12 Questions With Warren Adler
Warren Adler (
www.warrenadler.com)
has published his 33rd novel,
The Serpent's Bite. He has had a long and
interesting career. Below is an interview with the man who has penned two
million words, had books turned into movies, and had his works translated throughout
the world. He writes for the Huffington Post and is active in the literary community.
By the way, Warren came up with a list of the most evil women in literature and it ran in today's Huffington Post. The lead character in his new novel clearly ranks as one of the most villainous of all time:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/warren-adler/female-villain-literature_b_1900980.html?utm_hp_ref=books#slide=more251889
He shares insights on publishing, writing, and his new book below.
1.
Warren, you have been a part of
the literary scene for nearly half a century. You are one of the elder statesmen for the publishing
industry. Where do you see the book
industry heading?
As I have been predicting ever since I first digitalized all my work more than
a dozen years ago, and as I said when I introduced the SONY reader in 2007, as the
first stand-alone reader at the Las Vegas Electronics Show, the publishing
business will morph massively to cyberspace and considerably shrink the number
of stores selling printed books, all of which has come true. What I did not
foresee was the number of self-published books that would hit the marketplace and
offer hard competition for traditionally published books. What is coming long-term,
in my view, is a massive number of fiction books available on the Net, where it
will be a challenge for any writer of fiction to be discoverable. Even major
stars in fiction will find that they will have to work doubly hard to keep
their brand in the eye of the reading public. Many will eventually lose their
luster. The traditional publishers will not spend the marketing and advertising
money to create new branded authors, although they are hoping, by publishing their
first novels, to test the waters for their future brands. There will be many flash-in-the-pan authors
who will not warrant future investment in their careers. Indeed, authors of
non-genre fiction like myself will be better off investing in their own
branding, especially in today’s marketplace of fading print stores. Being
discoverable as an author will not cut it without finding ways to penetrate the
reading marketplace. This will grow more and more expensive as competition
accelerates. There will be many frustrated novelists with hopes and dreams of
fame and fortune.
2.
You have tried traditional
publishing, Amazon exclusives, and self-publishing. Which method works best?
The publishing method that works best is the one where the marketing is
intense and repetitive. Traditional publishers cannot afford it. Amazon, too,
will hope that their various methods of discoverability will work for its
authors. The joker in the deck of course will be the mystery of “going viral”.
In the end it is always word of mouth that will boost readership. For the
non-genre author who dreams of being the next Hemingway, Faulkner or Fitzgerald,
the stakes are higher than ever. The literary filters that brought their works
to the general public are disappearing and what is taking their place is too
scattershot, too numerous, too diffused. Information is too massive. Opinions do
not have the same power as they had when media and information was limited.
Indeed, the best shot an author might have of being publicized and discovered is
if his novel is adapted to a mega-hit movie. My conclusion is that the only
real hope today for an author is if he takes the reins of his own career and
attempts to find a marketing solution to attract readers. For a totally unknown
author the best outcome will be the satisfaction of becoming a novelist, a
small following among friends and relatives and a hands-on approach with
signings in the locality in which the author lives. Beyond that he or she will
have to trust to luck and the prospect of spending a great deal of money for
marketing.
3.
There are tens of thousands of
books published weekly in America. What does one need to do to stick out and get
discovered? They
need to do exactly what I am doing: Banging the drum as loud as I can. It is hard for today’s author to get heard and
discovered amid enormous competition, less shelf space, short promotional span, and
an avalanche of competition on the internet.
I am setting the standard for such an approach but the outlay of money
will do nothing unless there is a substantial backlist that might benefit the
author. In my case the overspending on The
Serpent’s Bite is designed to attract readers to my 32-book backlist.
Nevertheless I trust to luck that the book will find its audience. In my
opinion, it will be the harbinger example of what’s to come in establishing the
non-genre writer’s career.
But
discoverability is merely the opening gun. If word of mouth does not kick in
all the promotion in the world will make no difference. Also, when you talk of
50,000 books, you are generalizing. Non-genre fiction is between a quarter and
a third of all books on the Net. I write non-genre fiction, which further
reduces the fiction numbers. Genre writers have the advantage especially if
they are “factory” books, meaning books turned out by Patterson, Cussler and
numerous romance novelists. These writers don’t write their own books anymore.
They supervise their branded names and make enormous sums of money. Romance
fiction is churned out by thousands of writers and follow strict formulas based
on the needs and preferences of their readers. Sorry, that is not my goal or my
interest. For me, the joy is in the work, which is everything. If a reader gets
into my mindset and becomes a faithful reader what more can I ask? When all is
said and done the novel is a one-on-one communication system. I have been lucky
as hell making it a career. But then, one must consider that I did suffer
through endless rejections of my work until I was 45 years old, when I was
finally able to interest publishers. I immediately quit my business interests
to concentrate on my writing career exclusively with single-minded devotion.
4.
What advice would you offer a
struggling writer?
I can only give advice to a “real” writer who puts his work above all other
forms of activity. For him or her, the issue is not necessarily making a living
but it is in the artistry, satisfaction and joy of the process. I do not agree
with Samuel Johnson about only writing for money. A real writer writes because
of his artistic need above all.
5.
In the late 1990’s you already
saw how publishing would go digital a decade before the kindle launched. What did you do back then that was unheard
of? Do you see yourself as a pioneer in e-books? Absolutely. I am probably one of
the first non-genre novels in the world who digitized his books. Frankly it was
a no brainer. If the publishing world did not see it coming they were fools and
they are now paying the price. But then they are now owned by conglomerates and
number-crunchers. Reality is just beginning to make them change their business
models. Many will not survive. Nevertheless I do believe that there will always
be a place for the printed book, but its size will eventually be reduced by
three quarters by 2020. In my opinion, too, it will not stop the avalanche of
self-published books unless someone comes up with a business plan that finds a
way to filter out the wheat from the chaff. The problem is that every
self-published writer has hopes and dreams of breaking through and believes his
work is exactly what readers are panting for.
6.
You already have over two million
words in print. How much of writing
comes naturally to you vs. it being a labor? Do you edit much or do you stick with your
first draft? The secret of writing is rewriting. I rewrite constantly, over
and over again until I am reasonably satisfied. I usually can’t tell if I got
it right until I’ve written one hundred pages or so. It is at that point that I
either abandon the book or slog on.
7.
Everyone has hopes and
dreams. In your new book, The Serpent’s Bite, it appears that if
unchecked, one’s ego or lust for success and fame can threaten people and those
around them. Is everyone searching for
their victory, even if at the expense of others? Not everyone. But the thirst for
recognition is a powerful motivator, e.g. Facebook. For many people, the thirst
for the unattainable is a destructive force for human nature. We are now deeply
immersed in a celebrity culture and the uncelebrated yearn for the transient
ego satisfactions of being “known by many” and “celebrated”. On top of the
charts is the person who longs to be a movie star and how this longing and
obsessive pursuit totally destroys one’s moral sense. In the case of the woman
in my book, she will do anything it takes, including the murder of her father
and brother to achieve what she believes is her ultimate goal. She is the
epitome of evil. Another character in the book, the illegal Mexican wrangler,
will also do anything to better his position. These characters illustrate the
dangers of desperation. It is not easy to find the balance required to come to
grips with compromising one’s goals and ambitions and reaching some personal
truce, the so called “philosophic calm.”
8.
The
Serpent’s Bite takes its title as a play on the
famous William Shakespeare quote that was uttered by King Lear: “How sharper
than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child.” Your book reveals two
children who believe they deserve more from a dad who has offered love,
guidance, and millions of dollars. How
hard is it to cut off a child? As a parent, I believe that there is no
greater, more obsessive love than for one’s progeny. As a committed father the
protective role for one’s children is built into the human condition. A child
who grows up without a father is missing a decisive link in his upbringing. A
father who dismisses or ignores his progeny is depriving his offspring of
something profoundly important. It is, of course, a two-way street, as King
Lear and millions of others have discovered. A child who disrespects or
dismisses his parents is also missing out on a profound relationship. I am a
father who would never, under any circumstances abandon his children.
9. Your
new book features one of the most evil female characters in contemporary
literature. Why is she so bad? Like Dorris Lessing’s character
of Ben in The Fifth Child, a bad seed
begins in the womb. Add to that the frustrations of an obsessive need for
celebrity and you have the ultimate mix for evil. I hope that explains the
character and motivation of Courtney Temple.
10. The Serpent’s Bite
deals with the taboo subject of incest.
Though you show the dangers associated with it you also scripted several
erotic sexual scenes that, if you forgot for the moment are between brother and
sister, stimulate the reader, leaving one just as conflicted as the
characters. Do you expect people to be
repulsed or engaged by this? Both. Incest is a recognized and much
publicized aberration. There are numerous novels written with incestuous
characters and thousands of porno sites that offer the subject for erotic stimulants.
In today’s world few things are taboo. Google “incest” or “novels about incest”
to see what I mean. But of all the taboos incest is still looked upon as the
worst of all, hence my use of it to illustrate Courtney’s evil character. In my
opinion it is not only legitimate to discuss but it is probably widely
practiced. In the context of my novel it is just one manifestation of
Courtney’s dysfunction.
11. Your
newest book also deals with the blind pursuit of stardom and the perils of
celebrity, as well as issues of covering up secret lives and one’s moral
boundaries. How do you take all that is
swirling around in your head and funnel it into a fast-paced, adventure novel
that explores the depths of the soulless? I wish I
knew the answer to that but I am happy to be able to keep the reader’s
interest. My style is honed from long years of writing stories. I am a fast
writer, having been a newspaperman used to deadlines. In writing novels, I,
too, am anxious to know what happens next. I can’t wait to find out. I never
know how my books will end. If I knew
that, I probably wouldn’t write them. Another thing that is difficult for
people to understand is that once a novelist creates a character, the character
begins to work out his own destiny.
12. If
nothing else, does The Serpent’s Bite,
War of the Roses, and your other books have the reader feeling
better about their lives as a result of seeing these reckless, violent, and
angry characters play out lives of destruction and division? Yes, people see them as
cautionary tales. I cannot tell you how many people have come up to me to say
that The War of the Roses changed
their lives by informing people it is better to compromise about material
things in a divorce than let it get out of hand.
Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this
blog are his alone and not that of his employer, Media Connect (www.media-connect.com), the nation’s
largest book promoter. Warren Adler, please note, is a client of Media Connect.
You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the
third-person.
