Martin L.J. - WRITE COMPELLING FICTION

Write Compelling Fiction

(or any other type of writing)

Successful Indie Author, Book 4

by

L.J. Martin & Craig Martelle

Successful Indie Author - a series for self-published authors

Successful Indie Author, Book 1 - Become a Successful Indie Author - https://geni.us/BecomeSuccessful

Successful Indie Author, Book 2 - Release Strategies - https://geni.us/ReleaseStrategies

Successful Indie Author, Book 3 - Collaborations - https://geni.us/Collaborations

Copyright 2019 L.J. Martin and Craig Martelle

Original Copyright 2008 & 2014 by L.J. Martin

As it has several times during the thirty years my wife and I have been involved in the publishing business, once again the business itself has made a radical change. And, as always, when things change in a momentous way, those involved have mixed emotions. The evolution of ebooks and reading on digital devices like phones or tablets, and the ease of publishing those ebooks, is not only an evolution but a revolution.

Now anyone can be published and what I wrote in this book a few years ago, as far as getting published, is a totally different subject and has been rewritten so the aspiring writer can find him- or herself with a published book in hand, either in paper or on an ebook reader. However, success, if judged by actual book sales, is another matter altogether.

What hasn't changed is how to write a compelling novel. That's a constant.

This book is dedicated to all those thousands, or maybe millions, whove submitted a novel and had it rejected, then placed it on a garage or closet shelf, where it languished foreverand it was perhaps the best novel of the year. Or could have been, with very little additional work.

And to the thick-skinned who kept submitting, submitting, submitting!

And to those who decided to self-publish via that fantastic new resource, the internet. Amazon, Smashwords, Nook and many other bookselling websites have opened a whole new world to those not only willing to write, but to work at selling their writing. And to those who've tied up with ebook publishers, such as our own Wolfpack Publishing LLC, which is cutting a wide swath in ebook marketing.

Now, onto the meat of things.

Never underestimate the power of fiction.

Prolific author Sir Walter Scott singlehandedly ruined the opal market. Opals were as valuable as diamonds or rubiesuntil Scott wrote about an enchanted opal that caused the death of a fictional heroine. The price of opals dropped by half!

I wrote this volume some eleven years ago, updated once in between, still forever long ago in internet years, and then partnered with science fiction author Craig Martelle to bring this to the next generation of writers through his work with over 32,000 indies via Michael Anderles 20Booksto50k self-published author group. Craig has four books with a traditional publishing house and over 100 that are self-published. He brings a great deal of knowledge regarding the current state of the digital market and how that relates to those authors who are able to manage the complete production and publication process themselves. Authors are small businesses, with all the challenges that come with a logistic train and government regulations along with distributor foibles. Craig has navigated these waters well and is a perennial top 100 Science Fiction author on Amazon, where he leverages their distribution horsepower to his benefit.

See more on L. J. Martin, and his wife, Kat Martin, NYT bestselling romantic suspense author on the Websites below:

www.ljmartin.com

www.katbooks.com

Mike Bray from Wolfpack asked me to talk with Larry about a book on writing fiction. I downloaded Larrys book immediately and read it. There were gems peppered throughout, those things that a good author subconsciously considers. The rest of us have to write with intentionality, reviewing with an editors eye while still telling the story. There was also an opportunity to update the book with the self-publishing speed of the modern internet. An authors world has been transformed by ease of access and the ability to conduct in-depth research without ever leaving the comfort of ones home. It is the new way of doing business. The roles remain the same regarding author, agent, traditional publishing house, acquisition editor, and publisher, but not in the same way. With the mastery of self-publishing, an author can skip the steps regarding an agent and going through an acquisition editor to get a traditional publishing contract. The author also reaps the reward of not having to share profits. The required quality of storytelling remains the same as the readers are discerning and the final arbiter of whether a book is good or not. Thats what were going to focus on in this book.

See more on Craig Martelle, International Bestselling Author on the Website below:

https://craigmartelle.com

This book is written for those who, like me, are neither English majors nor grammariansalthough even those of you who are may glean some good common sense and novelists tricks from it. The devil of the craft of writing fiction is that being an English major has little to do with it.

Grammar is important, but I couldnt put it down is a compliment not gleaned because of perfect grammar. Grammar is only one of the reasons fiction is compellingonly one of the many reasons why that most cherished of compliments comes to you as a fiction writer. Still, you dont want to put off a reader with bad grammaryou dont want to break the readers trance.

I'm a guy who loves to hunt, fish, or carry my cameras outdoors for almost any reason. Like most of you, I've worked hard all my life. I love the West and its history, and I'd have done just fine had I lived a hundred and fifty years ago. As the song says, a country boy will survive. But it would be hard to survive without a good book in handa book that elicits the writers favorite compliment: I couldnt put it down.

I do love a good novel or a beautifully crafted work of nonfiction.

But to be published (conventionally with legacy publishers or self-published), you need more than a love of reading. Be it driving an eighteen wheeler, driving a nail, or doing nails, there are skills to be learned in any profession. For a writer, there are skills to be learned, and there are also tricks that make writing a novel easier to accomplish and much easier to sell. You need to have a compelling story that will cause readers to tell others about your book, or will drive readers to buy your next or other books.