Q&A with 7TH SON: DESCENT’s J.C. Hutchins

With PERSONAL EFFECTS: DARK ART and now 7TH SON: DESCENT, J.C. Hutchins is pushing the boundaries of the conventional novel. In this interview, he discusses how he got there against initial odds, and how the Internet will change — but not kill — the traditional publishing model.

BOOKGASM: While the transition of Internet serial to published book is no longer an aberration, it’s also not yet the norm. How did you make that leap, and do you expect more to do so in the near future?

HUTCHINS: You’re absolutely right; we’re seeing more and more storytellers serializing their fiction online — though by my observation, the quantity picked up by major publishers is still pretty small. Indie publishers are wisely watching the online fiction space and making far more offers to authors. This model, regardless of publisher size, is win-win: Authors bring an existing platform to publishers, and publishers benefit via sales from those dedicated fans.

To my knowledge, my experience serializing my 7TH SON cloning thriller trilogy as a podcast is unique in that I seemed to do everything wrong — and eventually, a great deal right — in getting its first book, 7TH SON: DESCENT, into print. Industry veterans, stifle your snickers: I’m about to recount the literary equivalent of WHAT NOT TO WEAR.

I spent about three years writing and editing what my fans now know as the 7TH SON trilogy … but it didn’t start out as a trilogy. Inspired by the epic scope and narrative stakes seen in my favorite novel, Stephen King’s THE STAND, I set out to write a story with cool pseudo-technologies, big ideas, big conspiracies and big action — widescreen, fate-of-the-world stuff. By the time I was done, I hadn’t written a book. I’d written a phone book. My manuscript was 1,200 pages long.

In addition to its monstrous length, the story didn’t play nice with genre classifications. It was a present-day thriller. It had sci-fi elements — human cloning and recorded human memories. There were dashes of cop procedural, a hint of horror, political thriller and zero romance. It also had seven human clone protagonists, all with similar names!

You and your readers shouldn’t be surprised to learn that when I pitched the book to around 60 agents in 2005, the thing was universally — and deservedly — rejected. I’d unwittingly sabotaged the salability of 7TH SON at every creative turn. I was horrified at my rookie mistakes. And yet, I believed the story was a good one, a fun and exciting one, and worthy of an audience.

During that year, I was introduced to podcasting — think downloadable internet radio — and discovered that a few authors were releasing their unpublished manuscripts as self-produced serialized audiobooks. I smelled an emerging trend and an opportunity to conduct an experiment. I was convinced I could never sell 7TH SON, but I could certainly share it, to ultimately see if the story had worth. I wanted to know. I wanted to know if I was nuts for writing this book.

Since there were no guarantee that folks would dig the book, I didn’t want to commit to recording the full, 1,200-page manuscript. I chopped the monstrous manuscript into thirds: Act I become 7TH SON: DESCENT, Act II became “book two,” etc. I bought a $50 microphone, got to work narrating “book one,” and posted the first episodes in early 2006.

Here’s where things got interesting: The story that was universally rejected found an audience tens of thousands strong. I certainly promoted the work, mostly by networking in the podcasting and blogging community, but the true heavy lifting hailed from my fans. They loved this book. They told their friends about it. More folks came. A community formed around the work, its characters and its author. Even now, two years after the original 7TH SON podcast novel trilogy concluded, the series generates around 100,000 episodic downloads each month.

In early 2007, I had an agent. By mid-2007, I was approached by St. Martin’s to help plot and write a “for-hire” supernatural thriller novel, PERSONAL EFFECTS: DARK ART. By fall 2007, the publisher chose to release 7TH SON: DESCENT in print. In 2008, the trilogy was optioned by Warner Bros. for film development. This year, PERSONAL EFFECTS was released in June; 7TH SON: DESCENT debuted on bookshelves a few weeks ago.

I’m convinced 7TH SON: DESCENT would not be in print now if I hadn’t told the story I wanted to tell — as genre-blurring as it is, and as long as that original manuscript was — failed miserably in 2005, and then took to the web and released it as a free audio podcast. Everything went wrong … and then I did every thing I do to make it right.

Since 7TH SON’s release, I have written and released a novella and a short story anthology in serialized audio format. I love the medium and distribution model, and my fans love me for giving them more free content. This is content that can be monetized down the road, if I wish. Well-fed fans are happy and evangelical fans.

BOOKGASM: In taking 7TH SON from podcast to page, did you have to alter any of its content? Do you think it works better in one medium over the other?

HUTCHINS: Since 7TH SON was originally written with print publication in mind, I didn’t alter much of its content for the podcast version. For instance, I removed some attribution from the recording when it was clear who was speaking, thanks to my performance. When I was editing and rewriting the novel for the print release, I took advantage of the opportunity to polish the story a bit, and add scenes and information that improved the story. The print version is a slightly different — but better — book. I’m grateful for the editorial guidance from St. Martin’s. Best of all, my fans are digging the changes, and the official “reboot” of the series.

I don’t prefer one medium over another, and believe that “porting” content written for print to audio can be an elegant, easy affair. Same goes for content written originally for audio distribution, to print format. These media play nice with each other.

I believe the truly — and positively — disruptive element is freely distributing the content online, regardless of medium. Giving away excerpts — or full novels, as I do — benefits authors, publishers, consumers and retailers. Authors using savvy promotion and free, “loss-leader” content attract consumers, which builds platforms and fans for life. Publishers benefit from having authors with these platforms, as their work already has a built-in base of buyers. It’s good business.

Consumers win because they can — much like sitting down in a comfy chair at a Barnes & Noble and reading any book there for free — experience the story at zero cost and risk. Via podcast or direct download, the bookstore conveniently comes to them, and they are empowered to make an informed purchasing decision. Finally, retailers benefit because these informed fans are striding into bookstores with purpose: to buy that specific novel. Once these shoppers are inside, they’re inclined to browse and — God willing — buy more great fiction from other authors.

I’ve received skeptical pushback on my belief in this model. I can live with that. All I know is that we wouldn’t be having this conversation had I not released my stories online for free.

Further, aside from years of anecdotal evidence from peers, I’ve seen a tangible relationship between book sales and my online promotions and free content. I reckon I’m moving more books than newcomer authors who have not embraced these strategies. This keeps my publisher happy.

BOOKGASM: Are there stories that should be told only online, rather than in print, or is the medium insignificant?

HUTCHINS: That’s a bit like asking if a novel should be presented only in print form, and not on a Kindle e-reader. The core content can be absolutely identical, yet presented in different media or distributed in different ways. Its effectiveness as a story doesn’t hinge on its presentation as much as how consumers react to that presentation. Those reactions can be as unique as the consumers themselves.

Will all of these consumers of the free content purchase a book? No. But this distribution ensures exposure to consumers who wouldn’t have otherwise heard of it, or its author. Some of these readers will purchase a book. Those are more sales than would have otherwise been generated. It’s found money.

However, there are absolutely ways to tell stories that leverage the strengths of these disparate media. A story that is written specifically for online consumption can use hyperlinks, and other Web-based technologies to create emotionally resonant narrative experiences. Porting these online-exclusive tales to other media, such as print, is probably a challenging, messy affair.

I look forward to diving deeper into this emerging form of online-only fiction. The current problem with it seems to be monetization. However, building fiction that can be experienced on an iPhone — combining not only the strengths of text, images, phone, online access … and even the device’s accelerometer — is easily monetizable. I have big ideas for that. All I need is capital.

BOOKGASM: In your opinion, will tomorrow’s publishing world be entirely digital, or will a happy balance be struck between the virtual and the physical?

HUTCHINS: The impending doom of the printed book is a myth embraced by pie-in-the-sky futurists and hand-wringing, overprotective traditionalists. Those guys need to take a chill pill, and understand that while digital formats will increase in market share in years to come, printed books will always be a part of our culture.

Do I believe e-readers will become nigh-ubiquitous? Sure, in about 50 years, maybe more. Even I — as a Kool-Aid-guzzling Kindle fanboy — love the tangibility of printed books, and more important, understand that most readers currently prefer that format. Much like browsing in a bookstore, printed books are a part our cultural experience. That will never, ever go away.

But much like the music industry in the 1990s, we’ll soon face a tidal shift in how generations prefer to experience their content. Children will come up in an era where e-readers are a normal part of the book-reading experience. This familiarity will dictate how they purchase their books. Meanwhile, folks who came up in the “print-only” era will — I hate to be morbid here — literally die, or alter their consumption habits.

Where does this leave authors? In theory, fat and happy. The need for novels — or other text-based entertainment — and literacy will not change. What will change is how the content is obtained and in what format it’s consumed. Where does this leave publishers? Again, in theory, fat and happy: the e-book market represents a new, robust revenue stream. As long as there are authors to publish and money to be made, publishers will survive if they embrace the emerging models.

But there are two links in the publishing chain that will feel the pinch.

Brick-and-mortar retailers — especially the big chains with their large stores — will be forced to evolve. Perhaps they’ll release branded e-book revenue streams, as B&N is doing with the Nook, to compensate for lower print book sales. Perhaps not. Regardless, I suspect stores will shrink in size. There will be fewer books in-store. Fewer employees. Less overhead. I envision progressive chains eventually embracing a more intimate shopping experience, in which in-store, print-on-demand machines can compensate for any “not-on-the-shelf” issues. These corporate-owned or franchised smaller stores can emulate the indie store experience, embrace hyperlocal or specialized indie sensibilities, and run off unstocked books when someone asks for one.

But it’s publishing’s complex distribution machine that I fear will suffer the most. This is the behind-the-curtain stuff that readers and many authors never think about. It’s why I empathize with publishers, and why I suspect so many of them fear committing to the notion that e-readers will eventually have deep market penetration. These publishers have decades-long relationships with a great many business, each representing an important and costly cog in a mammoth machine that begins with the chopping of trees and the acquisition of paper and ink, and eventually ends with the truck-based delivery of books to stores. Nearly every aspect of this complex system is eliminated when you wirelessly download a book to a portable device.

I’ve been thinking long and hard about these relationships, and how both publishers and brick-and-mortar retailers are beholden to them, both ethically and contractually. Those relationships must change, and the businesses that support the complex distribution system must change, too. It will likely be very painful.

Will people be reading, loving and collecting print books 50 years from now? Certainly. But far more consumers will be reading their books on electronic devices. I believe that writing’s on the wall. Companies that ignore that do so at their peril.

BOOKGASM: More books these days also seem to play around with multimedia aspects, such as your PERSONAL EFFECTS: DARK ART. Is this strictly a gimmick to attract new young readers who are Internet-savvy, or do you believe such methods can be used to fortify a story?

HUTCHINS: I can’t speak for the creators of other “transmedia” novels, and I can’t speak authoritatively about their content — I haven’t read them. I can share the philosophical intent behind PERSONAL EFFECTS: DARK ART.

While it’s reasonable to judge the “out-of-book” experience that accompanies PERSONAL EFFECTS — from tangible, authentic-looking items that come with the book to narrative-enhancing websites and other media — as a gimmick, it’s not an entirely fair judgment. Series creator Jordan Weisman and I were resolute in our commitment that these beyond-the-book experiences served the story, and whenever possible, delivered content that was as emotionally resonant as the fiction on the pages. The plot of the book was built with this in mind, and we quested to make those transmedia appearances within the novel as organic as possible.

While traditionalists may see this form of storytelling to be a gimmick — and trust me, it’s totally cool to be a traditionalist when it comes to how you experience your fiction; a reader’s comfort is paramount to me — I believe we’re often inclined to associate “different” with “gimmick.” It’s simply another way to tell stories. The fact that most of the narrative is sandwiched between a book cover causes the incongruity.

This is why I was so careful when I wrote PERSONAL EFFECTS: Dark Art. I made sure the audience could read the story from cover to cover, never touch the additional items or fire up Internet Explorer, and experience a complete — and hopefully satisfying — narrative. Unlike other transmedia novels that I’ve read about, PERSONAL EFFECTS’ reading experience was never held hostage by the extra stuff. Readers are empowered to opt-in to the “out-of-book” experience, and go as deeply as they wish to go. Alternately, they could ignore it outright, which I know some of them did.

I do believe we’ll see more of this media-blurring fiction in the upcoming years. The most successful projects will be the ones that respect a reader’s comfort level, and provide a satisfying story within the pages of the printed book. It’s a groundbreaking way to tell stories, and another emerging trend.

BOOKGASM: What’s in the pipeline for you?

HUTCHINS: Next month, I’ll wrap up the podcast “print edition” release of 7TH SON: DESCENT, and will begin recording the free serialized podcast edition of PERSONAL EFFECTS: DARK ART As that novel is being released in 2010, I’ll work on a free podcast audio series called THE 33, polish several movie treatments for my film agent, and then get cooking on two novels.

Here’s also hoping 7TH SON: DESCENT will be a sales success, and St. Martin’s will pick up its sequels for publication. I hope to be doing some editing and rewriting next year, as well. Cross your fingers for me! —Rod Lott

Buy it at Amazon.

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• Q&A with Asylum Press’ Frank Forte
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Photo credit: J.R. Blackwell