Q&A with bestselling novelist Barry Eisler: Why he turned down $500,000 to self-publish

If you haven’t heard of best-selling thriller novelist Barry Eisler, it’s time you did. A former CIA agent and technology lawyer, Barry is now the best-selling author of the insanely popular John Rain series of thrillers.

In this Q&A, Barry discusses his latest title, “The Detachment,” life as a writer, and the three reasons he turned down a $500,000 advance from a major publisher to self-publish.

MANY OF US HAVE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO THE RELEASE OF “THE HIGHLIGHT”. CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT HIM?

“The Detachment” marks the return of my half-Japanese, half-American assassin John Rain, who took some time off to try to put his life back together after the sixth book in the Rain series, “Requiem For An Assassin.”

His on-and-off romance with Mossad agent Delilah didn’t end happily (find more in my short story, “Paris Is A Bitch”), and in The Detachment, he finds himself on the wrong side of an attempted American coup d’état, against ongoing terrorist attacks, presidential strike teams, and a national security state as obsessed with protecting its own secrets as it is with invading the public’s privacy.

WHAT ASPECTS OF “THE HIGHLIGHT” ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?

Well, it was great to bring together the two universes of the series that I’ve created: the one from the Rain books and the one from black ops soldier Ben Treven, whom readers met in “Fault Line” and “Inside Out.” Bringing Rain, Dox, Treven, and Larison together and forcing them to harness their alpha male and lone wolf instincts to survive the forces arrayed against them was great.

Proudest goal? Probably the realism and timeliness of the backstory and plot.

Since the end of the Cold War, there has been a lot of discussion about whether the thriller, at least the contemporary version, is still a viable form. Despite then-Director of Central Intelligence James Woolsey’s warning that “We have slain a mighty dragon, but now we find ourselves in a jungle full of serpents,” villains seemed in short supply during the “peace dividend” years. ” of the Clinton administration. Nine Eleven and al Qaeda’s explosion into popular consciousness, of course, changed all that, and Islamic fundamentalism provided a new treasure trove of contemporary villains and storylines.

For thrillers interested in realism, however, the familiar “Islamic terrorist villain” plot has a serious deficiency: terrorism, of any kind, poses far less danger to America than America’s own overreaction. United against the fear of terrorism. To put it another way, the United States has a significantly greater capacity for national suicide than any non-state actor for national murder. Thus, if thrillers are based on large-scale dangers, and if a thriller novelist wants to convincingly portray the greatest possible dangers, the novelist has to deal not so much with the possibility of a terrorist attack as with the reality. of the massive, unaccountable national security state that has metastasized in response to that possibility.

This is, of course, challenging, because unaccountable bureaucracies – what Hannah Arendt called “no man’s government” – make villains less obvious than lonely, bearded zealots seeking to destroy the Great Satan, etc. , etc. The trick, I think, is to create an antagonist who is part of the ruling power structure but who also holds an outsider’s perspective, who embodies and animates an entity that, however destructive and oppressive, is itself too big. and cumbersome to be really sensitive. This is Colonel Horton, probably the most ambiguous villain I’ve ever created (and therefore probably the most compelling).

And so, The Detachment: a small team of lone wolves, deniable irregulars, each with ambiguous motives and conflicting loyalties, pitted against the relentless, omnipresent, and overwhelming force of a crazed American national security state. It’s real, it’s timely, and it’s based on an eerily possible premise, and I’m exceptionally proud of that.

WHEN WE LAST TALKED, YOU SAID THAT IT TAKEN YOU 4-5 MONTHS TO COMPLETE THE FIRST DRAFT OF A NOVEL. OVER THE YEARS, HAS YOUR WRITING PROCESS CHANGED?

Not much. Still about a month or two of thinking things through followed by about four months of feverish writing. Everything, unfortunately, with many interruptions, but somehow everything is done.

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO GIVE UP THE $500,000 ADVANCE YOU WERE OFFERED TO INSTEAD OF GOING ON YOUR OWN AND SELF-PUBLISHING?

The first reason is the digital divide. A legacy publisher offers authors 17.5% of the retail price of a digital title; a self-published author keeps 70%. That’s a lot of volume for the legacy publisher to move to make up the shortfall, and I decided that, in time, I could move enough on my own to get by.

The second reason, although I assumed it’s actually so separate from the first, is control over price and time. The current business imperative for legacy publishing is to preserve the position of paper and retard the growth of digital.

Legacy publishers try to achieve this goal by overcharging for paper books and enslaving the digital release to paper. I think my ideal price per unit (the price per unit that, multiplied by volume, results in maximum revenue) is around five dollars, and legacy publishers won’t price new digital titles that low (in fact , went to war with Amazon over Amazon’s $9.99 price, which they felt was too low).

I also want to release the digital version as soon as it’s ready and the paper version afterwards because a paper book takes longer to get to market (you have to glue it, ship it, etc.) and legacy publishers insist on delaying the digital version until that the paper version is ready. That costs me money, because until my books are available for sale, they don’t make anything.

Anyway, in short, my second reason was that my philosophy on price and time is antithetical to the price and time philosophy of the legacy publishers, and theirs to mine.

A third reason, by the way, was control over packaging decisions. I’ve lost too many sales to lazy, ill-conceived covers, and I’d rather be in charge of such matters.

AS FOR SELF-PUBLISHING, WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL SEPARATE TRULY TALENTED AUTHORS WITH NOVELS THAT HAVE LEGITIMATE COMMERCIAL APPEAL FROM THE REST OF THE PACK?

Hard work and luck, as always.

WHEN I LAST TALKED TO YOU, YOU DID NOT MEET A WRITING SCHEDULE. STILL NO WRITING SCHEDULE?

I’m still trying to find one! So many interruptions. But I think digital will be good for me. I’ve written two stories (“The Lost Coast” and “Paris Is a Bitch”) and they’re selling well, and the instant gratification I get from writing a story and making it available the same day it’s made is a huge incentive to avoid distractions.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO WHEN YOU ARE NOT RESEARCHING, WRITING OR PROMOTING?

I write about politics and language on my syndicated blog, Heart of the Matter, and I work out and, when I’m really lucky, I can take a leisurely walk at night.

And there’s nothing like a good book and a good single malt scotch whisky.

DESCRIBE YOUR WRITING ENVIRONMENT.

A quiet office, good lighting, 24-inch Mac monitor, and awfully comfy sweatpants and t-shirt. Usually with green tea; as the deadline approaches, with a cup of coffee.

DESCRIBE A TYPICAL NIGHT IN THE LIFE OF BARRY EISLER.

Ha. You are looking at one right now.

A TYPICAL WEEKEND?

Not so different, unfortunately. I work too much.

JUST FINISHED “HOW I SOLD A MILLION E-BOOKS IN 5 MONTHS” BY JOHN LOCKE. IT SEEMS THAT YOU SPEND A GREAT AMOUNT OF TIME ON SOCIAL MEDIA. ESPECIALLY ON TWITTER. IN YOUR EXPERIENCE OF IT, HOW IMPORTANT IS USING SOCIAL MEDIA TO SELL BOOKS AND HOW DO YOU AVOID EXCESS TIME YOURSELF? OR YOU?

I’m not sure about stopping. Everyone has to answer this for themselves because the answer will depend on how much you like or dislike social media and what you’re trying to get out of it.

For business purposes, I think a strong online presence is important. I can see that just by how high my story sales increase when I post them on Facebook, Twitter, and my blog.

ANY OTHER WORD OF ADVICE ON SOCIAL MEDIA?

The main thing is to use social networks to build relationships, not to sell books. If you offer value to people (entertainment, information), you will build relationships and sales will follow naturally. If you just try to sell, people will run away screaming in horror.

But I think digital desktop publishing has changed the value of an author’s time to rewrite. I believe that the best marketing use of an author’s time lies in writing more stories. It’s not that social media and advertising aren’t helpful; they certainly are. But nothing is as effective in selling a book as writing and publishing a new one.

HOW DO YOU DEFINE SUCCESS?

Find a way to get people to pay you to do what you would pay to do.

IS IT TOO EARLY TO ASK WHAT FANS CAN EXPECT NEXT?

Next up is a Dox short story, a Delilah short story, and probably a Rain prequel novel. Much to look forward to.

Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *