Very pleased to bring you this fantastic interview with talented author, Michael Bunker. Please take a moment to check out his links at the end of the interview and buy his books. This from his Amazon bio:
"Michael Bunker is a USA Today Bestselling author, off-gridder,
husband, and father of four children. He lives with his family in a
"plain" community in Central Texas, where he reads and writes
books...and occasionally tilts at windmills. In November of 2015,
Variety Magazine announced that Michael had sold a film/tv option for
his bestselling novel Pennsylvania to Jorgensen Pictures. JP is
currently developing Pennsylvania for production into a feature film or
Television series. Michael is writing the first draft of the screenplay.
Michael's latest (and best rated) novel is Brother, Frankenstein which was released in late April of 2015.
Michael has been called the "father" of the Amish/Sci-fi genre but that isn't all that he writes. He is the author of several popular and acclaimed works of dystopian sci-fi, including the Amazon top 20 bestselling Amish Sci-fi thriller the Pennsylvania Omnibus, the groundbreaking dystopian vision Hugh Howey called "a brilliant tale of extra-planetary colonization." He also has written the epic post-apocalyptic WICK series, The Silo Archipelago (set in Hugh Howey's World of WOOL,) as well as many nonfiction works, including the non-fiction Amazon overall top 30 bestseller Surviving Off Off-Grid. Michael was commissioned by Amazon.com through their Kindle Worlds and Kindle Serials programs to write the first ever commissioned novel set in the World of Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle. That book is entitled Osage Two Diamonds, and it debuted on Dec. 17, 2013.
In late April of 2015, Michael released his novel Brother, Frankenstein to fantastic reviews.
Michael has been featured on NPR, HuffPost Live, and Ozy.com and was recently interviewed in a Medium.com article that will give you more background and insight into his life and works... http://bit.ly/17YbE63."
Michael's latest (and best rated) novel is Brother, Frankenstein which was released in late April of 2015.
Michael has been called the "father" of the Amish/Sci-fi genre but that isn't all that he writes. He is the author of several popular and acclaimed works of dystopian sci-fi, including the Amazon top 20 bestselling Amish Sci-fi thriller the Pennsylvania Omnibus, the groundbreaking dystopian vision Hugh Howey called "a brilliant tale of extra-planetary colonization." He also has written the epic post-apocalyptic WICK series, The Silo Archipelago (set in Hugh Howey's World of WOOL,) as well as many nonfiction works, including the non-fiction Amazon overall top 30 bestseller Surviving Off Off-Grid. Michael was commissioned by Amazon.com through their Kindle Worlds and Kindle Serials programs to write the first ever commissioned novel set in the World of Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle. That book is entitled Osage Two Diamonds, and it debuted on Dec. 17, 2013.
In late April of 2015, Michael released his novel Brother, Frankenstein to fantastic reviews.
Michael has been featured on NPR, HuffPost Live, and Ozy.com and was recently interviewed in a Medium.com article that will give you more background and insight into his life and works... http://bit.ly/17YbE63."
Let's get into it.
Who are you and where do you come from? Do you think that your life
experience has gone someway towards making you a successful author in your
chosen genre?
My name is Michael
Bunker and I am a USA Today Bestselling author. I am also a “Plain Person”
(like Amish) who lives off-grid in a Plain community in Central Texas. My
family lives completely off-grid (no electricity or commercially provided grid
utilities) and I have an off-grid office powered by solar where I work. I have
published bestsellers in both fiction (mostly sci-fi) and non-fiction, and I do
believe that my life experience is central to my success as an author. Living
the way I do informs everything I write, and it is why a lot of people find my
work interesting and informative.
Did you try to get publishing contracts for your books early on
with traditional book publishers? If so, did you have any success there or, if
not, what was it that made you decide to self-publish the majority of your
work?
I did not. My first
successful book was a non-fiction book on Off-Grid living philosophy and it was
a runaway bestseller. That book made really good money from the start and it is
still my biggest selling book. From that book I was offered agent
representation and a publishing contract, both of which I turned down. Since
then I have mostly self-pubbed, though I have traditionally pubbed one novel
(serially through Amazon publishing) and I have a short story coming out soon
in an anthology published by a traditional publisher. My trad-pubbed novel was
one of my best stories and… almost no one has read it compared to my indie
novels. I sold a film option to a Hollywood production company for an indie
pubbed novel (Pennsylvania) and all of my indie novels have done better than my
trad-pubbed book.
You
have achieved great success by establishing your own niche in the science
fiction genre with your stories of a dystopian world set in an Amish community.
Did you deliberately set out to write a story that would be different from all
the other genre-based fiction that was available? I.e. did you identify a
market for your work early on or has it just evolved from the point of
publication?
I think it is a combination of both. I definitely thought
from the beginning that there would be a good market for Amish Sci-fi or Amish
dystopian stories. My first fiction novel (The Last Pilgrims) was purely
future/dystopian and I had no idea that the market would classify it as Sci-fi.
So that part of it was accidental. But once I thought about it more, Amish
Sci-fi made perfect sense. Sci-fi is about us using our imaginations to explore
and explain how we interface with technology and the society/culture, so what
better tension point can there be? So once that thought exploded in my brain, I
thought… ok, no one else is really doing this, so why not?
How
important is your domination of that niche market (i.e. Amish/Sci-fi) to your
success as a largely self-published author?
I’m not sure, since I don’t know specifically what
direction the flow moved. Let me explain… either there was a pent-up demand for
Amish/Sci-fi and I happened to tap into it, which would mean that my position
in the market is critical to my success… or… readers all over the spectrum saw
something different and migrated to it and liked it. In which case my position
in the market is nice, but not critical to my success. I don’t know which one
of those is true, though I suspect it is the latter.
Do
you think it is important for self-published authors to identify and write in a
niche market that they may have an interest in, in order to establish
themselves as a leader in that genre and sell more books?
I think it is an awesome way to
go about business, but I couldn’t say it is “important” since I don’t know how
most authors would go about doing that. Some may be interested in very typical,
geeky, sci-fi niches that might be hard to penetrate. Theoretically, I would say
it is important to write authentically, which means write something that either
you know, or you plan to know before and as you write it. Niche markets are an
important thing if you really want to deliberately capture an audience looking
for a certain thing. However, I think authors should keep in mind that as the
world changes, there will be areas of opportunity in emerging niches that
perhaps no one has really considered yet.
For example, I was asked to write a short story for a crime anthology
that is based on themes from outlaw country. Well… that’s way outside my usual
genre, but the more I thought about it the more I realized that the traditional
western, outlaw, or crime story could really get a bump from the introduction
of another style or genre… like time travel. So I wrote a time-travel, outlaw,
western, crime story. It was fun and really had my creative juices flowing.
Once you have decided that self-publishing might be your route, what
financial and artistic considerations should you keep in mind before you begin?
My philosophy, and I’ve
called it “The Bunker Doctrine” since early on in the heady days of the indie
pub revolution, is that the product you put out there needs to be as good OR
BETTER than anything the traditional publishers are putting out. The days of
slapping something together to get a good story out there quickly… well, those
days are over. We all know the legends, and the original WOOL series by Hugh
Howey is an example… write a good story, don’t worry about the cover or
presentation but just throw it out there… well, I’m not sure that story was
ever really substantively “true” to begin with, and even if it was, the market
has changed substantially since 2011. So I say, make the investment to make
your good as good as it can be. I mean a top-notch (not average) cover. I mean
fantastic interior formatting. Interior artwork if you can swing it. As good as
you can make it. Because if you don’t, you are throwing your book in with a
thousand-thousand other “average” books and it most likely will never make a
splash.
What
kind of marketing did you do to establish your author brand and what do you
think is the most successful marketing for self-published authors? Is there any
one thing that you have determined has helped you sell more books – i.e. could
you outline your path to establishing your brand and your most successful sales
method/s as?
This is a very difficult question, and it highlights the
Catch-22 nature of marketing and success. Non-fiction and Fiction are very
different animals. Non-fiction readers usually search topically. They aren’t
asking “is there a new Michael Bunker book out there?” They are asking, “What
can I learn about living Off-Grid?” I had established a very earnest and loyal
following through my non-fiction writing on my blog and with my book Surviving
Off Off-Grid. Not huge by any means, but earnest and loyal. This meant that I
could plea with them to do things that help a new writer get started. Like buy
the book and write reviews. Because of this, my fiction books were able to get
a little notice at the beginning and I was able to harvest a significant number
of early reviews. The ability to ask for and harvest real, authentic reviews is
critical to any author’s success, and I think it is probably THE most important
and overlooked areas of our marketing and brand establishment.
My brand was easy to establish because it was functionally
different than anything else out there. Both from my look (which is how I
really look and dress) to my constant interaction and participation with
readers and fans, I put a very high value on brand building. I guess the point
is that you can’t do what everyone else is doing, the same way they are doing
it, and look the same as every other author out there, and expect to stand out.
Sure, my brand is very unique and easily identifiable, and it helps that I was
living my brand before it got popular, but this area of marketing has to be
intentional and deliberate.
I think the most important thing with helping me succeed
has been a focus on deliberately highlighting three very important elements as
ONE overall image… that is that the book quality is off the charts, the brand
is authentic and unique, and the focus on the reader is paramount. This means
that I spend a good portion of my time, more than I spend writing actually,
interacting with my fans and friends (friend-fans.)
Do
you design your own covers? How important do you think cover design is to a
potential reader and how big a part do you think it has played in your success
to date?
I participate in the design, mostly in the early concept
phase, but my philosophy is to hire the very best people in the business, give
them the vision, and then let them do what they do. If I don’t like it, I won’t
use it, but most of the best ideas have gone very wide from my original ideas.
So I don’t want to shackle the artist. So there is a big difference between
hiring your cousin or a friend’s friend who can do some cool stuff with
photoshop, and hiring a top-notch professional. And the cover artist doesn’t need to be a cover artist. I am
ALWAYS on the lookout for artistic talent that I think is unique and special.
Several of my cover designers were NOT cover designers, including Ben Adams,
the awesome guy who designed the Brother, Frankenstein cover. He was an artist,
but doing this kind of cover was new to him.
I think having very unique, visually stunning, and
communicative covers has been critical to my success.
In
your opinion, is traditional publishing on the way out? Do you think that
traditional publishing can continue to keep up with the rise of
self-publishing?
I hope that trad publishing isn’t on the way out, but
frankly they keep shooting themselves in the foot. They have shown a remarkable
ability to completely miss the point, to frustrate readers, and to almost
self-destructively do the wrong things. Unhappily the business has turned into
a pulp mill at the same time it is foolishly looking to find the next Hunger
Games. Frankly, I have trouble explaining most of the decisions the individual
publishers make. As I mentioned before, my trad-pubbed novel is the worst
selling novel I’ve ever written, and it is probably one of the best stories. It
was handled poorly, marketed poorly (if at all,) and basically was a master’s
level course in what NOT TO DO. But that has become the norm.
As an example, I’ll give you a case study. I won’t mention
any names.
An indie author I know published a book on almost the same
day I published Pennsylvania. He had some moderate success, but he just felt
like he would never be happy if the old-school ivory tower publishers didn’t
grace him with a contract. So that was his intense desire. And it worked out
for him… I guess. He was socially, politically, and culturally aligned with
that system. By that I mean that there is a sort of pretentious, condescending,
buggy-whip mentality in the trad-pub world that highly values itself, despite
the reality of its situation. Anyway, whereas I was busy writing books and
doing the things an indie needs to succeed (I’d been offered that other way and
found it somewhat distasteful as it is,) he was querying and submitting to
agents, racking up rejections. He had a lot of what they were looking for, much
like Home Alone 3 or 4 had a lot of what the movie business was looking for at
the time. He checked all the boxes, and so did his story. To shorten the story…
he got an agent, sold the book for a very large advance, sold all the foreign
rights, etc. He got the brass ring! Except the book wouldn’t come out for 18
months. He had all the social-cultural benefits, and the money must have been
nice, etc. But I would bet that book NEVER pays off the advance, and even if he
gets another contract or two, eventually that type of socialism is failing the
industry right now. Books that make big advance and don’t make bestselling
lists… well, you know. Now, during the time his book was pulled off the market and
going through the pulp mill, Pennsylvania
sold 100,000 copies in all its different iterations, and sold a film option to
Hollywood. It is still going strong. We are negotiating foreign rights, and all
of that will multiply if/when the movie/tv show airs. If it does. If not, I’ve
published another book since then with another one due this year.
So my answer is… I hope the traditional publishing model
doesn’t fail. I hope they change, and learn, and make it. But in the end I
don’t care if they fail, if they don’t care enough to put out books people want
to read in a way (and for a price) that makes it healthy and happy for everyone
involved.
Would
you ever consider signing all your books to a traditional publishing house or
will you always mange some of your titles yourself through self-publishing?
It would take a substantial number with a lot of zeroes
after it for me to sign them all over to a traditional publisher. I have an
agent, and he submits for me now and again, but usually we all mutually agree
that I’m doing better on my own. Now… if someone wanted to do a deal on
Pennsylvania that made sense to me AND the reader? I’d do it. Same with any of
my other books. I’d love to have my books in bricks and mortar stores. But that
is a poor return for selling the reader and myself down the river, if that’s
what it took. And that’s what most trad pubbed deals do. They want to sell the
reader a $13 e-book and a $25 hardback and eventually a reasonably priced
paperback. They want to do it an antiquated way that doesn’t make sense for
today’s readers.
But my hypocrisy is such that for enough money, I’d sell my
backlist and then make individual decisions on new stuff when those books are
ready.
Have
you ever used free book promotions? Do you think they are a worth-while marketing
tool for self-published authors? If so/not – why?
I have used free book promotions.
Free books can work if they are done right, but most of the systems (even
Amazon) of distributing free books (I’m not talking about “first in series”) is
not smart, in my opinion. It misunderstands today’s readers. NOW… I do give ALL
of my books to my email list subscribers for FREE if they are [subscribers] and stay on my
email list. I also distribute ARC (advance reader copies) to all of my subscribers
for free. I started doing this several years ago, and it works for me. It
encourages readers to become fans, and fans to become friends. I’ll always have
fewer friends than potential readers, so I feel comfortable giving my books to
my friends with the hope that they will appreciate it and share it with readers
I don’t know. Even if my list was 25,000 subscribers, I’d do this. Because
there are billions of people who haven’t read my books, and I feel comfortable
that people who care enough to join my email list (at: www.michaelbunker.com/newsletter)
and to read my book for free… will review it and tell others if they like it.
What avenues of self-promotion did you find to be most effective and
affordable? What’s the best ‘bang-for-your-buck’ advertising you have employed?
An effective author’s blog is one of the best and most
affordable ways to capture readers, funnel them onto your email list, and to make
superfans of casual readers. An
email list is critically important, but the blog is the “funnel” for the list.
Social media is important, but it is NOT good for sales and shouldn’t be used
for that purpose. The big
marketing lists, like Bookbub, can do very well, but nothing beats a long-game
investment in a good blog and email list.
Do
you feel there’s a good sense of community within the self-publishing industry?
I think there is. My experience
in the self-publishing community has been awesome. As always, there are
inauthentic people, passive-aggressive a-holes, and trouble makers. They exist
everywhere. For the most part, though, I think the self-pub industry is
probably one of the most supportive and least competitive communities of its
kind.
What would you say is the single biggest advantage of deciding to
self-publish?
Control of your life, your art,
and your message. To me, it isn’t so much a choice between self-pub and indie.
Most (and by most I mean almost all) authors never have the choice. No one is
banging down their door, and if they submit to the trad system it will never
work out for them. But if there is a choice, then both have their advantages. I
happen to believe that self-pubbing has very distinct advantages. I make more
per book, I have direct contact with my reader, I control what I want to do and
when I want to do it. And I’m free. That’s a good thing for an artist.
How important do you think social media and a strong active online
presence is, to becoming a success as a self-published author?
I think it is
very important, so long as the author isn’t thinking that social media is a
place to sell books. It isn’t. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t use it to
keep readers informed. You should. But it is not a place to push “Buy my book!”
It is a place to interact with readers and friends, to prove who you are and
establish your brand. It is a place to be authentically you, and… AND… it is a
means and method of funnelling interested readers to your blog and eventually
your email list.
Are
you in regular contact with other self-published authors and how important was
any input you may have received early on in your career? Do you have a
mentor in terms of your self-publishing success – someone who may have inspired
you to ‘give it a go’?
I am in constant contact with
other self-pubbed authors. Every day. I’ve become kind of a contact point for a
lot of people in the industry, so I make sure to talk to authors every day. I
think much of the input I’ve received has been tremendously valuable. Along
with relationships I’ve built up with people I respect. Hugh Howey was very
instrumental in getting me to give self-pubbing a go. I think most of us who
were self-pubbing before it was cool will all say that. Later, once I realized
that his was more of a “lightning strike” experience and very atypical, I
learned and collaborated with a whole legion of authors who’d been at it awhile
and who’d had success in both traditional and indie publishing. Matthew Mather,
Nick Cole, Ernie Lindsey… all of those guys were very central to helping me
along the way.
You
recently launched a publishing company (along with marketing guru Tim Grahl and
best-selling author Nick Cole) called Wonderment Media. Do you think
self-published authors need to become effective business people, by treating
self-publishing as a business, in order to succeed and secure their financial
independence?
Yes. Maybe not to the extent of
Wonderment, but I think self-pub authors benefit by not thinking themselves as
starving artists and beggars looking for handouts or head pats. I think the
most successful indies take control of their situation, look at their work as
art, and their business as BUSINESS.
Where to from here? Are you currently represented by an agent and are you working
with any publishers on future projects?
Wow, that is a big question! Where to from here? A lot of
great things happening. I am represented by an agent, and he is constantly
talking with people and discussing opportunities. He recently negotiated a film/tv
option for Pennsylvania, and he also
recently worked on another option with me for an Untitled Michael Bunker TV
Project. He is also working with a foreign rights agent considering foreign
deals for Pennsylvania and my other books. I just wrote a short story for a trad-pubbed
short story anthology, and I am always willing to listen to anyone who has a
project or idea that would work for me.
Can
you offer any advice to fellow writers if you could go back in time and “do it
all over?” What’s your top tip for other indie authors?
Find out who you are, what your
product is, and why it is something anyone else should part with time and/or
money to experience. Just being a “good” writer is not going to do it. This is
an ideas business. Your art is art, but frankly 99.9% of the people who have
ever lived have never found a buyer for their “art.” You are not only an artist,
you are someone who wants people to pay you to do art. So you better be
special, and you better have thought about why you and your art are worth it.
Finally, thanks for sharing your thoughts on self-publishing. Where is
the best place for readers to find your books?
Thanks! This has been great, and
you have awesome questions. People can find me and my books at www.michaelbunker.com and they can
interact with me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/offgrid
or Twitter: www.twitter.com/mbunker
A small selection of Michael's books (click image to purchase)
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