Adam Said, author of The Flames of Perdition, talks about his approach to writing and his plans for the future.
Why do you write? Is it something you’ve always done, or always wanted to do? Or is it something that you started fairly recently?
I have been writing since my teen years; however I wanted it to take one step further and write a full novel.
Tell me a little about The Flames of Perdition.
It is a Supernatural Fantasy novel with a bit of a double ended twist. I find that the Fantasy genre is becoming a little generic, with the medieval pre industrial settings and now we have a deluge of books featuring Vampires and werewolves. I tried to do something a little different with my novel and decided to set it in the Old West era. The protagonist John Cartwright is a Marshal of a small mining town. Three strangers arrive in town, shortly after which a number of people are killed in mysterious circumstances. While John is trying to hunt down the killer his past quickly catches up with him and he in turn is hunted by a gang of merciless killers bearing an old grudge. His life descends into chaos and he begins to suspect that nothing is quite what it appears to be.
Are there any authors who inspire you?
I am inspired by the likes of Raymond E Feist and Ian Banks. I have read most if not all of their books. Over the past few years I have been reading classical literature and authors such as Charles Dickens William Faulkner, and Herman Melville have had a profound influence upon my style of writing.
How do you write? Do you make yourself write a certain number of words per day?
I set myself a goal of writing at least 1000 words per day. If I am not at my computer I am usually sat on my sofa with a cup of tea with a pen and note pad in hand trying to flex the creative muscles with some random prose.
Did you try to get a conventional publisher or agent interested before you opted for self-publishing?
To be completely honest I did not even try. I did a lot of research before I started my novel and discovered that with the present state of the economy. conventional Publishing Houses are in complete disarray. Consequently they are less willing than before to take on new authors. So I decided to self-publish. We live in the digital age and I strongly believe that hard copy books will go the same way as LP records .They will become a retro vogue element, something you buy for the sake of nostalgia and self publishing will become the norm with traditional publishing houses disappearing more quickly than a fart in a wind factory. Well maybe not quite that quick, but you know what I mean :0.
What goals have you set yourself? Do you want to sell a certain number of books in 2012? Is there some way you measure success, on your own terms?
I hear a lot of writers saying that they don’t write for success and that writing is some kind of hobby and that somehow it serendipitously catapulted them into the limelight. But that’s just a load of baloney. The goal for any writer is to become well known and have a lot of people read their books. I have a lot to say and I want a lot of people to read what I put down; that is my ultimate goal. I anticipate that 2012 will be a modest year for me, but if a few thousand people purchase my books and if some of them like it; I will consider that as being a successful year for me.
Have you signed up for KDP Select?
I have signed up for KDP select. It has not gone too badly for me I actually got some good reviews which was nice and sales are gradually picking up. The free promotions helped a little, sales piqued slightly. It was by no means an overriding success. As a self published writer you must find other means to promote your book. I am not overly concerned with the exclusivity cause, Amazon is a global powerhouse and it is completely dominating the market at the moment.
Away from Amazon, have you had much luck with other outlets?
No my book is not available via these sellers, but is available through Amazon’s other affiliates. I believe that there is some kind of legal wrangling going on between Barnes and Noble and Amazon, which means that they are no longer working in conjunction with one another.
Do you worry about Amazon gaining a monopoly in the ebook market?
The intrinsic characteristic of any Free Market Economy is that you either adapt to the changing markets or you inevitably fail. Amazon has simply adapted. Particularly since launching the the Kindle e-book reader. Consumers are spending more time shopping on line. So as a writer I must adapt too. Rather than worry about Amazon cornering the e-book market I plan on synchronising my more modest expectations with their grand ones.
What’s next? Do you have anything new coming out in 2012?
I am working on my next novel and it should be available later this year.
Adam Said’s The Flames of Perdition is available from Amazon. You can also visit his website and follow him on Twitter.
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