There’s always something to take me away from writing—a flight, a mission, or artwork for a new product. Sitting down at the computer to write takes a daily commitment to fight the distractions. It’s anything but routine.
Former stealth pilot turned author James R. Hannibal is no stranger to secrets and adventure. He has been shot at, locked up with surface to air missiles, and chased down a winding German road by an armed terrorist. He talks to us about turning real-life adventures into page-turning fiction, finding his author tribe at ThrillerFest and the changing face of book marketing.
Please give us a brief overview of yourself and your work
I write spy thrillers and children’s mystery and fantasy. Both pursuits come from a love of creating worlds and exploring them, but the spy fiction comes from a legitimate background in a top-secret world. I studied the Middle East and counterterrorism at the US Air Force Academy and then flew a fighter that had me doing occasional groundwork with international special forces groups. After that, I flew the Stealth Bomber, which had me doing all sorts of fun extracurricular activities. All that experience gets poured into my novels—enough that the first three had to be reviewed by security committees before publication.
How did you begin writing?
I always wanted to write. As a kid, I checked a seek and find book out of the library. On the center spread, the artist had drawn a fair in a grassy vale with tents, colorful guests, and a juggling jester. But my eye went straight to a little boy, peeking out from the edge of the forest, watching it all. I felt the boy wanting to know the stories of all those people at the fair, especially the jester. I wanted to know their stories too. And I knew, even then, if I wanted to know their stories, I’d have to write them myself. I’ve been working at it ever since.
Do you have a writing routine?
Pure panic. I hold down a day job as an on-call pilot for a major airline. During an earlier part of my writing career, I was commanding Predator UAVs missions in combat zones as a full-time member of the Air National Guard. Recently I took over a story-game company with an entire fantasy world. There’s always something to take me away from writing—a flight, a mission, or artwork for a new product. Sitting down at the computer to write takes a daily commitment to fight the distractions. It’s anything but routine.
How do you outline your work and begin writing?
This is a soapbox topic for me. I believe in structuring your work—not in a formulaic way, but laying out a path so you have a reference point from which to deviate with confidence. There are “story beats” that show up in nearly every story ever told. These beats are ingrained in all of us as writers and readers. I keep those beats in mind while I create a short story version of my book idea, and I use that short story as my basic path when I begin to write the book.
Do you have any tips for a productive writing day?
Sit down at the computer and write. There are all sorts of techniques and ideas. “Find your inspirational spot,” or “Play a song list to set the mood for your chapter.” Hogwash. Sit your rear end down at the computer and write.
Is there any particular incident that has happened along your writing journey that you’d like to share?
One of the best non-writing activities for a writer is attending conferences. There are so many unexpected treasures and opportunities. My first conference was ThrillerFest, run by the amazing Kimberley Howe, author of Skyjack. I didn’t know anyone. The sight of all these famous authors at the opening party left me tongue-tied. I was terrified, and I played the wallflower, feeling like an idiot for even showing up. But then I saw two women carrying heavy book boxes upstairs from the conference level to the ballroom level. As a defense mechanism—so that I wouldn’t feel so out of place—I ran over to help and spent the rest of the evening carrying books and setting up the store. Those two women happened to be Kimberly Howe and the wife of mega-bestseller Steve Berry. From that moment on, they treated me like a brother or nephew and have had a huge impact on my career.
Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
“It’s not one book. It’s a career.” These are the words Tom Young, author of The Hunters, spoke to me at that same ThrillerFest where I met Kimberley Howe. Since then, I’ve met so many aspiring writers who have dug a trench around themselves and their first novel. They won’t move on. They won’t try another story because they’re too focused on getting this first one published. They are wasting years. Stop it. Write the next one. Send it out, and while you’re querying, write the next. I was working on book four when I got my big break. James Patterson wrote a million words in twenty years before his break. It’s not one book. It’s a career.
What do you think is the biggest challenge for new authors?
The biggest challenge is the combination of all the challenges, suddenly hitting you all at once. You’ve written a novel. You’ve built a platform. You’ve found an agent who connected with your story. Your agent found a publisher who also connected with the story. You have overcome major obstacles. But now you’re the circus performer with all the plates spinning on tall sticks, and you’ve to keep those plates spinning by writing the next one, marketing the published books, and—if you’re like most of us—holding down a day job. It’s tough.
What methods of book marketing do you find the most effective?
It has varied a great deal over the last decade. It used to be newspaper print ads in the Lifestyle or Entertainment section. Publishers rarely spring for those anymore, perhaps because they’ve lost their effectiveness. Then it was Facebook ads until everybody was doing Facebook ads and click farms made them predominantly worthless without a twenty-thousand-dollar budget. Then it was BookBub, which still has good value. So, these days, your two best tools are BookBub (if you can land a feature) and blog tours with a company such as Lone Star Literary Life.
What struggles did you face in the writing and publishing process?
There’s that moment, somewhere near the end of writing the second or third book on a contract when you realize the contract is about to be up and your series story arc has reached its conclusion. You have ideas for the next one, but which idea is the best? Which idea will land you the next book contract? Fortunately, your agent is there to help, usually by doing face palms and shooting down your proposals until you finally hit something good. I think that’s always my most frightening struggle, and I’m always amazed when I cross that chasm and reach the next hill to continue the climb.
What is the best writing advice you have received?
I’ll refer you back to Tom Young’s “It’s not one book. It’s a career.” Keep writing. In the long run, the rest—all the marketing nonsense, the tricks and software, the social media slog—it’s all just noise. Shut it out for a while and keep creating worlds.
You can find out more about James via his website and social media channels: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
