Writer's block? We don't need no stinking writer's block!

There are a few things I get asked a lot when people find out I write books. Probably the most common question is, "Are you making any money?"

The answer, of course, is "Yes." The minute I sell one book I'm making money. A better question would be, "How much money are you making?", but most people are too classy to bring themselves to ask it.

And that's good, because I wouldn't answer anyway. At least, not until I'm making a shitload of money.

Probably the second-most common question I hear is, "Where do you get your ideas?"

That one's a little tougher, because in most cases, it's not the sort of question I can answer with one word, or even one sentence. Most of my plot ideas come from a mish-mash of sources, some of which I don't even understand.

Sometimes it's a song lyric that strikes me and gets my imagination racing. Sometimes it's a real-life situation, although when that happens, my story usually strays far from the actual situation that inspired it. Sometimes it's a dream, and I know that sounds silly, but I've gotten more than one idea for a kick-ass story that just popped into my head in the middle of the night.

Most often, though, the honest answer is, "I have no idea." A hint of a thread of an plot takes hold inside my head and begins to grow, like a plant. Or a cancer. In most cases, the idea has to simmer for awhile before I do anything with it. I mulled over the initial idea for my Derringer Award-nominated story, "Independence Day," for months - over an entire winter, as I recall - before I ever wrote a word on it.

But the question I really wanted to talk about today is the one that I would estimate I get third-most often: "Do you ever get writer's block?"

Easy answer: No, because I don't believe writer's block exists. Bestselling author Vincent Zandri wrote an outstanding blog post that included this subject a couple of weeks ago, one which I agree with wholeheartedly.

The gist of that blog post is this: If you're serious about selling your work, writing is a job. It's a fun job, to be sure, and it's a job where you can make your own hours and work in your underwear and take as many breaks as you want, but at the end of the day it's still a job.

And if you approach it as a job, you begin to realize that what many people view as "writer's block" is really nothing more than either laziness or a reluctance to put in the time at work. I suppose you could consider those two things to be one and the same.

Writing fiction is the act of stringing words together in entertaining ways while telling a story, so an unwillingness to put time in at the keyboard is the kiss of death if you consider yourself a writer. There are days when the words flow with an almost ridiculous ease, and there are other days when writing anything that makes even a minimal amount of sense is like pulling teeth, but at the end of the day, under either condition you need to sit at the keyboard and do your job.

As Vincent Zandri says, "If you're a writer your job is to show up at work every day and write...If your dad was a lawyer, did he ever get lawyer's block? If your mom was a nurse, did you ever hear her complain, 'I've had absolutely nothing to nurse about for the last six months'?"

That answer is perfect. Of course, it's also kind of long-winded to give to someone who really doesn't care that much, anyway. So most of the time when I'm asked the question about writer's block, I sort of mumble my way through an answer, saying something about working hard and continuing to write my way through it when it happens.

Okay, maybe I'm being just slightly less than honest, but, hey, I can only stay on break for so long; I've gotta get back to work!

A Locke to join the club

Let's play a little game. I'm going to throw the names of a few authors out there, and you tell me which one doesn't fit with the others.

Ready?

Okay, here we go: James Patterson. Nora Roberts. Lee Child. Michael Connelly. John Locke.

Any thoughts? Which one doesn't fit?

Okay, okay, I'll come clean. I cheated. The answer is that there is no name out of the above five that doesn't fit with the others. Those five, along with Stieg Larsson, Charlaine Harris and Suzanne Collins, make up the Kindle Million Club, that is, the eight authors who have sold over a million Kindle books.

So all of those authors fit with the others, but there is one who is different. John Locke. If you're a mystery/thriller reader, maybe you recognize the name; maybe you've even read one or more of his books. But if you're not, the name likely means nothing to you.

That's because, although the other seven members of the Kindle Million Club are established, world-famous authors with the backing of large publishers and promotional budgets, John Locke is independently published - what used to be known, in the olden days of a year or two ago, as self-published. In other words, he did it himself. No Random House. No Penguin. No Ballantine. Just John Locke.

According to the Kindle Direct Publishing newsletter, as of two days ago, June 19, John Locke had sold 1,010,370 Kindle books, joining the other seven names mentioned above in the rapidly-growing club of authors who have sold over a million Kindle books. Around a year ago, James Patterson became the founding member.

But the name John Locke is a groundbreaking one because he is the first independently published million-selling Kindle author, although he undoubtedly will not be the last. My understanding is that my friend and fellow StoneHouse author Vincent Zandri is well over a third of the way there, and with new Zandri books coming out at a dizzying pace - I'm convinced there are really three Vincent Zandri's, each one typing madly away in an office somewhere - Vin is practically a lock to reach the club at some point in the not-too-distant future, too.

If you take a quick glance at the Amazon bestselling lists or the John Locke page, you will notice immediately that John Locke's books sell for considerably less than the other seven members of the club, many of them for a lot less. As an independent (self) publisher, one person controls the pricing of John Locke's books - John Locke.

And although a price point of 99 cents might seem ridiculously low, like he is practically giving his work away, a little quick math tells you that with a thirty percent royalty from Amazon on books priced at 99 cents, even if every single one of John Locke's book sales occurred at that price, the man has earned $303,093.00 from his work, almost all of it in the last year.

Giving away his work? Doesn't seem like it with those numbers, does it?

As a fellow thriller author whose first book, FINAL VECTOR, was published by an Indie publisher, Medallion Press, and whose second book, THE LONELY MILE, will be released this summer by another Indie publisher, StoneHouse Ink, and whose first horror novella, DARKNESS FALLS, will be published in September by highly-regarded horror Indie publisher Delirium Books, I look at those numbers closely. I gaze lovingly at them, like a new mother at her swaddled infant, imagining what might be.

Would I love to get a contract with Random House? Duh. Of course I would. Do I feel it's necessary to get a contract with Random House to develop a readership and brisk sales for my work? Absolutely not.

Thank you, John Locke. Congratulations on joining those other famous names in the Kindle Million Club, and I hope your success continues. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't an inspiration.