Scott Sigler interview

New York Times bestselling author Scott Sigler has just released THE ROOKIE as a hardcover novel and sales are strong already, which is impressive for a book that’s been available for free as an audiobook in podcast format since 2007. But that’s the winning formula that’s allowed Scott to build a loyal audience, make a living from it, and achieve mainstream success. I caught up with him to learn how it’s all happened.

You started out trying to get EarthCore published as a print novel through a major publisher. What led you to change course and give it away as a podiobook instead?


I did land a print deal with an imprint of AOL/TimeWarner, and EARTHCORE was supposed to be out in mass market paperback in May 2002. However, in the post-911 recession, TimeWarner scrapped everything that wasn’t profitable. My imprint wasn’t profitable yet, hence, the whole project was shut down. It took me about three years to get the rights back. By then it was 2005, I discovered podcasting, and thought it was going to be the future of novels, short stories and storytelling.

Wasn’t it a bit scary, at the time, to give away content you’d been hoping to charge for, without knowing if you’d ever see a dime from it?


It wasn’t scary at all, it was a huge opportunity to be the first to do something like this, and use that to build an audience. I saw the connections people make online, and knew that if I created a great product, some people would like it and instantly send their friends MP3 links via IM, forums, chat rooms, blog posts, email, etc. Giving the first book away was about building a brand name, and proving that my work resonated with the marketplace. At the time, I assumed I’d pick up 10,000 subscribers and land a print deal. I hadn’t counted on the fact that publishers had no idea what podcasting was, or MP3s, or downloads or really even the internet, for that matter. I accomplished the goal, but it took five books and three years to get there.

How exactly did you go about building up an early audience for your podiobooks? Was enough to just put it out there for free, or did you have to actively spread the word?


I’ve worked constantly to spread the word, pick up fans, and get them to spread the word. Just putting a free work up isn’t enough, you have to market it. A lot of people will listen because it’s free, and a certain percentage of them will like your work and become fans. Therefore, my real goal as an entertainer is to make sure the most possible people find out about me and give me a shot. The larger the base, the more fans generated by that same certain percentage.

Now that you’re a New York Times bestselling print author, and people are clearly willing to pay for your work, why do you still give your content away? Is that just because you’re a nice guy, or is it part of a strategy to sell more content?


There’s a few reasons. First, my father had a phrase, “you dance with the one that brought ya.” I got to where I am because of my fans. They helped me in a lot of ways because my work was free, and I’m not going to bogart it from them now that I’ve achieved a couple of goals. Right now I give everything away for free, even the stuff that’s on sale. It’s up to the customer to decide how they want the story — free podcast, free PDF, paid iPhone app, paid book. And times are tough; some people want to buy the books but they don’t have the cash right now. So no problem, that’s what the free podcasts are for. Maybe someday they buy my books, maybe they don’t, doesn’t matter to me because that’s the customer’s choice to make. Second, “free” still gets me new people who try my stuff because they don’t have to shell out the bucks. If you have a choice between spending $25 on a Stephen King downloadable book, or get mine for free, odds are you’ll try mine first, even though King is a proven author and always delivers. You know if you don’t like mine, you can go back and spend the $25 anyway, so there’s no risk.

You released a hardcover version of THE ROOKIE last weekend. What’s the premise of the book?


Basically, it’s projecting professional football 700 years into the future, after we’ve discovered alien races, and trying to figure out what the game might be like. From there it gets much deeper, illustrating the integrative nature of sports and sport as a meritocracy that destroys racism (you have to learn to play with the best players, regardless of race, if you want to win). Finally, it’s a kick-ass coming of age story and chock-full of awesome, high-tech football action.

I’ll give you the synopses:


Set in a lethal pro football league 700 years in the future, THE ROOKIE is a story that combines the intense gridiron action of “Any Given Sunday” with the space opera style of “Star Wars” and the criminal underworld of “The Godfather.”

Aliens and humans alike play positions based on physiology, creating receivers that jump 25 feet into the air, linemen that bench-press 1,200 pounds, and linebackers that literally want to eat you. Organized crime runs every franchise, games are fixed and rival players are assassinated.

Follow the story of Quentin Barnes, a 19-year-old quarterback prodigy that has been raised all his life to hate, and kill, those aliens. Quentin must deal with his racism and learn to lead, or he’ll wind up just another stat in the column marked “killed on the field.”

How are your years of participating in social media paying off as far as promoting the print version of THE ROOKIE?


I’ve built up an online following in various social media places, like Facebook, Twitter and on my own site scottsigler.com. Simply making the product available in these different areas lets people find the book based on their preferences. Some find it via Twitter, some via Facebook, and some via my podcasts or my website. The larger the following, the more people want to buy the product, so that’s why doing this for several years gives me the best chance to find customers that really want the book.

Don’t forget, I already gave THE ROOKIE away for free as a podcast, and it’s still available for free. Most, if not all the people who have pre-ordered so far have already heard the story. They liked it so much they want a print copy to read again or to share with others. That’s what social media does for me – when my fans finish a story, I’m still right there, accessible, they can stay in contact and monitor what’s coming next.

Is Quentin Barnes, your protagonist quarterback of the future, based in part on any real-life football player?


I wrote this book years ago, so he was initially based on Daunte Culpepper. When Culpepper came into the league , he was 6-foot-4, 260 pounds. It was almost unheard of for a quarterback with his skill set to be that big. So Quentin is huge for his position, which helps set him apart. Personality-wise, I tried to imagine an incredibly talented kid that’s played his whole life in, say, the Ku Klux Clan minor league, but he wants to be the best so he works his way into the bigs, where — hold on to your hat — he has to have sub-races on his team. The final step was gauging his maturity level. Quentin joins the pros at nineteen, so I channelled a bit of early Kobe Bryant behavior in there.

You’ve said that what you like about Stephen King’s books is that he’s willing to whack any character at any time. You’ve announced an upcoming sequel centered around Quentin Barnes. Is there a chance he bites the dust in that book?


Absolutely. In my books, no one is sacred, and dead stays dead. That being said, THE ROOKIE series isn’t like my modern-day horror/thrillers. This is a scifi series, so odds are everyone’s favorite quarterback will be there to play another day. With a thriller, much of the fear-of-loss revolves around a character’s life. To draw the reader in, you need that specter of death. With a sports series, you get a different specter — losing the championship, the big game, the career, etc. So you can really put a reader through the wringer without having to put the characters’ life on that line.

Speaking of quarterbacks, you’re a long-suffering Detroit Lions fan. What do you think of their drafting of Matthew Stafford with the first overall pick this past weekend?


Paying the kid $41 million guaranteed is a huge mistake. The Lions have needs everywhere, particularly the offensive line. Detroit destroys quarterbacks. Not the other teams’ quarterbacks, mind you, our quarterbacks. If you just look at the statistical trends of Detroit, Stafford won’t be the starter in three years. I wish they would have traded down and loaded up with three first- or second-round offensive line picks. Franchises that had dominant runs, like Dallas, New England, Pittsburgh, they all spend the dollars to develop and retain a great offensive line. I’d love to think Stafford is The One for Detroit, but this ain’t my first trip to the rodeo. At least we didn’t use our first pick to draft another goddamn receiver …

Late last year you released THE ROOKIE as an iPhone app. What role do you think iPhone books and readers like the Kindle will play in the near future of books?


I think portable devices are the future of books, period. There are 20 million iPhones and iTouch units sold so far, in only two years. I don’t even use my Kindle anymore now that the Kindle App works so well on the iPhone. So that’s a market of 20 million potential readers, who can now buy books, stockpile books, and most importantly impulse-buy books. As the cost of eBooks comes down to the $3-$5 range, the same cost as most apps, I think readership is going to go through the roof. The reason it’s going to keep getting bigger is that the iPhone and other cell phones are lifestyle devices. A book is just a book, but an iPhone is your phone, your email, your calendar, your social media, your video, your music, your games and now your books. People will continue to be more attached to their phones. They are already ubiquitous, and if you can read a book on your phone, there’s no reason to read it on paper — it’s just one more thing to carry.

For an aspiring book author who’s just starting out, what advice would you offer them? Has your successful career path written the definitive blueprint, or have things shifted already?


There is no blueprint, things are changing too fast. The first piece of advice is get used to the fact that you are in the minor leagues, there is clearly a minor-league system, and in the minors you have to give your content away to build up a following. Be prepared to do that for three to five years before you have enough people to make a difference. It will not happen overnight for you, nor do you want it to, because audience feedback will help shape your storytelling style. The second piece of advice is that the days of “just writing” are gone. You may hear the old guard talk about how a writer should write, and how they “let other people handle those other things.” Well, that was because these guys signed their publishing deals fifteen, twenty years ago, when there weren’t 500 channels, when there weren’t metroplexes, when video games were nothing like they are today and the internet was basically non-existent. People have so many entertainment choices now, you have to fight for your customers’ time. You have to market AND write, you have to be a businessperson AND an entertainer. Third and final bit of advice, understand the fact that readers want to connect with the author. Embrace social media, reply to emails, to blog comments, interact with them whenever possible. Don’t be an arrogant douchebag. You are not important. Your work is not important. What’s important is giving people value for the time they spend with their works — write great stories, and be accessible. The days of the author’s ivory tower are long gone.

Aside from promoting THE ROOKIE and writing The Starter, what else do you have on the horizon?


Right now I’m working on ANCESTOR, which will be the third hardcover published by Crown Publishing. Should be out March of 2010, and we’re gunning for a top-15 spot on the New York Times hardcover fiction best-seller list. That’s my new goal, and I’ll be unleashing every trick in the book to make people aware of the book, and what it means for user-generated content and social media if we hit that mark.