Seattle Author Boyd Morrison Makes Leap From Self-publishing to Big 6

A little over two years ago, Seattle author Boyd Morrison had three completed manuscripts, a literary agent, and rejection letters from every major publisher in New York. Today he has a multi-book deal with Touchstone Publishing, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, and his second published novel, The Vault, scheduled for release July 5, 2011. Morrison spoke with Seattlest about the new novel and opportunities offered by self-publishing.

In early 2009, Morrison was building a website with the intention of making his novels available for free download (a strategy that has paid dividends in the music industry) when he learned that Amazon.com was allowing authors to post unpublished work to their Kindle store. Morrison made the leap. Within months, one of his novels, The Ark, had caught fire and caught the attention of Touchstone.

“I wish I could say I’m a brilliant marketer, but I had the field mostly to myself… I’m not sure how well I would fare today,” said Morrison. He priced his books to be accessible and encourage readers to sample an unknown writer. But he also made the crucial step of engaging directly with his readers. “Discussion forums are very powerful” marketing tools, said Morrison. The book picked up steam, eventually making it to the top of Amazon’s bestselling technothriller list. “That’s really how it happens. Getting on those sub-genre lists is key,” he said.

The e-book market is far larger today than when Morrison started. When he signed his book deal, he was the first author to make the leap from e-publishing to a contract with one of the Big 6 publishing houses, though several more have now followed in his wake. And there will continue to be publishers who see the e-publishing world as an opportunity to find new talent, though the system, he said, “will certainly be biased toward people that are both good writers and marketers.”

Asked whether he would recommend e-publishing to authors struggling to break through, Morrison said it depends on their goals. “My goal was to be a published author… I wanted to write novels that people wanted to read.” If a writer wants to make a living, they have to keep the audience in mind, and will have to actively reach out to them. But, he also offers advice sound for any artist: “The first thing is, focus on the work itself.”

Which is now easier for Morrison, as he is not solely responsible for marketing this next book, though it came with its own challenges. “Other writers have said it, too, but it isn’t the second book that is hard to write. It is the first one on contract,” said Morrison. He said there is pressure, and also positive incentive, to meet deadlines, to maintain the book-a-year pace that publishers prefer. But, it suits him; he said it took about one year to complete the book that launched his career, The Ark.

The new release, The Vault, picks up the main character from his previous book. “It is part of an ongoing series, but I wouldn’t call it a sequal, because that implies that you have to have read the previous books. All have a similar theme, which is Tyler Locke investigating an archeological mystery and trying to save the world at the same time… The first novel had a Biblical theme as Tyler was trying to find Noah’s Ark. The new book delves into Greek mythology with King Midas and his touch.”

Morrison said he enjoys writing within a series because “It’s nice to keep going back and exploring the same characters, getting to know them better. And, as a writer it is easier, because I know the world they live in.” The challenge is getting the same characters into new adventures in believable ways, especially in the case of Tyler Locke, who isn’t a spy or cop, but a former industrial engineer.

Each of the books also includes a tie to the NW. “I’ve lived in Seattle for ten years now, and I love it, think this is a great city, and want to put part of it into each of my novels,” said Morrison. “In The Ark, there was a chase on the Monorail that led to a gun fight at the Space Needle. In The Vault, Tyler is on a Washington State Ferry and discovers someone has planted a truck bomb that he has twenty minutes to diffuse.”

Morrison will read from and discuss The Vault at the University Branch of Seattle Public Library on July 5, 2011 at 6:30pm, and will be signing copies at Seattle Mystery Bookshop on July 14, 2011 starting at noon.