Many of my longtime readers know me
as an award-winning author of the Nick Bracco thriller series. They may even
know about my two Pushcart Prize nominations. But very few know the real truth
about me: For the past thirty-five years I’ve been a fulltime sales
representative for a national medical supply company.
Yes, I’ve written seven Nick Bracco
thrillers, one stand alone psychological thriller, one thriller which I
co-authored with Jonas Saul, and numerous short stories, but the bulk of my income
comes from my day job. And I’m not alone. It’s a little-known secret that many
of your favorite Indy authors need another source of income to pay their bills.
In my case, and maybe other authors as well, I’ve kept my day job somewhat of a
secret in order to make my status as a writer seem more authentic somehow. Who
wants to hear that Lee Child sells insurance on the side?
Here's the other side of the story—I
never tell the nurses or doctors I work with that I’m a writer. Seems
counterproductive right? But I don’t want them thinking I do anything but consider
their needs 24/7. As a matter of fact, as I’m writing this post I’ve had to
stop twice to answer phone calls from my customers, and I’m happy to do it.
I began this Indy journey after
receiving an award for A Touch of Deceit from the Southwest Writers Contest for
best thriller back in 2008. That attention got me a NY Agent who fancied
himself the Literary Lion. (Those in the literary world know who I’m talking
about.) Anyway, after 18 months of no news, I received an email from one of his
assistants who told me that the Lion was no longer actively pursuing a home for
my book. She had left his office and was working somewhere else now, but she
convinced me that the work was too good to ignore and that I should publish it myself.
So I did. Creating my own LLC and
naming it JK Publishing, after my two kid’s initials, Jessica and Kyle. And
things went better than I could have imagined. The response for the book took
me by surprise.
Back in December 2010 I sold 10,000
copies of my first book, A Touch of Deceit. In one month. Back when my book
would show up on the front page of Amazon merely because it was popular. Back when
Amazon was more agnostic about which authors sold books. Before the Big 5
publishers finally got onboard the E-book train and forced many Independents out
of the picture. It was the was the wild west. Believe it or not I would outsell
John Grisham on any given month. James Patterson and Stephen King too.
So here I am living a dual
existence, keeping my day job hidden from my readers, and keeping my customers
unaware of my writing career. It’s been hard to navigate both sides of my
brain, but I can’t complain about the results. I’ve been able to maintain
financial stability while preserving my core group of readers who are very loyal
and email me all the time asking when the next book will be published.
Of course the real question is, why
am I coming clean after all these years? Well, by the end of 2023 I will retire
from my day job and become a fulltime writer. I’m excited what the future holds
for me. I can now focus on trying to get my work in front of some movie
executives like I’ve been planning. I can work on producing audiobooks for Nick
Bracco thrillers 5-7. I can spend time promoting the French and German versions
of A Touch of Deceit. All these are projects I’ve been putting on hold until I
had the wherewithal to put all my chips into the writing pot.
I want to leave you with these messages:
First, to any newbie writer who is committed to becoming a published author, be
careful. The publishing world is complex and ripe with con artists willing to
take your money to help publish your book, for a fee. Then there are those who
will help you get readers to buy your book, for a fee. At the same time there
are reputable companies and individuals who can assist you with your journey
with a reasonable financial investment. People who can help but are honest
about their limitations. For those of you who are passionate about taking this
arduous trek but don’t know where to turn, feel free to reach out to me. Please
understand I can’t commit to reading anyone’s work or give blurbs for a book
cover, but I’ll be glad to offer you advice on your decisions. I can also point
you in the right direction should you need help with editing, book covers, or formatting
your work for Amazon.
Secondly, to my readers. Thank you
so much for your patience and support. I get emails weekly asking when my next
book is being published and it only makes me more determined to start the next
chapter of my career very soon. I have so many projects on my desk, including a
new series which I am co-writing with a very well known ex-NBA star who reached
out to me with a terrific idea for a series. You will be pleasantly surprised at
the concept. It’s an underserved market that I know you will enjoy, especially
since I will be doing the lion’s share of the writing and editing.
I hope to have Nick Bracco # 8
published by the first of the year. Working title is A Touch of Regret. I’m excited
for my writing career to flourish in 2023 and can’t wait for someone on the
golf course to ask me what I do for a living.
All the best,
Gary
