped away. Others pared down their stables of writers, giving the publishing world’s version of pink slips to mid-list authors. Advances were minimized or cut altogether. Editors were fired (with disastrous results, in my view. Some of the books I read, I suspect have never been seen by an editor.) Promotion budgets were slashed. (Not that they were ever  generous for mid-list authors). Contracts were “tightened.” Why is it that when the publishing industry makes changes it pretty much never benefits the authors? 

I consider myself lucky. Right around Covid time I signed up with a new publisher, Severn House. Although my advances were cut in half, at least I still get a reasonable advance. They put out an attractive book, with good covers, and they have a strong editorial staff. But being in the UK, they also had some business practices that seemed strange to me. For example, they do little promotion, selling mostly to libraries. And their paperback version comes out several months after the hardcover. And sometimes, not at all. Not only that, but their ebook prices were quite high—not competitive. But they recently have begun some moves in the direction of attaining parity with U.S. publishers (I hope that’s a good thing). They will be putting out paperbacks six months after the hardcover, and their ebook prices will drop. I was happily surprised to find out that Deep Dive, which comes out in July has an ebook price of $15.99—way below the $24.99 that they used to be. 

 So…about the future. Will tariffs affect publishing? Probably. Maybe not so much in the mystery world, but certainly any books with photos will be much pricier, as a lot of color photo work is done outside the U.S. I don’t know if paper will be in short supply, if printing fluid will be in short supply--driving the prices up…who knows?

 Will AI affect publishing? Without a doubt. A conversation has been under way for quite some time about whether AI content can replace human content. The general agreement is that although AI can come up with book-like content, it is lacking “soul,” for lack of a better word. Is that going to matter to readers? As long as it’s a good story, a lot of readers will be fine with a writing style that seems pedestrian. After all, there are published writers who get badly-written prose published now. Why would that change?

The question is, will writers keep writing? Most certainly. Will they get paid even less for their work? Again, almost certainly. Why would a publisher negotiate fair terms with a mid-list author when they can spew out an “okay” book for a few bucks and sell it for the same price as usual? 

 How to fix that? Writers’ unions? Writers’ collectives that publish the non-AI content of their members? You already see writers making a little extra money on subscriptions, or publishing their own books. This doesn’t seem like a sustainable model as more writers try to crowd in on that bandwagon. 

 I wish I had a more sanguine view of the publishing world, but I’m worried—not so much for me, as for authors who are just starting out. The good news is that good books are still being published, writers are still plugging away, people are still reading. I guess until techies come up with a way to zap a book into readers’ brains without actually having to read it we have a little more time in our brave old world of writing and publishing.

And now for a bit of that old-fashioned blatant self-promotion:

Out July 2 and available for per-order at your local bookstore or https://tinyurl.com/38acauwt

"...a must-read thriller." Booklist

Predictions from a Cloudy Crystal Ball - By Matthew Greene

Looking into your crystal ball, what's the writing business going to look like 5 years from now? Do you think it's going to be more or less the same, or will AI and other technology trends transform it dramatically - if so, how?

Before the rise of AI, I think I would have been a little more confident about making predictions five years into the future. But things seem to be moving so quickly, changing so dramatically, that it's hard to imagine what may come next. Every day, it seems, I read another headline about how this new technology is fundamentally changing the way our world works. Sure, most of these are click bait, rage bait, or some other kind of bait…but it’s tough to keep up with everything I’m supposed to worry about.

I say all this to set expectations about my fortune telling prowess—it’s harder than ever to foresee what’s coming down the pike. (I almost didn’t use an em dash in that last sentence, since ChatGPT seems particularly fond of them. But I refuse to let the robots co-opt my favorite punctuation mark!) However, a little speculation never hurt anybody. And I’d be delighted to be wrong about some of these predictions. So, here goes…

1.    THE RISE OF AI SLOP WILL EBB AND FLOW IN THE PUBLISHING WORLD, BUT NEVER REALLY DISAPPEAR. We’re already seeing content being generated by large language models that is a sad, sorry approximation of genre fiction. It’s downright criminal that this stuff is a bastardization of stolen work being passed off as original “content,” but I take comfort in the fact that people are already getting pretty good at sniffing it out. As long as there’s an easy buck to be made, AI-generated books will probably stick around (all the more reason to elect leaders who will push to regulate this technology!), but I don’t think this is reason to despair. It’s a call to action to create unique stories that only you can tell, reflections of a human experience that readers won’t find in synthetic prose. It’s also why I predict that…

2.    PERSONAL CONNECTIONS WITH AUTHORS WILL BECOME MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER. As discerning readers seek out human stories told by human writers, I think they’ll be eager to form more human connections. I predict that authors will need to be more active on social media and at in-person events to help readers put a face to the work they’re reading. This is a tough one for me, since I’d much rather hide behind my words than be seen and heard as their creator. But in an increasingly disconnected and divided world, we’re going to need to commune with readers like never before. Especially in light of my next prediction…

3.    BOOKS WILL BE USED AS AMMUNITION IN THE CULTURE WARS AND AS A LIFESAVING ANTIDOTE TO DIVISIVE, DEHUMANIZING RHETORIC. We’re already seeing the devastating rise of book bans and anti-intellectualism in the USA and beyond. But the more people rail against the written word, the more they’re inadvertently confirming what we book lovers have always believed: literature remains one of the most potent and powerful forces in our world. So, while I hate seeing books about marginalized identities pulled from library shelves and schools, every instance of censorship should be a reminder that these works have the power to change the world. The optimistic part of this prediction is the belief that if we can preserve access to a diverse array of stories, there still may be hope that we can bridge cultural divides and heal an ailing world. It’s why books make dictators so damn nervous.

4.    AS EVERY OTHER ENTERTAINMENT SECTOR CLINGS TO IP ADAPTATIONS, BOOKS WILL BE THE ONLY PLACE PEOPLE CAN TURN FOR TRULY ORIGINAL STORIES. This is another prediction that is only part pessimism. It’s no secret that Hollywood seems allergic to new, exciting ideas. (With a few fabulous exceptions, like Sinners, that prove the rule.) Broadway seems to be following suit, with most “new” shows adapted from pre-existing brands. This makes the book world more important than ever, as the true birthplace of original stories. As people experience franchise fatigue elsewhere, I optimistically predict that audiences will turn over a new leaf (literally!) and get back into the habit of reading. Maybe this will mean more focus on audio and short-form episodic content, but I think we should prepare over the next five years for an influx of readers looking for a break from the same rehashed stories they're getting elsewhere.

I’ll stop there, in the interest of leaving on a hopeful note. It’s easy to wring our hands about the state of affairs in the writing business and beyond, but I do think there’s reason to hope. (And to reclaim the em dash—we deserve it.) We’re entering uncertain times, to be sure, but the power of storytelling has remained a constant throughout history. I know when I’m feeling unmoored or uncertain, I like to curl up with a good book. Here’s hoping many others will do the same!

The Art of Living Well

Business - apart from print and ebooks, what other formats have you explored - such as audio books, foreign translations, film rights? Do you have advice for a newbie writer exploring additional income streams from the same book?

I've traditionally published two books and they are both available in print, e-books, and as audio books. My agent has fielded inquiries from film companies, but as is common, nothing came out of it. I don't sincerely imagine I will ever make a lot of money out of writing. I don't personally know anyone who has - and I know some really successful writers but they all have day jobs. I don't really have much more to add...I'm not a case study of someone who has created a good income stream from writing.

Like everyone, I would love one of my books to be turned into a movie. A few years ago I made a short 7 minute film based on my novel Bay of Fires and entered it in Sydney Tropfest. I filmed THE BONEYARDS using a small home video camera. The location was in the Bay of Fires area on Tasmania’s beautiful east coast: in my parents' old shack, on the beach, at a campground, and in some of the neighbours’ shacks. I cast my sister and husband as love interests, my brother in laws as disgruntled campers, my dad as an accused murderer, mum’s best friend as the local gossip, and my brother as a deranged eccentric. My brother, an aspiring DJ at the time, made some original music for it. I learned that the sound is hard to get right – especially when you’re filming next to the ocean. I spent many pleasurable hours editing it - I really enjoyed the tinkering. It was fun to make, and I thought it was

cool, but I wasn't surprised that it didn't win any prizes in Tropfest. 

Making my own DIY short is probably as close to Hollywood as I will ever get. I admit, if Reese Witherspoon called, I’d pick up the phone. But failing that, I believe what I tell my writing students. 

Publishing deals and film rights are something you can’t control. You must focus on the writing - for your sanity, and for the beauty of the writing process. When famous bands reminisce about the days before they were famous, they often talk about the fun of rehearsing in someone’s parents’ garage, with no pressure, just the joy of making music with your friends. For the writers I know, those who are writing and meeting other writers, attending workshops and talking craft, hanging out in bookshops at author talks, these are our garage days. Don't wish them away by being too caught up in your publishing wish-list. 

 

 

 

Nothing useful, but everything else, by Catriona

Apart from print and e-books, what other formats have you explored—such as audio books, foreign translations, film rights? Do you have advice for a newbie writer exploring additional income streams from the same book?

This is a great question for indie authors - they'll have useful stuff to say. "Explored" isn't really the word for traditionally published authors like me. It's more like I've sat here at my desk, writing, and some of these things have happened out there in the world of publishing. Or nearly happened. So, with apologies that none of this is ever going to help an author with their career . . .

My first audiobook wasn't a download. It wasn't even a CD. They were on cassette! THE BURRY MAN'S DAY was published on 10 cassettes in something the size of a shoebox. Audio has been intermittent since then. Some are; some aren't.

One thing I am happy about is that all my books come out in large print. It's less universally crucial these days, when readers can increase the font size on their e-readers, but for devotees of paper books large print is great. And they're very expensive so I'm always thrilled when I can hand my author copies over to the local public library.

I've had a random handful of foreign translations: one book in German, one in Turkish, one in Korean etc. The German one was interesting because I've got enough knowledge of the langauge to check out what they did with some knotty bits of Scottish culture. The Turkish edition of THE CHILD GARDEN was notable mostly for having the hands-down worst-ever jacket design pitched at my agent and me. It was so hilariously bad I'm sorry we vetoed it: the eventual choice wasn't good and wasn't funny either.

Film rights? Ahhh, the first time the BBC took an option on the Dandy Gilver series (2012) I was convinced that I'd be hitting the Sunday night telly by the end of the year. The renewed BBC option saw me less sure. The third option (STV drama) was nice but I didn't bother announcing it. Now, I treat film options as little bonuses and expect nothing. (She lied. We writers imagine stuff for a living. Of course I imagine what I'll wear to the BAFTAs if my agent tells me a production company has been in touch! (Molly Goddard, btw.))

One other very specialised format I like is the auctioning off of the first draft, complete with coffee mug ringmarks and scribbled notes. I've helped raise money for trans rights, children's literacy and prison libraries by letting my Anne Lammotty first drafts out in public.

Finally, you know you always ask "Is there anything I  can do?" when a loved one is going through hell - cancer treatment, for instance? I love being able to say "Hey, do you want me to send chapters of the new book that no one else has even had a sniff of, including my agent and editor?" I put an entire short story into Fb messenger a couple of weeks back to offer distraction to a sweet soul in crisis. 

You couldn't do that with a film contract, eh?

Cx 

Options by Eric Beetner

  Business - apart from print and ebooks, what other formats have you explored - such as audio books, foreign translations, film rights? Do you have advice for a newbie writer exploring additional income streams from the same book?

I certainly think having your work available in as many format options as possible is a good thing. I know readers who have abandoned print books entirely. I know people who prefer the audio version. I can’t say I have a whole of people in other countries clamoring for my work, but they certainly will never read it without a good translation.

Almost all my books are available in print and ebook format. A few older ones that have been reissued are ebook only as of now, and that is a sticking point with me. As a print reader, I want everything to be available in print. Hardcovers be damned, just so long as I can hold it in my hand.

I love audiobooks. Back when I used to commute to work, I listened to a ton of them. Not so much anymore since my commute these days is from my bedroom to my garage, but I still love a good audiobook and my wife listens to them all the time around the house.

I’ve had very few audio versions of my books and I wish I had more. The recent push for AI narrators makes audiobooks for small press and indie authors much more within reach, budget-wise, but that is a line I will not cross. I may not be able to afford a human narrator out of my own pocket, but I won’t contribute to the eradication of the human narrator profession by exploiting AI, which has been trained on the talents of human readers.

I know a few writers who are friends who are big sellers in France. Lord, I am so jealous. I think being popular in another language is the coolest damn thing. My agent has gone out with my new series to foreign rights, but so far no takers. Perhaps if I get lucky this weekend and win an ITW award, my fortunes will change. But for now, I appear only in English, but this is a major milestone goal for my writing career.

As for film, well, it’s my day job so really writing novels has always been my backdoor way into Hollywood. It’s also pretty much the only way to make any real money as a novelist these days. From the outside, it would seem easier for me since I work in the industry. Not so. I don’t yet have the “right” contacts or influence with studios or networks. I’ve had some interest, carried options on a few of my books, but nothing has made it to the screen yet. This is another major goal of mine that I am actively pursuing.

For a newbie, film is a far-away dream. Focus on print and ebooks. Try to sell audio and foreign right if you can. Don’t fall into the trap of easy promises made by the AI narrator industry. And when you write a great book that people talk about, Hollywood will notice. Be warned that they will notice about 500 other books that same week, but you can’t get plucked from obscurity if you’re not even on that slush pile. So keep writing, keep getting your words out in front of people. Spread you works far and wide, from the digital realm to foreign shores to the silver screen. We’re rooting for you.

Publishing Makes No Sense

Apart from print and e-books, what other formats have you explored—such as audio books, foreign translations, film rights? Do you have advice for a newbie writer exploring additional income streams from the same book?

 

I’m probably the wrong person to ask. To riff on Sergeant Schultz from Hogan’s Heroes: “I know nothing. I see everything. And nothing about this business makes sense.”

E-books? Yes, of course. That’s a given these days.
Audiobooks? Not yet—NO COMMENT.
Foreign translations? Pfft. Let me get readers in English first.
Film rights? Thanks, LMAO. Good one.

So what can I say that’s actually encouraging in a business that defies logic?

I’ll give you this: I know two authors who each sold around 10,000 copies. Not overnight, but steadily. They’re reliable, professional, hardworking, and they show up—at conferences, on panels, in bookstores. Writer Number Two was even asked to revise a WIP and delivered fast.

Both were unceremoniously dropped by their publishers.

One got a “Dear Jane” email that was basically the publishing equivalent of being thrown from a moving car. Neither whined publicly. They dusted themselves off and kept going, because you don’t burn bridges in this industry. You just keep building new ones. What can you control? Not much. But here’s what I’ve learned:

Your cover art matters. We’re visual creatures. Readers judge books by covers, whether we admit it or not. The back cover might entice, the first pages might hook—but it’s the cover that gets the click or the second glance.

Own your rights when you can. When the rights to my Company Files series reverted to me, the first thing I did was rework the covers. Not to throw my previous publisher under the bus (okay, maybe gently nudge them under the tire), but the makeover was overdue.

Focus on your product and your people. Make your book as good as possible, then go meet readers—online, at cons, wherever you can. Nobody knows what will sell, but people respond to connection.

Luck and timing matter more than we like to admit. Walter Mosley made the NYT bestsellers list after President Clinton casually mentioned reading Devil in a Blue Dress. Stephen King once boosted a book’s sales by saying he picked it up while hiding in the bathroom from his wife. (Side note: Tabitha King pulled Carrie out of the fireplace. Give her a medal.)

So yeah—if Stephen wants to duck into a bathroom and find one of my books, great. Just say the title, no praise necessary.

As for film rights? David Morrell’s Rambo spent decades in purgatory, and when it was finally produced, the ending was changed. But thanks to a smart contract lawyer—and back when advances actually meant something—he got paid.

What can I say? 

Do the work. Protect your rights. Stay professional. And keep your expectations realistic.

That, at least, still makes sense.

 

 

Eeny Meeny Miney Moe!

 Apart from print and ebooks, what other formats have you explored - such as audio books, foreign translations, film rights? Do you have advice for a newbie writer exploring additional income streams from the same book?

This is a great question to think about it. Especially since we seem to be living in the time of the entrepreneur. Multi-million-dollar businesses have sprung up all over the internet turning bored housewives into a whole industry. Have you heard of #MOMTOK? Apparently, there is a TOK for everything, even #BOOKTOK groups of readers turned reviewers some of which wield tremendous power that can lift or sink a hopeful author’s dreams.

 

There are so many different avenues to explore to get your book out there, but up until now I’ve only tried ebooks and paperbacks for my indie work. Just a few short years ago, it wasn’t that common for indie writers to have an audiobook. But more and more that is changing. And from what I understand it’s not that difficult. So going forward I would want to include that option. 

My traditionally published books are available in paperback, ebook, and audio book. That was a trip, to hear someone read my words for the first time. Wild. I’ve also done podcasts to support both my traditional and indie books. But by far my favorite format is the in-person book club events. Food, wine, and a chance to get together with other book nerds and discuss characters that you birthed. There’s nothing better than that. 

The next best format for storytelling, in my opinion, would be film. Some writers will say their characters talk to them and tell them their stories, mine play out on a projector in my brain so I’m not writing what I’m hearing I’m writing what I see. I think a large number of writers would be stoked to see their vision on the big screen. So, given my druthers, I choose film as my favorite format. 

But I’d tell a newbie, don’t get left behind. Stay up on the new technologies that will allow stories to be told in many different formats. Make connections with bookish people on TikTok and Instagram, these people cannot be dismissed. Become friends with your local librarian and find some book clubs. All these things can lead to new opportunities. Stay open. Get active in your tribe. The tribe is everything.

Not 27, but 10 - the surprises of a writing life, by Harini Nagendra

Tell us one thing that you didn't anticipate about the writer's life, which surprised you once you became a writer. 

I loved all the responses to this week's question. Taking inspiration from my friend James Ziskin, who came up with 27 things that surprised him - but restricting myself to 10 - here's my list. 

The good 

1. Getting The Bangalore Detectives Club on the New York Times Notable Books list. 

(I was so green, I didn't know there was such a thing - when I saw the excited email from my publisher, I called my agent to ask her why all the fuss - was it such a big deal. She responded with a long-suffering sigh. My agent, whose also an old school friend, has never let me forget this!)

2. Getting shortlisted for the Agatha, Lefty, Anthony and Historical Dagger awards. 

3. Realizing that being on lists and reviews can move sales. Sometimes. 

4. The thrill of seeing my books in public libraries in the US and UK - including the New York Public Library, and the Stratford Public Library. That is one of the biggies.

5. Getting mail from readers - this can absolutely make my day!

6. Diving into historical research, and finding a goldmine (like the story of the Ugliest Dog prize in 1920s Bangalore's Dog, Horse and Pony Show).  

The bad

7. How hard it is to write to a deadline when the day job gets intense, a family member falls sick or there's a crisis at home. 

8. Reading mean comments from reviewers. I don't mind negative reviews - I've learnt a lot from some readers who pointed out important mistakes. But the mean ones - ouch. I think there's enough unkindness in the world as it is. I'm sure we can all find a way to point out room for improvement, while also being kind. Or if that's too much to ask for, at least without being cruel. 

9. Writing half of the book, and then realizing that I've backed myself into a corner. I didn't anticipate how stressful this would be, yet each time it's the same thing!

The Ugly.

10. ..... (no ugly so far)

I consider myself very fortunate. So far, more Good; less Bad; no Ugly. 

I'm still writing (book 5 in the series now) and readers are still reading. What more can I ask for? I'm very grateful. 

   

   

Twenty-Seven Writerly Surprises from James W. Ziskin

Tell us one thing that you didn't anticipate about the writer's life, which surprised you once you became a writer. 

I decided to be a bad boy this week and answer this question with twenty-seven things that surprised me instead of just one.

In no particular order, here they are:

I was surprised by…

1. How vicious some readers are when reviewing books.
2. How hard it is to sell books.
3. How generous and welcoming most writers are.
4. How great it feels to find your book in the wild.
5. How quickly I change the subject when someone compliments my book. (Never thought I’d do that.)
6. How getting published didn’t make my life a perfect dream.
7. How long it takes for your book to come out.
8. How quickly your book disappears from the shelves after it comes out.
9. How quickly you’re forgotten when you don’t have a book or story out each year.
10. How exhilarating writers conferences are.
11. How tiring writers conferences are.
12. How much I hate wearing ties.
13. How good it feels to think of myself as a writer.
14. How fun/sad it is to say, “I sell TENS of books!”
15. How lucky I am to have an agent.
16. How people never thought to hoist me on their shoulders and parade me around the room when each of my books came out.
17. How inaccurate royalty statements are and how unwilling I am to try to sort them out.
18. How only a handful of readers noticed that a pug named Little Leon magically appears in every one of my Ellie Stone novels.
19. How good AI is at writing vaguely worded reviews/summaries that could apply to almost any work of fiction or non-fiction, but people are impressed just the same—even though it’s not saying anything specific or of substance—simply because everything is spelled and punctuated correctly and it “sounds” smart. 
    
    
    
20. How bad AI is at writing fiction.
21. How hopeful I am for the future of humanoid writers.
22. How hard it is to spell “parsley.” 
23. How many writers hate prologues.
24. How many writers hate semicolons.
25. How many writers hate nazis (yay!).
26. How anyone could have thought my books and stories were worth publishing.
27. How lucky I am that someone did.

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