Interview with Author Jason Brant

Jason Brant writes horror and thrillers, which are crammed full of action and scariness, mixed with humor. I chose to interview Jason because he does indie publishing right. He can make up an exciting and interesting story and type it out. After that, though, he knows he’s an idiot (He says so himself, see the answer to question 16). To know you’re an idiot, and take steps to obscure it behind the work of others, such as editors and cover designers, reduces the appearance of idiocy to the point that one may appear not to be an idiot. This is certainly my goal, and it’s the key to success.

For example, he knows he’s not a cover designer, so he hires one. He’s not an editor, so he hires one. He gets beta readers who will tell him what’s jammed up about his story. In the end, he looks real smart because he puts out a good, clean, well-written product with a beautiful cover. Then he markets it. To the interview:

1.Who is “the tall one?”

My wife. She’s 6’0” tall. I gave her a nickname on social media because I’m a dork.

2. I’ve read a couple of your books, and they’re very well-written. How did you get to be such a good writer? Did you study it in college, pay attention in fifth grade, hire a developmental editor, or what?

Thanks so much. I almost believed you. [Editor's note: it's true]

Honestly, I never even attempted fiction until I’d turned thirty. Never took a class in high school or college. Don’t have a developmental editor. The secret is lots and lots of cocaine.

That and reading a ton of books and watching even more movies. Even before I became a writer, I spent time analyzing what I did and didn’t like about films and novels. That’s about all I can attribute to whatever small ability I might have.

3. I know all of your books are self-published. Did you first try to get an agent, fail, say “fuck it” and self-publish, or did you decide to do that from the beginning?

After I’d quit a job working for the government, without another gig waiting in the wings, I didn’t have much direction. Then I found J.A. Konrath’s blog, read about self-publishing, and thought it was a venture worth trying.

I never did the agent/publisher/self-loathing merry-go-round. While writing my first book, it became obvious to me that traditional publishing wouldn’t pay enough. If I wanted to make a living with my work, I had to own the rights and keep the majority of the money it generated. The amount of authors in horror, my sad little genre, making a full-time living from their writing is pathetically small.

To buck that trend, I had to become my own publisher.

4. I know that you use an editor, beta readers, and a professional cover designer. Approximately what does it cost you to get a book from final manuscript to published?

It depends on the length of the book. I pay my editor by the word. On average though, I’d say it costs me around $600, excluding advertising, just to get the book ready for publication. And that number is lower than most would pay, using my same team. I have special arrangements with them that keep my costs lower.

Yes, I blackmail them.

5. How many books do you need to sell to break even?

It used to be around 200 books to break even, but that number is changing. Amazon has changed to a pay-to-play system in the past 18 months.

Not long ago, I could release a book and have Amazon’s algorithms give it a boost for me. I could plan on a solid three months of sales after release.

Now, they require you to advertise to get visibility in their system. That takes more cash. With this new book release, I’m guessing I’ll need to sell 400 or more to break even. Could be a bit less. Ask me again in a few months.

6. Do you read reviews?

I read the first dozen or so for each book. I want to make sure they all aren’t pointing out an obvious plot hole or that I changed a character’s name in the middle of a book. That actually happened by the way. Don’t be like me, kids.

After that, I rarely read reviews. Never on Goodreads.

7. If you read reviews, do you ever respond?

I responded to all reviews, good or bad, when I first started. It has been at least 5 years since I’ve responded to one though.

8. How many drafts of a novel to you write before sending to your editor?

I write two drafts. Any other passes are purely for typos or issues my wife, editors, or proofreaders find. If I do more than two, I’ve found that I tend to butcher my original intent with the story.

9. You mentioned in a blog that you shitcanned your first book “Echoes” because it sucked, and completely rewrote it to be “ASH”. What sucked about it?

The writing, the plot, the characters, and the pacing. I think that about sums it up. It was the first piece of fiction I ever worked on, so it was bound to suck.

10.    Had “Echoes” been published on Amazon? If so, how did you get it off of Amazon?

Yes, it was. I logged into KDP and clicked Unpublish. Amazon doesn’t make it difficult to flush crap out of their system.

11.    Some of your books are permanently free on Amazon. How did you do that?

You can make books free through Kobo, iTunes, Nook, and other stores. Once you do that, Amazon will price match the book to $0.00. If they don’t, you can notify them through the product page that a competitor has a lower price. That usually pushes them into action.

Most of my free books will be going paid again soon, though. Permafree books aren’t as effective as they used to be.

12.    Briefly describe your writing process, such as whether you outline, how you start, how you know it’s finished, etc.

My process is pretty simple. I sit down, set a timer for 30 minutes, and tap away at the keyboard. Because I’m a pantser, I let the story and characters guide me through the creative process. I never write from an outline.

Identifying the ending is something that happens organically. I can’t say that I’ve ever planned to stop a book at a certain point, I just realize it when I arrive there. Usually it’s after major character deaths or plot resolution. Same as most books, I guess.

13.    Do you follow strict story structure, such as the three/four/five act structure or the hero’s journey?

Three-act structure. I’m not maniacal about it, but that’s the general flow of my stories.

14.    What about the scene/sequel structure as put forth by Dwight Swain?

*Furiously Google’s Dwight Swain* No, not intentionally. I do have an ebb and flow to my work, though.

15.    Do your stories contain any moral or philosophical statement, or are they purely for entertainment?

Almost everything I’ve written has a moral and/or philosophical statement. But I’ll never tell what they are.

I hate preaching artists, actors, and authors. It’s a huge annoyance. So even though I enjoy layering deeper stuff into my books, I don’t tell anyone what they are.

16.    You are doing self-publishing the right way. That is, you have your book edited, have a professional cover designed, brand yourself, etc. How did you know what to do? Did you hire a consultant, read about, or what?

Most of my basic knowledge about self-publishing came from J.A. Konrath’s A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing. Many of the older blog posts are dated, but the fundamentals remain. You need to farm out some of the processes to professionals. That applies double to me, because I’m an idiot.

For more current information, I always recommend people follow Joanna Penn at The Creative Penn. She’s always on the forefront of publishing. Her podcast is great.

17.    I noticed in reading “Devoured” there was a place where you essentially apologized for Lance’s swearing, which came after he said “double shit.” I’m not sure that’s even swearing, and I thought he did precious little, all things considered. I know from watching your “Drinking With Jason” and “So Bad it’s Good” videos that you’re not averse to a cuss word now and again. Was that apology added because some wussy beta reader or editor whined about it, or why did you feel compelled to do it?

Honestly, I don’t even remember that part. I’m certainly not averse to swearing. My Asher Benson series is vulgar to the max.

If I put something in Devoured about Lance’s swearing, then I did it for a laugh or because it felt right for the character at the time.

Any of my beta readers who whined about my vulgarity wouldn’t be on the team for long. We wouldn’t be a good fit. I sure as goddamn fucking shit wouldn’t apologize for foul language.

18.    What do you think is your best book, and why?

That’s a tough one. Each book I put out is better from a technical standpoint than the others, but that doesn’t mean it’s a superior read.

West of Hell is my worst as far as writing technique goes, but one of my favorites from a story perspective. The Asher Benson series contains my favorite characters.

Hell, I don’t know. That’s for readers to decide.

19.    Cass does not appear until over half way through “Devoured,” and then she takes over (in my view) as the main character, and Lance turns into a secondary character who seems a bit of a sap (sorry to say). Why did you decide to make the lead character a woman from Dundalk?

Cass dominates the series, that’s for sure. But I consider the first three books to be Lance’s journey. He starts out as a flabby, pathetic man who survives on pure luck and the toughness of others. But he changes a lot. I’m writing the sixth book now and he’s become a completely different person.

I wanted to write an atypical main character for an apocalyptic series. Most of the books I read in the genre are full of Navy Sales and alpha males. Lance ate potato chips and watched television before the world went tits up.

I’d have to go back and check, but I don’t think Cass gets a POV chapter until the fourth book. In the latest novels, she’s on equal footing with Lance, from a narrative perspective.

As for why I made the woman the ‘alpha’ of the group, I love bad-ass female characters. I grew up on Sarah Connor and Ripley, so I wanted to create my own tough woman.

I’d like to thank Jason for taking the time to answer these questions, I know he hates interviews. For anyone wanting to know more about Jason, visit his website, which he has also done right. It’s fucking astounding.