A CONVERSATION WITH THE MODEST, SMART, HUGELY SUCCESSFUL HUGH HOWEY, AUTHOR OF THE 'WOOL' SERIES
If he was lucky, Hugh Howey
thought his 2011 self-published science-fiction novella ‘Wool’ would sell five
hundred copies. Instead, he has sold
five hundred thousand, scored a seven-figure publishing deal, and had Twentieth
Century Fox snap up the film rights with the iconic Ridley Scott possibly to
direct.

A modest Howey, who is
passionate about the options available to authors through self-publishing, wants
to make it very clear that this success story is about his choice to
self-publish from the beginning. “It wasn't a matter of dealing with rejection
and finally resorting to this. It was a choice from the get-go.”
“The first thing an
industry insider will think when they hear ‘self-publishing’ is that an author
gave up on the query route. I don’t query my books. I haven’t since my first
novel was published by a small press and I decided to publish the rest of my
books on my own.”
Howey claims it took “crazy”
and “lots of guts” as opposed to “clever” to create the deal that “everyone in
the industry was saying would never happen—ever.” His “brilliant” agent Kristin Nelson walked
away from six-figure offers, and then seven-figure offers, to eventually
strike a deal with Simon and Schuster to
distribute ‘Wool’ to book retailers across the US and Canada. The deal, though,
gave Howey full rights to continue distributing ‘Wool’ online in these
territories himself. Normally, an author
signs over all their territory distribution rights, which includes the
increasingly lucrative e-book sales.
Adds Howey, “We stuck to
our convictions and we were doing well enough with foreign rights and film
sales to not worry about what we were leaving on the table. To us, the goal was
to get a different conversation going. And Simon and Schuster deserve all the
credit for stepping up to the plate.”
The deal has de-stigmatised
the self-publishing door for other new and established authors to follow suit in
taking control of their careers and their intellectual property. “Many authors are now seeing the benefit of
earning money now rather than waiting years for a dream that may never
materialize,” says Howey. “The route we
take no longer signals the quality. It makes for an interesting time to be a
writer.”

Much has been written about
the poor quality of self-published books and whilst self-publishing is a great opportunity,
the sheer volume of releases makes it difficult for readers to find gems that
aren’t peppered with errors and novice mistakes. There is an expectation that a major
commercial publisher will provide a superior read.
Howey comments on this
assertion, “I see typos in the first printing of major releases all the time.
If you ask a reader if they’d rather have a book with two typos in it for
$12.99 or one with ten typos for $2.99, I think they’ll go with the latter.”
“All authors need to put
out their best work possible, and Indies (independent authors) are no
exception. But I do think they deserve a little more of a pass, just as an Indie
rock band might release an album with some pops and static. It reminds you that
you’re discovering something, not being handed something.”
Instead of asking ‘How’s
the writing?’ of an Indie book, Howey suggests the question should be: ‘How’s
the story?’ “Readers care less about writing and more about gripping tales with
unforgettable characters. The publishing industry is largely run by English
majors who think we should care about pristine prose. They don’t understand the
success of ‘Twilight’, Dan Brown, and E.L. James. They wish everyone was
reading and discussing literary works. This is why they often miss out on books
with wild potential.”
“If you have to lean one
way, it shouldn’t be towards the writing. And I say that, as someone who
cherishes fine prose and agonizes over every one of my sentences. But only
after I’ve crafted what I hope is an addictive story.”
‘Wool’ is indeed one of
those addictive stories. Set in a not-too-distant future, the story takes
readers into the world of a Silo, home to thousands of descendants of the
survivors of a sixty-year-prior cataclysmic disaster. Nobody remembers what happened but outside
the Silo, the world is in ruin with air too toxic to breathe.
Those living inside are
bound by strict rules. One being you must
never express the desire to go outside. Doing this, will automatically see you
sent outside in a specially made suit to participate in what is known as a ‘Cleaning’. Unwise unfortunates as well as convicted
criminals are sent to clean the one wall-screen allowing the inhabitants a view
on the desolate world. Within minutes
their suits break down and they are asphyxiated.
The Silo is tiered with two
hundred levels and maintains a systemised society of engineering, I.T.,
administration, food production and Government, all on different levels. ‘Wool’ begins the story with the Sheriff who
has lost his wife to a ‘Cleaning’. But
readers then move through the volumes to view the Silo habitat through the eyes
of various characters including Juliette, an engineer who begins to question
the values and rules of the system. Then the fun really begins.
It is a grim,
claustrophobic vision of the future and Howey admits he cannot be sure of the story’s
origins but he shares that silos were always a part of his life. “My father was
a farmer and had two large grain silos behind his barn that we played in and on
top of.”
“I also grew up in the Cold
War Era and another type of silo was the missile variety. We practiced nuclear
drills in grade school. People built bunkers. I took it as an axiom that people
would one day live underground while a wasteland raged overhead.”
The limited view of the outside
world via the wall-screen is a central component of the story. “It came from my wariness of 24-hour news,”
says Howey, “and what I fear a constant barrage of bad news does for our
perception of the world. What if it really isn’t so bad out there? What if
we’re bold enough to go see the world for ourselves?”
In his own way, Howey has
widened the perception of the self-publishing world, that outside the landscape
of traditional publishing there is a richer world than initially imagined. He believes publishing opportunities are
broadened with the two working together such as the publisher initiated idea with
the Wool U.K. edition. The book contains
the first chapter of the already e-published follow on series, ‘First Shift
Legacy’, and concludes the free chapter urging readers to immediately purchase the
already-available e-book, even though the print copy is yet to be released.
“What’s great about this,’’
adds Hugh, “is that a major publisher embraced e-book availability before the
print book was available! I’ve always thought this should be the case. It helps
make for a stronger print debut. For proof, Wool hit #8 on the ‘Sunday Times
Bestseller’ list in the U.K. upon release, almost unheard of for a debuting
author. The only reason that was possible was because of the existing fan base
and word-of-mouth generated by the e-book sales. I think publishers are doing
the opposite of what’s good for their customers, their authors, and themselves,
when they hold the e-book back in an attempt to protect hardback sales.”
Whilst many authors
complain of the deadlines imposed by their publishing contracts, Howey says, “I
was the one who dictated the release schedule and told Random House (his U.K.,
Australian publisher) when I would have each book available. I have yet to sign
a contract where someone demanded or expected a book from me at a particular
time. The pressure to release multiple books swiftly has come from indie
authors. We are making a great living off our work and enjoying the rapport
with our readers. We just want that to continue.”

And if he were ever
banished into a deserted silo with time on his hands, the busy author says he
would read Shakespeare’s and Edgar Alan Poe’s complete works, and ‘Ulysses’,
not because he thinks the latter is any good but he figures, “it’s the only way
I’d ever read it. It took being stranded on an island to finally read ‘War and
Peace’. No joke. I Loved it.”
So many authors quote their
indebtedness to their agents or publishers for their success but Hugh Howey, as
one of the poster-children of the new social media and self-publishing
phenomena, is adamant who is the major inspiration and support for him. It’s
his readers. In ‘Wool’s’ Amazon Book description he writes, “Thanks go out to
those reviewers who clamored for more. Without you, none of this would exist.”
It may be, in the
not-too-distant future that many successful self-published authors will leave a
similar inscription in their Amazon sales pitch, but with one added line, “If
not for Hugh Howey and his crazy courage, none of these stories would exist.”
Read my review of the sensational WOOL: Click here
Read my review of the sensational WOOL: Click here
READ MORE ABOUT HUGH
(Seriously you need to if you are a writer)
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(Seriously you need to if you are a writer)
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Hugh Howey is the author of Wool, a bestselling novel that has appeared in the top 5 of science fiction on Amazon. He is also the author of the award-winning Molly Fyde Saga. He lives in Boone, N.C. with his wife Amber and their dog Bella.
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Hugh has become my inde idol. His stories are excellent, his writing is un-tortured and easy. He earned his fame by staying true to his very talented self. And he rightfully knows how he succeeded: He focused on his readers and gave them what they wanted.
ReplyDeleteI love him too Liza. He has a great talent and is a down to earth guy. Wonderful person to interview too. Changed my whole view of indie publishing. Thank you for leaving a comment.
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