Alternate history and time travel author Nathan Van Coops was a trooper and joined Jami Albight and Sara Rosett despite having a cold. They delve into the joys of being a part-time writer and creating the lifestyle you want as well as tips on mistakes involving doing a royalty share for a Book One and trying to juggle too many things. And, last, they laugh about Jami’s lunch choices and geek out about plotting books.

There’s a bit of lag in the opening when Sara’s talking about the sequel to Knives Out and how Benoit Blanc is a perfect flat-arc character and provides an ideal set-up for a long-running episodic series. 

The flu hit Jami’s family and interrupted her writing week, but everyone is better and she’d back at the keyboard now.

Nathan, Jami, and Sara discuss:

-Tackling the thorny details of time travel and how dealing with the specifics appealed to fans of the genre

-How Nathan carved a new entrepreneurial path and created a lifestyle that blends art and aviation

-Living the life you want, which for Nathan means being able to wear flip flops to work

-Influence of children’s adventure book, The Neverending Story

-Advantages of being a part-time author: a financial safety net, reduced mental strain, and creative freedom

-Risk evaluation for indie authors

-How not all jobs are “soul-sucking” and you can love traditional employment and be a writer at the same time

-Writing a book in snatches of 15 to 20 minutes

-Why doing a royalty share on a Book One was a mistake

-Why trying to juggle too many things is a mistake

-Mindset and how to keep a healthy attitude

-The benefits of preorders

-Changes in the publishing industry, including pricing higher and how that can help you find new readers

-How understanding his love of adventures stories helps Nathan write satisfying books for his readers

-How finding your overarching brand draws readers to you as an author

-Sara and Nathan geek out about plotting and plotting resources

Genres discussed include time travel, alternate history, romance and mystery.

Links:

• Nathan’s website https://www.nathanvancoops.com
• Nathan’s Book Faces Live group https://www.facebook.com/groups/148998479097782/
• Book Faces Live podcast rss https://nathanvancoops.podbean.com/feed.xml
• The Neverending Story https://books2read.com/u/3G2268
• Big Magic https://books2read.com/u/4XXX8g
• Chris Fox https://www.chrisfoxwrites.com
• Plot & Structure https://books2read.com/u/m0OVky
• Becca Syme Write Better-Faster https://betterfasteracademy.com