ONE: Don’t publish a book unless I’m damn proud of it.

Number one can be a bitter pill to swallow. Most indies are jostling down the same raging river in a similar rickety, pock-filled canoe. Time is a slippery thing, and most of us are raising families, working full-time jobs, and squeezing in writing time along with all the other responsibilities required of an independent artist/writer. This makes finding the little pockets of time to string together a quality manuscript a true struggle, BUT also makes it a labor of love. That doesn’t even begin to touch on the topic of time vs. money when it comes to little things like editors, alpha and beta readers, and some of those other costly services required to produce a quality product that you can take pride in.

But you know what? At the end of the day, if the cost in time and money is higher for the highest quality story I can produce at my current skillset, then so be it. Never be in a rush to produce a pile of shit. You won’t like it, and neither will your readers.

TWO: Write what I like, not what the market tells everyone is the hot new thing.

Genres are a funny thing that serve several purposes but can be a bit of a pain in the backside for a writer. You MUST consider genre when writing your manuscript to ensure you are crafting something that lives up to the reader’s expectations and hits all the right beats. But the popularity of genres comes and goes. I’m a big fan of writing Action, Thriller, and Urban Fantasy because aside from Sci-Fi, those constitute most of what I have read my entire adult life. But the truth of it is certain genres like Urban Fantasy that I happen to love don’t get nearly as much love as other genres such as Paranormal Romance. But for me, crafting the story isn’t about making the money. Sure, it would be nice, but really, I want to craft something that people want to read and that allows them to emotionally attach to the story and the characters. That’s a tough trick to pull off if the writer themselves don’t care much for the genre they’re writing in and they have read very little of that genre. People badmouth tropes, but certain tropes are simply expectations, and they should and need to exist. If you’re not familiar with the genre, then you’re more likely to piss off readers and break rule number one.

“Never be in a rush to produce a pile of shit.”

— E.A. Kross

THREE: Weave a story that is a fast-paced wild ride for the reader.

I’m starting to notice that these five principles weave into each other. I write for the love and passion of storytelling and bringing something new into our world. I read to escape reality. When I escape reality, I prefer seat-of-the-pants, white-knuckle, oh-shit-handle-grabbing action. So that’s what I write. It’s a funny thing because in manuscript form, most of my stuff is rated at around a 6th or 7th-grade reading level, and that’s on purpose. Aside from making the content easy to read for all, it’s mostly related to sentence structure and word use. Fast pace in a novel doesn’t just rely on building pressure for the protag and forcing them to react to outside stimulus. This wouldn’t work as fast-paced if the sentences were long run-on sentences, and the words were big. So instead, most of my content is structured specifically to read fast, especially when the heat has been turned up in the inferno. Too many novels (IMO) slow down the action in the middle of an action sequence to dumpster dive into the protag’s head so they can explain everything. That’s not super fun or fast-paced. It’s better to keep the sentences short and allow the reader’s eyes to skip down the page and hopefully get kicked, punched, and blasted between the eyes with magic along the way.

FOUR: Don’t sweat the small stuff.

Sometimes you just gotta let the little things go. Not just while writing but also while building your brand and communicating with your audience. It’s a neat trick, letting the small things slide off you like water off a duck’s backside. I’m still a padawan apprentice at the task, but I make certain to remind myself that this is supposed to be fun, and if you’re busy sweating the small details, you’re not producing, and you’re not having fun. Which leads to my fifth and final principle.

FIVE: Make it FUN!

Not just for the reader but for me too. One thing I hear many authors say is when you’re crafting your stories, try to envision your perfect reader. Write for that one reader, not to a mass audience. While I think that is pretty good advice, I do things slightly differently. I write for myself. That is, I write for my 20-something-year-old self. That was the wet-behind-the-ears guy who was first diving into the world of Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Space Drama, Sci-Fi. So many different worlds and characters that guy was discovering. I write for him, and guess what that guy loved above all else. F.U.N. Fun! I mean, what’s the point if we’re not having fun along the way? Like in Book 1 Seeds of Lust of the Sullivan Brothers series, I needed a concept for them to get around Seattle. They had many magical options making the task rather easy but not very fun. So, Rory got his hands on a monster truck/jeep outfitted with more guns than the Alamo. Was it practical? Never. Was it fun? You bet your ass! Fun to write and according to many fun to read.

That’s the end of this diatribe. I hope you enjoyed it, and I sincerely hope that you consider your own five principles of truth, whether that’s as a writer, painter, musician, parent, gardener, teacher, unicorn wrangler, or whatever you’re passionate about.

How about this? Work on your five and hit me up in an email, post on this blog, or catch me on Twitter. Either way, I would love to read about it.