I spent most of my adult life running pro sports teams, first NBA teams and then a group of seven minor league baseball teams. Along the way, I wrote a Wall Street Journal best-seller Marketing Outrageously.
As you could expect, my agent and my publisher want me to write another marketing book.
What did I do? I wrote a novel instead. Red Chaser, a novel about Brooklyn, the Cold War and the Dodgers.
My publisher shook his head and said, “Very few writers can cross over from non-fiction to fiction.”
But, most of my reading over the years have been thrillers. If you spot me in an airport, I won’t be reading a business book. I’d be reading a thriller. I want to write thrillers.
My publisher shook his head again and said, “Think business books.”
What made Marketing Outrageously popular, however, were the stories inside the book. I based those stories on real life business situations. With Red Chaser, I base the story on real life situations. I did far more research on Red Chaser than any of my three non-fiction books. But, unlike my business books, there is some (a lot) stuff that is made up in Red Chaser. That’s what fiction is all about; that’s what makes it fun.
So, I’ve published Red Chaser on Amazon Kindle. I chose to not even try to get it published by a mainstream publisher. There are over one million Kindles in use today, and it's projected that there will be 28 million such reading devices in four years. Authors can now deal directly with readers.
I haven't been into social networking before. But, I figure I have a lot to learn about this powerful medium. After all, I think it's going to be this medium that will lead to those 28 million readers with e-readers.
I'm putting together a Mystery Cruise. Nov. 14-21, 2010. We're sailing from Los Angeles to the Mexican Riviera. Cabins start at $400. You can contact me for panels. You can contact Beverly@cruisingsmart.com for info.
And yes, I've asked my friend Robert Crais to join us. Have to see what his schedule looks like.
At 1:58am on December 25, 2009, Reece Hirsch said…
Thanks, John. Nice to find another Kem Nunn fan. "Tapping the Source" and "Dogs of Winter" are two of my favorites. Best of luck with "Red Chaser," which sounds intriguing. Reece
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And yes, I've asked my friend Robert Crais to join us. Have to see what his schedule looks like.