10 Big Questions With Author Mike Wells

Mike Wells is a bestselling American thriller and suspense author who also teaches part-time in the Creative Writing program at Oxford. He’s known for his fast-paced, "unputdownable" novels.

1.  How might your life be different now if you would have agreed to add the 15,000 words to your first Young Adult novel Wild Child?

Well, I actually did add the extra words but it ruined the flow and pacing of the story.  This was not only my opinion but that of a few trusted friends who read the "padded" version.  I tried several variants--adding more plot, adding more description, etc. Probably what I would have eventually seen is that the only way to maintain the integrity of what I'd already written would be to write a sequel to this book and publish both books in one volume.  Which is what I basically did, with Wild Child 1 and 2.  I don't think any publisher or agent would have bothered working with me through that long and tedious learning process, but who knows?

2. As an author, you have been on the cutting edge of independent publishing and marketing techniques.  What do you see as the next major move for the publishing industry?

That's a tough question.  I don't think anyone can predict the future.  Ebooks and push-button publishing have certainly changed the game and allowed thousands of new writers' voices to be heard who may not have been heard otherwise, including mine.  I often think that books, as we know them today, are not fully taking advantage of ereaders and tablets, and that some new forms of entertainment will evolve.  To put it simply, it's like using a PC only as a typing machine and ignoring all its other capabilities.  Books may very well become much more interactive and dynamic, not just words on a page.

3. What does your writing process look like?  How do you begin a new project and when do you know it is finished?

Ideas just come to me, slowly, bit by bit.  Eventually I know I have a complete idea for a book.  I always have several books in my mind in various stages of mental development.  I do a lot of thinking and imagining before I ever write anything down on paper, daydreaming about various scenes that I think might be in the book.  Sometimes I have half or more of the book written in my mind before I actually sit down in front of the computer.  About knowing when a book is done, that is an artistic judgment that's pretty easy for me--it just doesn't FEEL done until it's done.   My "muse," if you will, is not satisfied until it's finished.  It's very much a matter of feeling, not thinking.  

4. When writing one of your famous trilogies do you map them all out before you begin, or just take one book at a time?  

This relates to (3) above.  I usually roughly lay out the whole book in my mind using a classical three-act structure: beginning, middle, end.  For example in my new book, my heroine is badly scammed (beginning), tracks down the scammer (middle), and tries to take revenge (end).  These three pieces are more or less equal in length, but not exactly--just depends on the particular story.

5. Does a new author need to write or read more in order to develop well-rounded storytelling skills?

Both.  First, I don't think merely reading a lot helps that much.  You have to read and analyze--you have to take in the story and then study what works and what doesn't work.  Watching movies is good way to learn story structure, because you take in a whole story in a relatively short amount of time and have a better bird's-eye view.  For language, description, etc., of course reading and studying great books is the way to learn.  That said, you have to write, too, just as much as you study.  You can't learn to ride a bicycle merely by studying other people who are doing it--you have to do it yourself to feel it and learn to balance, etc., experientially.  Writing is the same.

6. What part of crafting a new story do you find the most challenging and how do you overcome it?

The plotting usually gives me fits, as well as figuring out the motivation of the characters.  The two are tightly intertwined, like the strands of a DNA molecule.  You change one, you change the other.  This usually results in me jumping all over the first draft of my book, changing one thing and then necessarily changing another, seeing how the new way works, and then usually changing things again, and again, until the wrinkles get ironed out and it's all smooth and satisfying.

7. Would you advise a new writer to go the traditional path for publishing or would you recommend going the independent route?

This depends largely on how entrepreneurial the particular writer is.  Some people just want to write and have someone else worry about the rest of the details, such as crafting book jacket copy, coming up with cover illustrations, worrying about distribution channels, etc.  They aren't very interested in the business side and don't want to learn.  These types, I think, should try traditional publishing first.  For those who are entrepreneurial control freaks (like me), who very much want to be involved in all that, I think they should try the indie route first.  This is because I believe they will be frustrated trying to work with agents, editors, illustrators, publicists, and all the other various people involved when you are traditionally published.  It is very much a team effort and you have to accept that.  Those people are going to have a big influence on your overall product--what it looks like, what it is called (the title of the book), the selling price, where it is sold, etc.

8. Does a modern author also need to be an entrepreneur?

Back to 7, even if you go the traditional route, you usually have to do most of the promotion yourself at the beginning--the big marketing budgets are reserved for the proven moneymaking authors.  So, in a sense, if you want to sell significant numbers of books, I think the answer is yes, at least in terms of being able to promote yourself.

9. Can you share with us a few details about your new trilogy Passion, Power and Sin?

I don't want to spoil the surprise, but I can say that I believe Passion, Power & Sin will be a wild ride for most readers and will take them places they have never been before.  The style is similar to that of Lust, Money & Murder.  It features a young, female heroine, is blisteringly fast-paced, and covers a lot of international territory with lots of twists and turns and surprises.  As far as I know, there's no other novel that covers the exact subject matter that this book does, so it should be quite interesting for most readers.

10. You are both an acclaimed educator and best-selling author.  What is next for you?

Ha ha, I don't know about that, Christopher, but it's very kind of you to say.  Hopefully, someday, I would like to get into movie-making.  I would love to see some or all of my books made into films.  Eventually I would like to get involved in various aspects of that.  Perhaps writing the scripts, directing, even acting in cameo appearances as one of the minor characters in my books--who knows?

I want to thank Mike Wells for taking time from his busy schedule to answer my Ten Big Questions this week. If you want to know more about him or you’d love to read one of his heart pounding novels for free, and who doesn’t, you should check out the links below!

-   Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeWellsAuthor

-   Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MikeWellsAuthor

-   Website: http://mikewellsblog.blogspot.com/

-   Website: http://lustmoneymurder.blogspot.com/