Seize Opportunity

   

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

I encourage every writer to be looking for opportunity. When it happens, seize it. It’s important to take immediate action and not delay and forget about what you intended to do. In this article, I want to give some specifics about how to seize opportunity and some actions that I took and also learn about others. In the past, I’ve mentioned I’m a fan of bestselling author Daniel Silva. He writes one novel a year then goes on book tour. His new book, A Death in Cornwall, released on Tuesday, July 9th and in his newsletter, he announced his national book tour. 

When I checked the dates, I learned he would be at the Norma Hertzog Community Center in Costa Mesa or a few miles from where I live in Orange County. I put the event on my calendar and made plans to attend. My last opportunity attend one of Daniel Silva’s events was in 2010 when I lived in Scottsdale, Arizona and saw him at the Poisoned Pen bookstore. From this event, I knew the Costa Mesa event would draw many people.

I arrived about two hours before the start of the event. When I arrived, there was already a short line and I learned the doors would not open for an hour and a half. As a fan, I had pre-ordered my copy and received it in the mail. I also brought the previous novel and I planned to purchase another copy of the book for a friend.  My two books were already signed--and I will tell about this detail later in this article.

While standing in the line, I met another author and his wife. From our conversation, we exchanged business cards. Almost always I have a business card to be prepared for any opportunity. Later that evening when I looked at his card, it had his phone number but was missing his email address. From his author website, I tracked down his email and reached out to him. The most difficult aspect to proofread and check on our material is something not there. I encourage every author to take a look at your business card and make sure your business card has complete information: name, email, phone and mailing address. It’s an important detail if you want to connect and have opportunity.

As I walked into the event, a librarian handed each person a copy of A Death in Cornwall which is a $32 hardcover. In my years of attending author events, I had never been to one where everyone received a complimentary copy of the book. I estimate about 1,000 people attended this event. When I asked the librarian about it, she said they raised the funds through a foundation to give away the books. Journalist Jamie Gangel, Daniel Silva’s wife, moderated the event and her voice is on this Facebook reel of everyone holding their book.

For about 45 minutes, Jamie Gangel interviewed her husband. She asked her questions but also drew submitted questions from the audience. I learned a number of things about his writing pattern and work. He’s produced 27 novels and A Death in Cornwall is his 24th Gabriel Allon novel. Each of these novels have been on the bestseller list. Routinely these books are at the top of those bestseller lists. A few days ago, Silva announced his book is the #1 hardcover on the New York Times fiction bestseller list. 

To write about a 400+ page riveting novel, Daniel begins his writing on Labor Day each year and writes seven days a week often 12-14 hours a day. If he has something going on that he has to do outside of his office, he will get up at 3 am or 4 am to make sure he writes his required pages during that day. Some in the audience gasped at the notion of working seven days a week. 

This week I heard Darren Hardy for Success magazine interview music hitman David Foster. During the interview Foster said, “If I’m not working on Saturday, someone else is.” Then he said, “People who don’t work on the weekends don't like their jobs.I’m not working. I’m living.” I identified with Foster and Silva because of my work pattern which is living and not working. 

Silva has some interesting writing habits. He writes using a particular pencil which is sharpened a particular way. He writes on a particular type of legal pad laying his stomach on the floor of his office. He also needs quiet in his home to concentrate. Every author has to find their particular optimum pattern is what I learned again from listening to Silva.

How did I already have a signed copy of his novels in my briefcase while I had not seen in person in over 14 years? I read his newsletter and each year I pre-order a signed copy of the forthcoming novel. For example, this year I pre-ordered my signed copy on April 3rd and the book didn’t release and ship until early July.

Daniel Silva told each year, he spends a full week of time signing thousands of tip-ins or a single page. He returns these pages to the publisher and they are bound into the book. While Daniel signed my books, I asked about the tip-ins. He doesn’t like them and how they make the book feel and appear. He would prefer to go to the warehouse and sign the actual books. His publisher wants Silva to sign these pages so he spends the time, signs and returns the pages. My conversation with him reminded me that there are many aspects of my work that I don’t love but in spite of that feeling, I do it regardless. It’s part of living and not working--and doing whatever task needs to be done for the work. 

What opportunities are coming across your desk or computer screen this week? What steps are you going to take to seize them and weave them into your writing life? Let me know in the comments below. 

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Reading Habits

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Whether we are conscious of it or not, we are creatures of habit. It is certainly true in my life in publishing. Since a small child, I have loved reading books. Yes I have a reading habit and I encourage every writer to read in many different areas and styles of books.

 

In my case, most of what I read is nonfiction. It seems natural because I've written over 60 nonfiction books. I listen to audiobook—all nonfiction.  I do most of my reading in a comfortable leather chair in my office. I have a once-a-year indulgence (which I wrote about several years ago) reading the current Daniel Silva book. The latest book, The Cellist launched last week and is the 21 Gabriel Allon book. In early May, I ordered my signed copy (still available as of this writing follow the link)  because I receive his email newsletter and knew it was available. The signed copy costs exactly the same as the regular book but includes a page called a tip-in. On a Facebook Live, I heard Silva say it took him several days to sign all these pages and return them to his publisher for the printing process. 

 

Each of these sales are pre-sales and count toward the sales of the first week of release. Daniel Silva made several television appearances like on The Today Show plus a Facebook Live interview. The Cellist will be the #1 fiction book on the New York Times bestseller list this week.

 

In my office bookshelf, I have a number of signed Daniel Silva books but only one of them was actually signed with my name on it: The Rembrandt Affair. For the release of that book, I lived in Scottsdale, Arizona and attended a signing at the Poisionous Pen Bookstore and Daniel Silva spoke and signed books. Before the pandemic, he regularly traveled to various key cities when his book releases. Hopefully this pattern will return in future years but this year he handled the release with virtual events and still landed on the bestseller list (which shows his strong fan base—including me). 

 

From listening to different author interviews, I learned Silva's parents were schoolteachers and reading has always been a part of his life and habits as well. He loves The Great Gatsby and said that 1984 by George Orwell was his favorite novel.  I enjoyed the Facebook Live interview and learning his writing routine on a legal pad with a pencil on his office floor. Plus he is already working on the next novel with about 65 pages in the works on that book.

 

I'm currently reading The Cellist. I love the storytelling and find it a page turner (hard to stop reading). I often do this sort of reading in the evenings. What are your reading habits? Do you have a particular type of book you read? Where do you read? Let me know in the comments below.

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Four Reasons I Write at a Keyboard

 

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

 

Some of writers prefer to begin writing on a legal pad with a pen. They believe there is something important for them in this process. I'm a fan of novelist Daniel Silva and I've heard him say he writes his novels on a yellow pad with a certain type of pencil. Each of us need to experiment and figure out the best way for us to write.

 

As a young journalist with some steep deadlines (in an hour or two for the newspaper), I learned the skill of composing at the keyboard on my typewriter. There wasn't time to write something longhand or dally around with the wording of something. Instead you had to create the outline for the story in your head, then put your fingers on the keys and move. As I look back, I learned a valuable writing skill that I've been using for many years. I learned to type taking a summer school course—and did not do well. I recall getting a C for that class (probably a lack of applying myself) yet this skill is something I've used daily for decades.

 

While I understand the writers who begin with a legal pad, for me, I use a keyboard for several reasons.

 

1. Readability. To be honest, my cursive writing is unreadable and I've been printing my writing for years. Sometimes I will handwrite a note that I mail and I have to slow myself down to make the letters readable. When I interview people on the phone or in person, I always record to capture everything) but I also take notes. I don't trust my recorder and countless times have had it not work for often some weird reason. In recent years, I've found those notes growing in difficulty to read so even my printing is pretty unreadable. Writing at the keyboard is much more dependable and something I know I will be able to read later when I turn to it.

 

2. A Faster way to write. I'm a fairly quick typist and have been composing my thoughts on the keyboard for decades. These days I do most of my writing in my office on my desktop computer. Other times I use my laptop computer.  While I've watched friends who text with both thumbs, I am not quick at texting so that is not my method. 

In other entries about The Writing Life, I've mentioned using an AlphaSmart 3000. This old technology runs on three batteries and is a full size keyboard—not connected to the Internet. It holds over 80 pages of text. I've used mine in hotel rooms, outside on my porch and in airplanes (even if the person in front of you puts the seat back you can still type). If you want to try one, I recommend going to Ebay. In general they are inexpensive. I've written many pages on my AlphaSmart and it easily transfers to my regular computer.

 

3. Preserves My Writing. Using a keyboard gives me flexibility in how I use the results.  I can write an email or an article or a chapter in a book or any number of other things. I like the flexibility and possibilities which are open if I have the material in print rather than just my poor printing.

 

4. Helps my organization. It's one of the key skills every writer needs—organization. If you can quickly find something you've created, then you can open it and move it forward in the publication process. Scraps of paper can be lost but if I've used a keyboard for a file, I can save these files and easily access them. The details of how I have these files organized will have to wait for another article.

 

How do you begin the writing process? On paper or on a keyboard? Let me know your method and why in the comments below.

 

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My Once-A-Year Indulgence

Do you have something that you do once a year as a special experience?  I never used to have such an indulgence but it started a few years ago and carries on this year.

For me, it is reading a new book from Daniel Silva. The bestselling thriller writer produces one book a year which releases about this time each year. The former journalist at CNN has written 18 novels. I discovered his books several years ago and slowly read all of them through my public library.

From learning about his books, I became a follower of Daniel Silva’s work. I joined his newsletter list and began to notice his writing and hear his media interviews. While I was living in Arizona, I had the opportunity to meet Silva at the Poisoned Pen which is a well-known independent bookstore in Scottsdale, Arizona.  It was not far from where I was living at the time.  In addition to hearing Silva speak about his work at the bookstore, I purchased a copy of his latest novel at that time, The Rembrandt Affair and he autographed it to me. I was converting from a follower into a fan.

Each year when his new novel releases, Silva travels on a national book tour.  The cities and the bookstores for this tour are not random. Each one records the book sales to the New York Times. Following each book tour, I have watched these new novels climb to the top of the bestseller lists.

I moved away from Arizona but Silva has offered his fans the ability to purchase an autographed copy of his novel during the release week at the same retail price. This service was arranged through Barnes & Noble.com.  For the last couple of years, I’ve ordered this autographed book several months in advance then watched for the release date and the shipping of my book. Yes I’m definitely a devoted fan.  Recently, Silva has expanded from Barnes & Noble and has a list of of places to get signed copies on his website through various independent bookstores.

The autographed book is not personalized to me but the autographed page is the first page of the book. I suspect Silva signs a certain number of these pages in advance from his publisher and in the production process the autographed page is bound into the book. Stickers on the hardcover jacket are added that the book is a “signed first edition.”

The English Spy released last Monday, June 29th and as usual, Silva began his national book tour on the Today Show.  His wife, Jamie Gangel, was a long-time Today Show correspondent (left last year) yet someone else on the show interviews him. This year it was Willie Geist.  My book shipped this past week and arrived on Thursday. I began reading it right away.  Most of the time I do this pleasure reading in the evening but Friday was a “holiday” so I took several hours and read during the day.  I finished my reading late last night.  As I mentioned in this article, I quickly wrote my review for Amazon and Goodreads.

To read a Daniel Silva book is a pure delight for me. His characters are engaging and his storytelling makes for a page-turning experience.  Yes it is a weighty novel, but the hours pass quickly as I’m glued to the pages. Almost as soon as I’ve finished the novel, I’m eager for the publisher to release his next one. The experience is my once-a-year indulgence.

Notice my gradual transformation from follower to fan. It did not happen overnight.  What are you doing with your own writing to convert people from followers to fans? Do you have an electronic newsletter and a regular way to communicate with your audience? Are you engaging with them on a regular basis to encourage them to move from followers to fans?

It is rare to become a bestselling novelist like Daniel Silva. Yet every writer can learn from his example and make daily strides with our writing to build a following and turn them into fans.  If you haven’t read it, I encourage you to get my free ebook, Platform-Building Ideas for Every Author.

Do you have a once-a-year indulgence like my reading of Daniel Silva’s novel? I look forward to hearing about it.