Writing Novels Using The Circus Method

In several reviews of The Soulkeepers, readers have mentioned the intricacy of the plot and how the characters develop as the fictional world unfolds.  I've had a couple of writers email me and tell me that they changed the way they looked at their own story after reading my book.  So, I thought I would share how I develop a story with you.

I call my method The Circus Method. Everyone has heard of the three ring circus, right?  Well, my writing has three rings or, in other words, a  minimum of three story arcs.  These are stories within the story.  You could call them sub-plots, too, if you prefer.

Inside the first ring is an intrapersonal story arc.  It deals with how my main character is changing on the inside.  The second ring is an interpersonal arc, about how my main character deals with the other people in his or her life, like family and close friends.  The last ring is the public arc.  This has to do with how my character reacts to an external event that is bigger than any one person or group of people.  The rings alternate under the spotlight, so the reader gets a small taste of only one story at a time.  The story starts with the inciting event, which takes place in one of these rings but will drive the activity in all of them until the end of the story.

Most great stories have these elements.  If you look at The Hunger Games for example, Katniss is struggling internally with growing up, while balancing her relationships with Gale and Peeta, and at the same time facing off against the games themselves which are beyond all of their control.  I bet you could define any of your favorite works through this method.

But, coming up with your three rings is the easy part.  The trick is to write more like Cirque Du Soleil than like your everyday circus.  If you've ever seen a Cirque show,  you know that wherever you look in the theatre something is happening.   You may be watching an acrobatic act but the actor from scene one is singing opera to your left and a contortionist is hanging from a trapeze above you and to your right.

The same happens in great writing.  The character's intrapersonal turmoil must jump into the ring with his interpersonal conflicts and the greater public threat must in some way circle back and be meaningful to the main character in a way that goes beyond coincidental.

If you can do all of these things, and still describe the pattern of the tent upholstery, the smell of popcorn and animal dung, and the sound of the next act waiting in the wings, you will have written a story worth reading.

Good luck with your writing.  I hope you've enjoyed touring my literary circus.  Don't step in the elephant dung!

John Locke Pricing Experiment: Wrap Up

The end of my test week is here and I've changed the price of The Soulkeepers back to $2.99.  I have to admit, it was tempting to leave the 99 cent price tag as it is easier to sell copies, for sure.  But in the end I did lose revenue and with book two in the series coming out in the fall, it's a little early to discount it permanently.  Here's a wrap up of the results.

• Once I dropped the price on Nook copies as well as Kindle copies, my sales further increased to about 4.5 times there usual rate.  Still short of the six I needed to make up the difference in royalties but significant sales growth.
• My Amazon rank also improved significantly from approximately 80,000 to a high of 10,000 but it's back in the 30,000s today as the initial spike of 99 cent buyers leveled out.  
• I am certain that I reached new readers with the price change, both because I sold more in the UK than usual and had some new reviews from people who purchased at the new price, but also the "customers also purchased" section changed significantly.  There are more adult books in the mix.  So that price point may have enticed certain readers out of their usual genre.

The ultimate takeaway? The 99 cent price point is a powerful tool to expand market penetration when used in combination with targeted promotional efforts.  It isn't a magic bullet and those who are succeeding at this price point are doing so for more reasons than price.  It's true, 99 cents might get your foot in the door with some readers but you probably won't make more revenue than you would at $2.99 unless you also increase promotion concurrently.  Plus, the free-99 cent readers are a different group of customers than the $2.99-$4.99 readers.  So, shifting your price around is probably better than remaining static for the simple reason of reaching a varying audience.


I hope this information is helpful to you.  Write-on fellow indies!

Marketing Your Masterpiece

Every business major knows the four P's of marketing: Product, Price, Placement and Promotion, but how do they apply to your profitable indie novel? I say profitable because I've seen self-pubs sell a lot of books but make no money.  I've also seen them pay so much upfront for premium services that they are never able to earn it back in sales.  At So, Write, all of my articles are based on helping you reign in your break-even point because once your novel is making you money, you'll have a better idea of where you should invest those profits to extend your reach.

Lets face it, when it comes to paperbacks, legacy publishing has the advantage on price, placement and probably promotion too.  There's just something about seeing a book in a bookstore that is enticing to shoppers.  Plus the higher costs associated with indie paperbacks and shipping costs are a deterrent for some buyers.  But indies have plenty of control over all of these marketing elements in the ebook universe.

Product:  You have to write a brilliant book.  Even at 99 cents, poor writing and/or storytelling doesn't sell (or won't sell for long).  To get your book in the best possible shape, I recommend having it read by a minimum of three different people. You can pay people to do this for you but it will cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars. A much better idea is to find other writers you trust to swap manuscripts with.  The first person, treat as a developmental editor.  You want this person to tell you if there are flaws in your character or plot development, as well as the overall arc of your story.  When you get their feedback, make all of the changes necessary before sending it to your second person.  The second person is your copy-editor.  Tell them you want a strict, line-item look at punctuation, spelling, grammar, etc. When you get back that feedback, make all of the changes you agree with.  Then read through the entire manuscript yourself one more time before sending it to person three.  This third person is your proof-reader.  They should be able to read through your entire manuscript without noticing many errors at all. They are your last line of defense against typos and missing words.  Many writers have beta readers read their novel at the same time, but this isn't as effective because when you make needed changes, those changes won't be edited again, and may introduce new errors into the work. 

Your cover and formatting is also part of your product.  You want a cover that looks professional without costing so much that it impacts your ability to become profitable in a reasonable amount of time. Createspace advertises illustrated cover art for $1500.  I pity the Indie that starts life in that hole-o-debt.  It shouldn't be too difficult to find a professional graphic designer to do the ebook and paperback covers for you for around $200, if you do your homework. And as for formatting, the going rate is around $75. But you can do it yourself if you give it some time. Would you rather spend $75 on something you can do yourself or on promoting your book once it's published?

Price:  More than any other factor, indies have the advantage when it comes to pricing below their legacy competition. I agree with the overwhelming opinion that $2.99-4.99 is the optimal price for new authors.  Pricing above this dissuades buyers from taking a chance on a new author where pricing too low off the bat, gives the impression that a book is of inferior quality.  I've never understood those indies that choose to charge $8.99 and up for their ebooks. I think, in theory, this price point is an attempt to camouflage a self-pub as a traditionally published work but I think it undercuts the one real advantage indies have and ultimately limits the number of copies sold and overall revenue.

Placement:  Placement refers to sales channel.  In the ebook world, I think having your book available on Smashwords, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble will cover you.  If you've taken care of product, it is difficult for a customer to tell a traditionally published book from a self-published one in this placement. 

Promotion: More than any other element, I see unscrupulous people try to take advantage of self-pubs in this area.  Certain review agencies will review your book for a phenomenal price but then the results of your review are not mixed in with the traditionally published reviews but rather listed separately...where the majority of reader traffic doesn't go. I fail to see the benefit of paying for a professional review that isn't treated equally to the legacy competition.

Personally, I think grassroots promotion is an indie's best bet in the beginning.  The trifecta of Facebook, blog, and twitter accounts are essential. Giveaways, interviews, guest posts, and book blogger reviews, are all inexpensive ways to get your book in front of a progressively larger audience.  I'm sure paid advertising works for some people but, in my opinion, word of mouth and personal selling are just as effective and again promote quick profitability when you are first starting out.

What's your opinion of the four P's for indies?  If you have a book published, did you consider your break-even point before you launched? How important is it to you to have a profitable novel and how do you balance this with promotional opportunities?