Interview with Author Dario Ciriello: breaking writing rules, the business, why he cares so little about what other writers think

[Quantum]

Some insightful commentary.

Author Dario Ciriello talks about breaking writing rules, what publishing other writers taught him about the business, and how little he as a writer cares about what other writers think.

Who is this author?

Dario Ciriello is a professional author and editor as well as the founder of Panverse Publishing.

Note: The following are only excerpts; the article contains much more worthwhile reading.

This one is in the context of literary vs. genre (aka "ivory tower syndrome" vs. "wood pulp fiction"), but it's more generally applicable:

Again, it’s about story and most of all, it’s about the reader. They’re the ones paying the money, and the vast majority want a good story written acceptably well—that’s why J.K. Rowling has sold over half a billion copies of her work, adverbs and all. That’s not to say we shouldn’t put our best foot forward and strive with integrity for good craft, but let’s not lose sight of why we write. Above all, let’s give the tired literary vs. genre debate a decent burial.
...
Do you think thrillers have better sales potential than other fiction genres in the self-publishing marketplace?

No, I don’t. Actually, what has the best sales potential of all is nonfiction.

In fiction, whatever the latest hot subgenre in Romance happens to be is probably where the best sales potential lies. A few years ago it was paranormal romance, and that’s still hot. Romance has an addictive quality—and I mean no slight by that—for its readers. And look, it’s just fun. I enjoy the occasional romance myself, especially romantic suspense or thrillers.

Truthfully, I don’t concern myself at all with sales potential or marketability in my fiction. I write what I want to write, and I believe that’s what the sincere writer should do. The brutal truth is that the chance of anyone making anything approaching a living as an author is so very, very small; no matter how good or hardworking you are, there is, as in all the arts, a not insignificant amount of luck involved.
...
What’s the most valuable lesson you learned, having published others and having self-published, about approaching blogs, podcasts, review publications, etc.—both good (at least try this!) and bad (never, ever do this! = embarrassing, newbie mistake)?

I’d say that, as in any other field, you have to start at the bottom and build your resumé. You need to produce good work, put in your time, network, build a readership, become known and trusted.

I don’t really have any advice for brand new authors approaching bloggers and the like, because I’m not very good at marketing cold calls; plus, I understand just what a deluge of queries and requests to review, etc., everyone in the business gets. Most of the bloggers and podcasters do it for the love, and the brutal truth is that ninety-point-something percent of first books are going to be at least substandard, if not downright awful. And professional reviewers have trouble just staying abreast of what “name” writers are publishing. There are just so many books published each year—perhaps a third of a million a year just from trad publishing, and more from indies—that nobody can get close to keeping up.

The best I can offer is to suggest approaching people with both respect and humility. Don’t attach novels, excerpts, brags, or anything: keep it brief and polite and show that you respect their time and professionalism.

(https://janefriedman.com/5-dario-ciri...)

Thoughts?

[Graeme]

A couple of key points that resonate for me,

I write what I want to write, and I believe that’s what the sincere writer should do. The brutal truth is that the chance of anyone making anything approaching a living as an author is so very, very small; no matter how good or hardworking you are, there is, as in all the arts, a not insignificant amount of luck involved.

and

the brutal truth is that ninety-point-something percent of first books are going to be at least substandard, if not downright awful.

However, I would qualify the above with the idea that persistence, steady marketing, steady production of work, and genuine and consistent effort to improve all aspects of one's craft will improve the 'luck' element.

[Ian]

Re: the brutal truth is that ninety-point-something percent of first books are going to be at least substandard, if not downright awful.

I disagree. True, there will be things that many don't like, but so what? The real problem is that in many cases, while they are not awful, they're not very good either. The fact that there may be examples of things that the author should not have done is not necessarily bad. Most well known and top selling books have things I could criticise.

However, I agree that to make headway, you really need a lot of luck.