Your backstage pass to the world’s most prolific authors

JD Barker
Christine Daigle
Kevin Tumlinson
Jena Brown

What does it take to succeed as a writer? Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Kevin Tumlinson and Jena Brown as they pull back the curtain and gain rare insight from the household names found on bookshelves worldwide.

Want to ask your favorite author a question? Click here!

Writing an Extended Series with C.J. Box

With twenty-one Joe Pickett books under his belt, New York Times bestseller C.J. Box knows how to write an extended series. By maintaining previous worlds and characters that fans love, creating new and innovative storylines, and gaining exposure through advertisements and book tours, he keeps readers coming back for every book. C.J. is the #1 bestseller of more than thirty novels, including two wildly successful series, Joe Pickett and Cassie Dewell, the latter of which was adapted into “Big Sky” by David E. Kelley. To order his most recent publication, Dark Sky, follow the link below.

From Amazon.com:

C. J. Box is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over twenty-two novels including the Joe Pickett series. He won the Edgar Alan Poe Award for Best Novel (Blue Heaven, 2009) as well as the Anthony Award, Prix Calibre 38 (France), the Macavity Award, the Gumshoe Award, the Barry Award (twice), the Western Heritage Award for Literature, and 2017 Spur Award for Best Contemporary Western. The novels have been translated into 27 languages. Open Season, Blue Heaven, Nowhere To Run, and The Highway have been optioned for film and television. Millions of copies of his novels have been sold in the U.S. alone.

Whether you’re traditionally published or indie, writing a good book is only the first step in becoming a successful author. The days of just turning a manuscript into your editor and walking away are gone. If you want to succeed in today’s publishing world, you need to understand every aspect of the business – editing, formatting, marketing, contracts. It all starts with a good book, then the real work begins.

Join international bestselling author J.D. Barker and indie powerhouses, J. Thorn and Zach Bohannon, as they gain unique insight and valuable advice from the most prolific and accomplished authors in the business.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

  • What to do if you’re stuck in rural Wyoming
  • What not to post on social media
  • The pros and cons of writing a series vs. a standalone
  • The importance of background research
  • Why you shouldn’t write for TV/film
  • What Stephen King said about “Big Sky”

Links:

J. D. Barker – http://jdbarker.com/

J. Thorn – https://theauthorlife.com/

Zach Bohannon – https://zachbohannon.com/

C.J. Box – https://www.cjbox.net/

Dark Sky https://mybook.to/DarkSky

“Big Sky” https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11794642/

Story Rubric – http://storyrubric.com  

Nonfict Rubric – http://nonficrubric.com  

The Career Author Summit 2021 – https://thecareerauthor.com/summit2021/ 

Proudly sponsored by Kobo Writing Life – https://kobowritinglife.com/

Music by Nicorus – https://cctrax.com/nicorus/dust-to-dust-ep 

Voice Over by Rick Ganley – http://www.nhpr.com and recorded at Mill Pond Studio – http://www.millpondstudio.com

Contact – https://writersinkpodcast.com/dev/contact/ 

*Full disclosure: Some of the links are affiliate links.

6 Comments

  1. Christopher Wills

    3 years ago  

    Interesting interview today guys.
    The three fingered salute was created by Robert Baden Powell in 1908 in his book ‘Scouting for Boys.’ The three fingers represent the three parts of the scouting promise: Honour God & Country, Help others, Obey the Scouting Law. It could have been independently invented by Suzanne Collins as we only have four fingers, and the one, two and four finger salutes have already been taken.
    Always interested to hear what writers think of TV/film adaptations. Agree with the idea that it’s a great book advert so I don’t care what the TV/film crew do with it.
    Last night lovely wifey Denise and I watched Grace, a TV special based on Peter May books about a cop in Brighton. We have read the book and seen the play which Peter May also wrote based on this story. All three were different based on the same idea – a stag night gone wrong. The groom is buried in a coffin with an air tube, to be dug up a few hours later. But his stag night ‘mates’ die in a van crash. Brilliant idea.
    Great show today.

    1. Zach Bohannon

      3 years ago  

      Wow! Thanks for the history on the three-finger salute! Of course, you’d know that! 🙂

      1. Christopher Wills

        3 years ago  

        I was a cub scout, a boy scout and a venture scout.

    2. J. Thorn

      3 years ago  

      Wow! I had no idea. Thanks, Chris.

    3. Stephen

      3 years ago  

      chris – wow, thanks for bringing that up. When they were talking about the 3 finger salute, I didn’t even think about the Scout salute that I’ve done for years.

  2. Stephen

    3 years ago  

    Zach – thanks for mentioning the weirdness with the ads. I’ve scaled back my ads a lot and I’m also selling more than I was before. I’ve turned off whole ads and diminished the $ spent on many of the other ads – and I’m hitting hired sales for the last 3 months.

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